This blog was only six months old when I was contacted by Drew Levinson, who asked if I would help him learn more about the profession of crisis management. Drew was certainly no stranger to crises. As a broadcast correspondent for CBS News, Drew covered terrorist attacks in New York City, Hurricane Katrina, the crash of the Concorde, the Columbine tragedy, and the U.S. Airways “Miracle on the Hudson.” Drew wanted to take that experience “over the fence” to become a crisis communications consultant. We made a gentlemen’s agreement to continue talking. A short time later, we’ve partnered on a few crisis-focused media coaching assignments.
Drew’s a terrific guy with an insatiable inquisitive spirit – great qualities for journalists and crisis managers alike. I decided it was time to turn the tables on Drew – to put the microphone and spotlight on him by asking these Three Tough Q’s:
Q1: Based on your experiences and opinion, how common is “thesis journalism,” where more than 50% of a story is written before a company spokesperson is interviewed about a crisis situation?
It’s extremely common. Most crisis situations are sudden and ongoing breaking news stories. Therefore the correspondent’s job is to get information to the public as quickly as possible. That means getting visuals and getting someone to talk.