Quotes on Crisis Communications

» Good crisis communications is based on a system already in place. When there is a crisis, you just tighten it up and make it better. If you routinely had a daily press briefing, you would tighten it up and make it three times a day. A crisis is no time to design a new system." Says Marlin Fitzwater, former White House press secretary.

» "In a crisis, bring all the key players into a room and get the facts straight. Never tell more than you know, don't freelance what you think, and constantly update reporters. Reporters have to get information, and if you don't give them anything, they will report rumors," says Susan King, spokesperson at two federal departments during the Clinton administration.

» "The omnipresent technology means that the chance of a crisis situation arising is greater than it has ever been," Peter Frans Anthonissen,the editors of Crisis Communications.

» “One rule in crisis public relations is to announce the bad news yourself as quickly as possible. If you don’t announce bad news yourself, the media will find someone who will say something, and that source will not likely know all the facts or properly communicate your point of view”, Jeffrey A. Davis, Sawmill Marketing Public Relations partner.