PR forum says listening is key in crisis

NORFOLK

From a tunnel flooding to community backlash against a festival, public relations officials traded war stories and tough lessons in a seminar Wednesday on crisis communications.

Jeff Caldwell, a spokesman for the Virginia Department of Transportation, said the agency was criticized from all sides after the July 2 flooding of the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel led to regional traffic gridlock.

It wasn't releasing enough information about the incident.

Or "you're putting out so much information, and it's conflicting."

He said his philosophy is: "You can never communicate enough, even if you're unsure."

But Caldwell said he was constricted by national security guidelines, which bar him from releasing some data about tunnels.

More information doesn't always improve results, some panelists said.

"People will listen, but they won't really hear you until the information matters to them," said Terry Bishirjian, a spokeswoman for the city of Norfolk. "That's human nature."

She recalled her frustration at a city briefing about emergency plans when "one of the smartest, most-educated leaders said: 'We're not really going to evacuate them, are we?' "

Likewise, Sharon Hoggard, a spokeswoman for Norfolk State University, said university officials provided crime and other statistics to nearby residents to convince them their lawns wouldn't be trampled or their houses vandalized if Norfolk State hosted Afr'Am Fest. That didn't quell their fears, and the festival was moved to Town Point Park.

"We couldn't get past those deep-seated emotional issues, not only about the festival, but also about the university," she said.

One lesson, Hoggard said, is to listen closely to the word on the street to better foresee roadblocks.

Crises also can have positive spinoffs.

Hoggard said Norfolk State and neighborhood leaders now meet twice a quarter.

The seminar, sponsored by the Hampton Roads chapter of the Public Relations Society of America, drew more than 70 people to the Norfolk Botanical Garden.

Gerard Braud, a former TV reporter who runs Braud Communications near New Orleans, led the session.

Philip Walzer, (757) 222-3864, phil.walzer@pilotonline.com