MUNCIE, Ind. - The U.S. government did a good, but not perfect, job in handling crisis communications in the hours immediately following Tuesday's terrorist attacks, says a Ball State University educator.

Robert Pritchard, a public relations professor and former military public affairs official for Europe and the Middle East, said a delay in the response from the White House was an issue.

"I was concerned about the lag in time it took for a statement to be issued from our governmental leadership," he said. "People were looking for reassurance. They wanted to hear the president say that we were strong. It took time for that to come.

"Overall, I would give the government a ‘B'," Pritchard said. "You have to find a way to communicate quickly. This was pretty monumental. They could have done better earlier and earned an ‘A.'"

A statement from President George W. Bush was issued 45 minutes after jet airliners slammed into the World Trade Towers in New York and the Pentagon in Washington.

The delay may be attributed to the possibility that Bush or the White House may have been at risk. U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft said on Wednesday Air Force One and the White House may have been a target of Tuesday's terror attacks and there was ‘credible information' the plane that hit the Pentagon may have been intended for the White House.

"I was thinking at the time that there were a lot of challenges that prevented the president from getting out in front," Pritchard said. "The Secret Service had a role in this and there were other concerns about terrorism. This led them to be cautious."

Pritchard now teaches public relations after honing his skills in the military as a captain in the U.S. Navy. He is the former director of public affairs for the U. S. military forces in Europe, responsible for handling media relations for all the military service in Europe and the Middle East.

He spent most of Tuesday taking notes that will be used in his crisis communications classes as well as other public relations courses.

"As I started watching it unfold, it occurred to me that this was a great opportunity to study crisis communications," Pritchard said. "In fact, I threw out the lesson plan for Tuesday's class, which was on the principles of public relations. This was a crisis that we haven't had since Pearl Harbor.

"This was a classic case of crisis communications," he said. "The first reports were wrong and I saw a great deal of confusion. It clearly shows that public relations professionals should start moving quickly, but be cautious of those initial reports."

By Marc Ransford, Communications Manager

(NOTE TO EDITORS: For more information, contact Pritchard at rpritchard@bsu.eduor (765) 285-9104.)