The recent and untimely death of Michael Jackson presents a great case study in crisis planning for public relations practitioners worldwide.
Perhaps Michael Jackson, Inc. had public relations counsel. If so, there most likely would have been some sort of crisis media plan in place to respond to any unforeseen “big event.” When envisioning this “big event,” his counsel probably never thought they would be communicating about the unthinkable demise of the CEO, but most professionally prepared crisis plans include general guidelines for what to say, what not to say and how to keep the media at bay without lying to reporters (Professional Note: Never Lie to a Reporter) until the public relations counsel has the time to get an official statement prepared.
If there indeed was a crisis media plan in force, it probably didn’t include a section entitled, “If Michael Jackson dies suddenly, do the following.” Crisis media plans are guidelines for carefully selected responders who understand the plan of action and are prepared to act rationally in a moment of total chaos. If the crisis plan is sitting on a shelf somewhere in NeverLand, what good can it do?
With Jackson’s history of, let’s say, unorthodox behavior over the years, if there was not a plan in effect to handle the unexpected, then someone wasn’t reading his press clippings.
A good crisis media plan, read and understood, represents the best money the firm will ever spend, even if it is never used.