So what are the three worst responses you can ever give to the news media during a time of crisis? Number one, is, in my opinion to say safety is our number one concern here at TJ Walker company. The problem with that message is it just sounds like complete nonsense if someone has just been hurt, injured, perhaps killed, maimed. Safety's obviously not your number one concern and no offense to all my clients out there who are in the oil and gas industry. But if you're extracting things from the earth that are highly flammable and combustible or you're moving them, safety, by definition is not your number one concern. Your number one concern is creating energy for people and fulfilling other services.
Safety's a part of that, but unless you're a manufacturer safety belts, safety's probably not the number one concern. The problem with that is a message is it just doesn't seem relevant. At a time when someone has been harmed, injured, hurt. So it's going to come across as completely self serving. And if it's any form of an edited interview, the chances are slim to none that that message will get into the final store. So that's why I say that's a horrible, horrible message during a time of crisis.
Now, later on, it's a week later A month later, people are sifting through how to change things, how to redesign the plant. Certainly that can be a message and certainly safety is important. All of my clients I work with, whether they're an oil, gas, energy or any other industry, safety is very important. Because it costs to beyond know the fact that nobody really wants to hurt anyone. It simply cost him I just not good business to have unsafe practices and harm people get fines. So safety is important but Now's not the time to talk about.
The second biggest blunder to make the worst response to make during the time of crisis is to say No comment. When you say no comment, what you're saying is I don't want to talk to you. I'm hiding something, you can assume I'm guilty. You now if you're a reporter, have lots and lots of time and space in your story. To quote everyone else who wants to attack me who wants to say that I'm a polluter or awful or doing horrible things or harasser or anything else. So it creates an information vacuum.
You're sending a message to the media, we're not going to work with you. And you look and sound guilty like a criminal from a bad TV show or movie. What's the third worst recession bots to the media during a time of crisis. Hiding. That's right, refusing to do the interview that's even worse than No comment. Because now the the reporter and the media can paint you is this nefarious, dark, evil force lurking in the shadows, who's completely on accountable, who is dodging public accountability.
So I don't believe you should ever during a time of crisis, refuse to do an interview. Now, maybe you can't do it this second, because you're putting out the fire and you're going to have to postpone the interviewer, the press conference for, let's say, 20 minutes. But the idea that you're going to push off all media interviews for hour, hours, days, weeks, no. All you're going to do is make the coverage dramatically more negative towards you and to do a lot to destroy your reputation.