Business Review: How a nation learns a PR crisis-handling lesson #colectiv

Newsroom Crisis Communication, PR

56 60 dead and over 140 injured. A toll of pain and suffering that seems to never end. A country reborn out of solidarity and desire for change has to learn the hard way that corruption and the lack of proper information destroy lives. But what was also learned is how to get up and start taking new steps, the right ones, in the right direction and with a higher purpose. BR spoke with some of the most appreciated PR specialists with expertise in crisis management in order to find out more about how they saw the situation and what lessons learned can be applied in the future.

Unfortunately, PR crisis management in the administration and the public sector was handled weakly, if not poorly, and all our respondents were in agreement with this statement. “There is a lack of capacity in the public administration generally and in communication even more. There are very few governments in recent history that have understood the need to have powerful teams of communication experts. From civil servants to state secretaries and ministers, all are refusing to be guided and advised by PR experts. They lack the reflex of consultation and they trust only the people from their inner circles that are not necessarily experienced, especially in dealing with a crisis of this dimension,” said Corina Vintan, founder and managing director at Links Associates- Edelman Affiliate.

As became apparent in the media landscape, Romania has the type of media that tends to “hijack” the message that should be delivered to people. “We have talking heads, with vested agendas, moderated by people with vested interests, no proper debate, stifled discussions, the same “analysts “ everywhere. No doubt people realize that the situation is deliberately kept at this level. That’s why in my opinion, the real debates are happening now on Facebook, the new analysts are also on FB, the new aggregators are on FB. The real, genuine discourse is now in social media,” added Vintan.

Read the entire material, an exclusive one, in English, on Business Review’s website. Among the top Romanian PR specialists who shared their opinions on the communication crisis at the level of Romanian state institutions in the aftermath of Colectiv disaster are:

  • Corina Vintan – Links Associates- Edelman Affiliate
  • Crenguta Rosu – DC Communication
  • Sorana Savu – Premium Communication
  • Ana-Maria Diceanu – GMP PR
  • Bogdan Theodor Olteanu –  Daescu Bortun Olteanu
  • Anca Rancea – Freelance PR Consultant