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Wouldn’t it be nice to know in advance when and why your company or organization will receive telephone calls from the media? Believe it or not, you already have that ability right at your fingertips. Sure, there are instances where you can very well predict that a phone call is coming such as in the case of a strike, product recall, environmental disaster or workplace death. But what about those times when a call comes in that you weren’t expecting? While one half of your brain hears the voice on the other end of the line, the other half is frantically asking, “Why are they calling? What did we do? What happened that I don’t know about?”
What’s happening here is known in the news business as a Can It Happen Here story. Whenever a story is garnering national attention, local news media outlets will always attempt to localize the event. When Timothy McVie bombed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City in 1995, resulting in the deaths of 168 people, news outlets across the country went into Can It Happen Here mode. Officials were questioned about the safety of local federal buildings and federal employees were asked whether they felt safe in the workplace in light of the Oklahoma City incident. When tornadoes strike a part of the country, local media broadcast stories about local preparedness for such a disaster. When several children became ill after playing on a lawn treated with chemicals, landscaping companies across the country were forced to defend their practices.
The bottom line is that if there is a story that is making national news and if the story is connected to your business in any way, then there is a possibility that you could be the recipient of a Can It Happen Here call. Your job is simply to be aware of the possibility. When you read the morning paper, listen to the morning radio news or watch the morning television news, keep a watchful eye and ear for stories related to your business. If you find one, mentally rehearse what you would do and say if you came into the office and were called by the media. That way, when the call comes, you’re ready to confidently tell the media that due to your company’s standards, policies, and professionalism, this couldn’t happen here!
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