Crisis Public Relations in Action

When I was young, my parents made it clear to me that if I spilled something I needed to clean it up. While Dick Cheney is cleaning up his mess, it is too little too late. The damage has already been done.

Vice president Dick Cheney finally gave an interview today to answer questions about the hunting incident. His single appearance with Fox News occurred four days after the incident took place. Communicating with the public is an important aspect of crisis public relations. However, there were several mistakes made that should never occur during crisis management.

First, Cheney didn’t ask for help from Bush aids. He dealt with the situation on his own causing him to manage the situation poorly. Second, there was a 20 hour delay before news explaining that Cheney had actually shot his friend Harry Whittington. Third, Cheney did not speak publicly about the incident until four days after the incident.

When managing a crisis it is essential to speak with one voice. This did not occur. Because Dick Cheney was stonewalling the media, Bush aids made statements that lacked the coherence of a single voice. The White House blamed Whittington, said there was no drinking, and explained that Whittington was only hit by ten pellets. When he finally spoke about the incident, Cheney accepted responsibility, said drinking was involved (although he only had one beer three hours before), and news surfaced showing that Whittington was hit by over 150 pellets.

Dick Cheney’s image has been damaged as a result of his failure to properly deal with the incident. His stonewalling tactics and the lack of unified voice is causing a stir among the public. Since Cheney waited so long before giving an interview, the interview seems more like a political tactic than an actually apology. If Cheney had been open about the incident from the start, the newsworthiness of this story would be significantly less than it is now.

Cheney Incident