10- Randy Rask- Crisis Communication and the New York Anthrax Attacks

Randy Rask

Reference:  Mullin, Sandra (2003)  Journal of Health Communication; Jul2003 Supplement 1, Vol. 8, p15, 2p

Theme:  How certain communication strategies helped the public during the anthrax attacks in New York City in 2001.  Mayor Giuliani displays great communication skills during these attacks and his template is now used for crisis communications. 

Summary: 

-          In 2001, a man by the name of Bob Stevens who lived in New York City had been diagnosed with anthrax. 

-          A panic started to form around the city of New York.  This is when Mayor Rudy Giuliani held a press conference on the matter.  Mayor Giuliani was known around this time for displaying great communication skills during the 9/11 attacks only a month earlier.  He had been holding a very large amount of press conferences during this time about relief efforts. 

-          Mayor Giuliani is described as someone who displays empathy and mastery over information during press conferences. 

-          These skills helped him to report information during the anthrax scares.  Press conferences would be key during the anthrax response. 

-          Many troubles came about from these anthrax scares including unclear messages for the public, anxiety, and "sealed-envelope" information.  By having good crisis communication skills and previous crisis communication experience, Mayor Giuliani helped the public receive accurate and timely information on the issue.

 

Application to Lesson Topic:

                Press conferences can be a game changer during a crisis.  By displaying proper media communication skills during a disaster, you are able to keep the public informed, keep misinformation at bay, and get the public on your side.  By doing this, relief efforts will prove to be more efficient.  Mayor Giuliani displays good crisis communication skills during 9/11 and the anthrax scares a month later.  By having these skills, the public was well informed the panic was mitigated.  Without these skills, the situation could have possibly spiraled out of control much worse than they did.

Application to Emergency Services:

In the emergency service field, we are often required to participate in press conferences so that the media has something to report during a disaster.  Crisis communication skills are very important to possess when participating in these press conferences.  By following Mayor Giuliani's template for crisis communication, we will be able to more effectively speak to the media.