As a publicly funded institution, Washington State University's College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences has an obligation to inform the public of its activities and of events that involve the university. Crisis communications have a lasting impact on institutional reputation and public support. How well we get our message across to the public greatly depends on what is reported by the news media. This is especially true in crises, during which the news media is the primary means of communication to our constituencies. Because of the emotions that usually accompany crises, images formed from crises reporting are especially important agents in molding long-lasting public impressions of the institution. These impressions influence all current and future stakeholders.

In crises, CAHNRS must respond immediately and be open and candid in disseminating accurate and complete information to the public. This communication plan presumes that it is in the college's interest to take a pre-emptive approach to public relations crises and that our preferred strategy will be one of forthcoming disclosure of as much confirmed information as possible. The goal is to minimize speculation, inaccurate and negative publicity. By acting in this manner, the institution has more influence on what the media reports and acts to end the public relations aspect of a crisis as quickly as possible.

This plan governs public communications about emergencies that involve CAHNRS personnel or property. These would include, but are not limited to accidents, illegal acts, civil disobedience, acts of nature, disasters, etc.

 Initial Response – Reporting Incidents or Threats
When an incident occurs, or a threat is received, the following notifications should be made as quickly as possible, in this order:
1. Relevant law enforcement/emergency agencies.
2. Relevant administrators; i.e., department chair, station director, director, dean.

Administrators' Responsibilities
1. Confirm that a crisis has occurred. If so, ensure the area is secure and personnel are safe.
2. Collect essential information on which to determine what his or her response should be.
3. Establish that relevant law enforcement and emergency personnel have been notified if appropriate.
4. Notify a member of the CAHNRS news team.

Notifications through the fourth level should occur as quickly as possible, regardless of the time of day or night, or the day of the week, irrespective of holidays, etc.

5. Direct relevant university employees on the scene to preserve evidence at the scene for law enforcement, and for potential photo opportunities, if possible. No cleanup should begin until the area is secure so data won't be lost and personnel won't be exposed to additional emotional or physical hazards.
6. Include a news team member in all discussions regarding the incident, if possible. If this isn't possible, brief news team member on all discussions as soon as possible.
7. In consultation with a member of the news team, classify the incident according to the following ranking, which determines response from this point on:
          Priority One:     Crisis media response.
          Priority Two:   Timely media response.
          Non-Priority:   Routine or non-media response.
8. Work with the news writer to develop strategy and appropriate messages.
9. Review and approve talking points, fact sheets and news releases.
10. Where major incidents are concerned, or where especially sensitive issues are involved, the highest CAHNRS administrator available will designate an official spokesperson to whom media questions will be referred. (This person must be available to the media throughout the crisis reporting period.)
11. Make himself or herself quickly available to the news writer and news media throughout the crisis period or designate an informed administrator to be the point person for these purposes. Whoever fills this function must be available outside normal office hours and must be willing to interrupt meetings, if necessary, to be accessible to the news team and/or news media. Responsibilities to media may include participating in press conferences and being interviewed in person or by telephone.

News Team's Responsibilities
1. Immediately respond to the emergency and the needs of the news media.
2. Consult with relevant administrator to determine the level of response needed.
3. Work with law enforcement (if involved) and university personnel to develop facts.
4. Draft talking points, fact sheets and news releases as appropriate.
5. Coordinate with News and Information Services. If the incident is of a nature that central administration should be advised or consulted, the director of NIS will be responsible for this communication.
6. News writer disseminates news release to news media.
7. Make himself or herself constantly available to the media until the crisis is over and media interest abates.
8. If appropriate (a major disaster or continuing crisis), create a Web page to assist reporting to the media and directly to the public.
9. Delegate lateral and vertical transmission of information to other university officials.

Event Classifications and Responses

Priority One: Crisis Media Response Any incident in which there is a significant degree of concern for public safety. This includes criminal acts, accidents, natural disasters, fires, etc. Any incident in which the news media would have high interest and an expectation for immediate reporting or any incident involving potentially serious problems for the university's public image. Response: Immediate notification to the news team and immediate action by it, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Every reasonable effort should be made to release an alert to the news media within an hour, or less, giving bare minimum details of the time, place and nature of the event with an assurance that the alert will be followed as quickly as possible with a more detailed report. Follow-up news releases will be made as needed and as quickly as essential details can be compiled. Depending on the nature of the event and the media's interest, continued follow-up reporting will be done as information becomes available and as official statements can be prepared. For major events this stage of crisis response may continue for days or even weeks.

Priority Two: Timely Media Response Any event that the Dean (or next highest CAHNRS administrator) and news writer determine can be handled on a next-business-day basis. Good faith efforts to meet media deadlines, if the media inquires, and to report in a timely manner as defined by journalistic standards.

Priority Three: Routine or Non-Media Response Any event that the Dean (or next highest CAHNRS administrator) and news writer determine poses no need for crisis communications, either by its nature or magnitude. The matter will be left in the hands of the news team, which will use its news judgment on whether reporting to the media is needed.

Priorities for CAHNRS News Distribution

• Priority One: Technical support will be called in to process news releases and assist the news team if the news writer anticipates doing news work outside of normal office hours. Crisis communications will take precedence over all other activities as needed, until the crisis is over or the urgency moves to a lower level. Emergency notifications will go first to wire services and local media. In the highest level of crisis operations, immediate communications may be limited to wire services and local media, but will be expanded as quickly as possible.
• Priority Two and Three: News releases will be processed and disseminated according to regular policy.

Implementation
This plan should be read by all faculty and staff, and copies should be kept in every department and unit of CAHNRS. Each department and unit should develop and keep current, an emergency call reference card. This card should contain contact information for key persons in the department, both during and outside of business hours. The card should be small enough to fit in a wallet.