Sport and media relation (Australian context)

Crisis management do research about Essendon club crisis, and write on how the crisis management could have been done in a better way.

Task: Given public knowledge of the Essendon Football Club supplements crisis from 2013-2017 (through media reporting and guest speakers in the subject, where applicable), with reference to crisis management and crisis media management literature, what changes would you have made to the club's media strategy.

Tips: Given the constrained word limit and the complexity of the issue being analysed, you may wish to consider the crisis as a series of key events, of which you will choose to analyse the most important, or those where you think changes would have been most useful.

CRISIS MANGAEMENT(Essendon Crisis)

These are some of the statements made by the speakers in class regarding sport and media relations (the speakers include organisations media manager and the external media persons).Must be use of these statements where ever appropriate.

- What ought ‘we' do rather than what ought I do
- Where do I owe duty?
- What is at stake?
- Who will this affect?
- What consequences can I predict?
- What am I prepared to risk?

- Get all the information
- Hasten slowly
- Who needs to know
- Make the right decision, not the easy one.
- Communication strategy
- Objectives
- Audience
- Positioning
- messages

1) Welfare of the person (it will be public and that can have an adverse effect)
2) Get the facts) what has actually happened people might leave details to portray in a better light)
3) Who's the room (who is working on it)
4) Timing (TV nightly news is our self-imposed deadline. Social media might test this)
   Holding statement in writing only
   Everyone is charging towards you. Media will camp out. Don't make it worse by being antagonistic
5) Internal communications (staff-holding statement, don't comment)
6) How are we going to get our message out?
   Frame the debate
   Press conference /door stop interview/background briefing
7) What is the follow up?
8) Public rehabilitation
 Own the mistakes/ no excuses "I made a mistake"
 What are you going to do about --Trusted journo-Action- "here's is what I intend to do from now on".
 Everyone has a boss
 Even when you are in the middle of a crisis-remember it will pass
 Most of my job, most people can do. I earn my money for the one percent issues
 It is easy to give in to extreme views but you should have the courage of your convictions
 If we throw people to the wolves when they make a mistake what are we saying about our organisation.
 I like backgrounding, an opportunity to influence the influencers
 We want people to fall in love with us (players/club)
 How someone feel about us is more important than what they think.

o Never deal with an issue in the emotion of the moment if you can help.

o The club is bigger than the individual
They have put the name of the club in jeopardy.

Crisis management (principles)
• get all the info
• hasten slowly - don't let the crisis run you
• who needs to know
• make the right decision, not the easy one
• communications strategy - objectives, audience, positioning, messages

 crisis - no one's interests are the same
 club, coach, player's interests are different and that should be recognised
 informed content is important for lot of rumours
 people will operate accordingly to what the right thing is.

Post Crisis
After getting affection with such issues the organisation needs to come out of it.
o Find out where your damage is, Australian public is forgiving
o Look for the bridge that will get you to a better place

JUSTIN (Chief Marketing Officer, Essendon Club), spoke about the crisis, the following statements are from his talk.

• Trouble start - social media channels, press, blogs, footy sites
• Monday- senior jounalists
• Tuesday - how to address?
Understand and know facts
Who needs to know
• People , stakeholders involved
• Different people with different set of knowledge
• Take a big picture
• Establish many facts as you can
• Access all that can be done
• Different mediums and what they require
• Press release
• Talking from website - ( will anger jouuno)
• Meeting - deciding course of action
• Present an argument
• Strategy plans/that suits club decisions
• Also able to announce self-reporting and inviting to investigate in the club
• Clean sport/ hide some thing ( stuck in the middle)
• Players interests are to be considered
• Involed lot of people (stakeholders)
• Managed all of them to back - (difficult to back)

In his words, he told that there are several aspect (mistakes) that might have dealt in a different way that might have helped them
• Loose lips (not sure - don't say)
• Make sure - cross exactly what happens, know consequences
• Individuals are in stress situation
• No access to primary sources - so story cooked up
• Internal control most important
• Goes external - out of control
• Staff must be fully aware- then members  and then to media

DO NOT STRESS ABOUT REFERENCES, WORK ON KEY REQUIREMENT OF THE TASK (changes would you have made to the club's media strategy )

MUST BE USE THE PROVIDED GUEST LECTURE NOTES IN ANSWERING

Referencing: In-Text (e.g. Harvard, APA or equivalent)