by Susan Mann
Caribbean Net News Correspondent
Friday, October 28, 2005
ST THOMAS, USVI: Former CNN anchor Andria Hall, moderated a discussion with a panel of experts on the subject of "Crisis Communications for the Tourism Industry" before a packed room of delegates attending the annual Caribbean Tourism Conference on St. Thomas.
Panel members included; Andy Cooper, CEO, Federation of Tour Operators, UK, Barry Pitegoff, Vice President of Research, VISIT FLORIDA, the private-public partnership which is the official tourism board for the state of Florida, and Alan Parker, Deputy Managing Editor, Toronto Sun newspaper.
A key point made by the presenters was the need for the tourism industry to take the lead with both the media and the public when a crisis event takes place. Having a plan in place to thoroughly address how information about a crisis event is made available to the public was stressed.
Pitegoff said research indicates that once a period of three to seven days passes after a crisis event begins, people form a definite opinion about the associated facts, no matter what the source of is, or what they actually know to be accurate.
Cooper discussed the nature of crisis events, which he described as being either manmade, such as a crime against a person, or natural, such as a hurricane.
Andria Hall, who now runs her own consulting company, Speakeasy M.E.D.I.A., Inc., stressed the "Relationship Principle." The concept has three components. The need for tourism business owners to establish a solid relationship with the media before a crisis takes place, the need to share a sense mutual accountability for events, and for full public disclosure at all times.
When the media, and thus the public, is not given the facts to the fullest extent when a crisis event occurs, it often has a negative impact on media reporting, the public perception, and ultimately the tourism industry.
Delegates had numerous questions for the panelists. Among those coming to the microphone was the Director of Tourism for Aruba, who described the disappearance of Natalee Holloway as "the perfect storm".
The official also indicated that the Holloway family "had connections" and the media had arrived on the island of Aruba within two days of Holloway's disappearance. One result of this was that the ratings for FOX news, and the Nancy Grace show had doubled.
Aruban authorities had very little information to report since the investigation into Holloway's disappearance was on going. However, the public (still) watched the news stories about the missing young woman to hear what the media's discussion about it.
The victim's mother was available for frequent media appearances and comments, seemingly taking control of the investigation.
Panelist Pitegoff, who oversees grief and bereavement services for traveling family members in Florida, pointed out how difficult it was for the Holloway family that the victim's body was not recovered.
The training event concluded with a mandate for delegates to take put in writing, their vision for how to handle crisis events relating to the tourism community.
Victims' rights take a beating
If an obscure state commission comprised mostly of non-elected officials has its way, Alabamians may soon be reading news reports on local crimes that start something like this:
According to a police incident/offense report, someone was killed yesterday somewhere in the 200 block of Main Street.
Because the public portion of such incident/offense reports no longer provide victim information, it is impossible to determine the number of victims, their ages or occupations, their gender or race, the extent of their injuries, or the precise location of the crime. Police on the scene referred all questions to the chief of police, who could not be contacted.
That's it. That would be about the only information that the people of Alabama could routinely find out about victims of crimes if changes to the Alabama Uniform Incident/Offense Report used by police and sheriffs' departments around the state are approved.
If these changes are allowed to stand, it could prove to be the biggest setback to victims' rights this state has ever seen. Victims would no longer be real people who would engender sympathy from the public, but faceless statistics and numbers about whom no one outside their immediate families would care - or even know about.
The changes to the I/O reports were proposed last week by Alabama Criminal Justice Information Center Commission, a board supposedly made up of such criminal justice officials as the chief justice of the state Supreme Court and the Alabama Attorney General. But the chief justice and the attorney general and many other members of the commission send representatives in their stead.
Based on a previous attorney general's opinion, law enforcement officials usually release most of the information on the front of the current Incident/Offense reports to the public and news media, although sometimes they black out portions of the front as well. The back portion is usually not released.
But under the recommended changes approved unanimously by the commission, all specific information about a victim or victims would be moved to the back of the form, which would be labeled: "This side of Incident/Offense form is officer's work product and may not be public information."
The changes now must go through the Alabama Procedures Act, which allows for a public comment period on the proposals, so there is still time to reverse this wrongheaded decision. (No one objects to not releasing such information as Social Security or driver license numbers.)
Ironically, the changes were defended as a means of protecting victims. But in the real world, the effect will be just the opposite. Sophisticated proponents of victims' rights would recognize that this is the case.
It is too easy for society to ignore the plight of faceless, nameless victims. The public cannot identify with people who are relegated to the status of a number.
That is the reason that the family Natalee Holloway, the Birmingham teen who disappeared in Aruba, has fought so vigorously to get her face before the worldwide public, to humanize this story. Aruban authorities could have dumped this case in the inactive file long ago if it were not for the sympathy engender by publicity about the victim.
But it isn't just the victims in such high-profile cases who would be hurt. Reporters and editors who can no longer easily identify real people who are victims of crime sprees will tend to write less about those sprees, whether they are home break-ins or robberies or carjackings. Even when such stories appear, the public will be less likely to take them to heart if they cannot identify with specific victims.
Keeping victim identities secret also will make it more difficult for the press to hold police agencies accountable for adequately investigating and solving crimes.
We call on those public officials who have delegated this important decision to their appointees on the criminal justice commission to intervene to reverse it. It is difficult to imagine that Chief Justice Drayton Nabers and Attorney General Troy King, both of whom purport to be supporters of open government and the public's right to know, actually agree with the decision their representatives made in their names. Similarly, several of Gov. Bob Riley's appointees serve on this commission, including the heads of the Corrections and Public Safety departments. Their votes last week fly in the face of their boss's usual strong stance in favor of open government.
This was a bad decision. Alabamians should hope that the officials involved are big enough to admit a mistake and reverse it.
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I just can't stand the way any of the people involved with Aruba describe Beth. Natalee Holloway disappearance - "the perfect storm". How about the three criminals being described as the "perfect crime spree"??? " Beth has connections and frequently appears on news shows" - SO? We ALL want to know where Natalee was buried since we know WHO did it, then we DEMAND Justice. I agree that Aruba would have loved to dump this case in the waste basket within days. They make it sound like it's bad for a mother to arrive within 2 days of her daughter's "disappearance" looking to see what may have happened???? These people have NO respect for life that the bottome line. So another person goes missing - so what!! Just replace them with ANOTHER $$ spending tourist!! I think Aruba has gotten away with this kind of stuff for far too long.