Patrick O’Reilly serves as the president of OPR Communications, a full-service media relations and public affairs firm in Riverside, California. OPR Communications works closely with clients to align their goals with a marketing strategy that yields positive results. Patrick O’Reilly’s Riverside team offers a variety of services, including helping clients with corporate communications and crisis management. OPR Communications has also received several PRSA Polaris and Capella Awards in the crisis communications category.
A subcategory of public relations (PR), crisis communications involves relaying information to the community, employees, and media regarding an emergency or situation with the potential to damage a company’s reputation. A PR manager acts as a liaison in communicating the facts of whatever event is happening at a company or location to help eliminate any misconceptions or the spread of misinformation.
One of the first things that a spokesperson or PR manager should do is prepare a crisis management plan well before a catastrophe occurs. It is best to run through scenarios that could pertain to your business, develop a script of what you would say to the media, and make a contact list of who else in the organization should be involved in relaying information.
