LinkedIn and/or www.nl.edu. The primary spokesperson (as dictated by NLU’s President) must have a prepared statement that can be used to make an initial general response to the media when the crisis first becomes known. If communication is not made immediately, NLU will lose control of the situation. Following is a fill-in-the-blanks statement that can be used with little or no preparation as the first statement to the media. At a minimum the statement should include the who, what, when and where of the situation. All information shared should be definitive and not speculative. This will help the University’s credibility in the long run. The following statement was issued today by National Louis University: “A (what happened) at (location) involving (who) occurred today at (time). The incident is unde r investigation and more information is forthcoming,” said ______________, National Louis University president.
OR
The following statement was issued today by National Louis University: [Location, e.g., Chicago, IL]: At approximately [time] there was what is currently being investigated as a (Brief general description) at [insert campus location]. We are working to determine ( damage, injuries, etc.). At this time, we have confirmed that [General information that is FOR CERTAIN. DELETE THIS SECTION IF NO CONFIRMED INFO IS AVAILABLE.] The safety and well-being of our students, faculty, staff and community is our first priority [expression of compassion/concern if appropriate]. As more information is available, we will be providing updates through [web site address] and regular media briefings. Note for Media: Media briefings will be held at [Location] at [Time – specific time, or general, i.e., every hour on the hour, etc.]. In addition to this published statement, consideration should be given to performing the following depending on the situation:
1. Send an email to faculty, staff and students alerting them to the situation.
2. Record and upload a video of the President responding to the crisis (if applicable).
3. Brief vital external constituents , such as regulators, legislators and additional board members.
4. Record a blast text, e-mail and voice mail message informing all faculty and staff on all campuses (as appropriate) of the incident and reminding them to refer all external inquiries, especially media, to Communications (VP of Communications or Designate).
5. Monitor the acceleration of broadcast, print and social media traffic and evolution of the “story.”
6. Following are resources that will be utilized: Broadcast monitoring service: David H Lasker, 312.685.2285 , dhlasker@MediaMonkeyBiz.com, Social media and online new monitoring service: Meltwater News, http://service.meltwaternews.com/mnews/login.jsp
After the Immediate Key Steps are complete, the Emergency Communication Unit (ECU) (led by
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