MUNCIE, Ind. - A society hungry for instant news updates following a crisis is forcing many organizations to review their crisis communication plans, say two Ball State University educators.

Failure to have an adequate method of dealing with media attention may lead to unwanted consequences during a major crisis, said Melvin Sharpe and Robert Pritchard, public relations professors.

About 81 percent of U.S. chief executive officers say their existing crisis management plans were inadequate to handle the myriad issues arising from the Sept. 11 tragedy, according to the third annual PR Week/Burson-Marsteller CEO Survey 2001 released this week. In addition, 63 percent of the CEOs surveyed report they have re-addressed their plans since the attacks.

"All organizations in society are vulnerable to media attention," Sharpe said. "In the past, organizations were able to operate with little outside knowledge of internal decisions or incidents.

"Today, communication is instantaneous," he said. "We have satellite television transmission, easy-to-use video cameras, the Internet, fax machines, 24-hour news and helicopters that can be at the center of an incident in minutes."

Many public relations officials do not have a seat at the decision table in order to shape how an organization communicates its message to the public, Pritchard said.

"However, when the public relations people have spoken, it's been my experience that the message often falls on deaf ears," he said.

In many recent situations, a major crisis left upper management bewildered by the intensity of media attention, Sharpe said.

"Top managers and corporate executive officers continue to operate as they have in the past, thinking normal management skills will allow them - personally in many cases - to serve the public relations needs of an organization," he said.

Pritchard urges upper management to embrace public relations officers in light of the potential for other serious incidents.

Business executives must have a full partnership with public relations when it comes to matters such as increased security, he said.

"Businesses must now decide if it is in their best interests to draw attention to increased security measures," Pritchard said. "The public relations person is in the best position to advise on this issue.

"Likewise, businesses must inform and reassure employees that every measure to protect them and their families is being taken," he said. "Investors will want to know what a company is doing to ensure survival and the impact of those measures on the bottom line."

By Marc Ransford, Media Relations Manager

(NOTE TO EDITORS: For more information, contact Sharpe at msharpe@bsu.edu  or (765) 285-8215. Pritchard may be reached at rpritchard@bsu.edu  or (765) 285-9104.)