1) I've seen "crisis communications" mentioned a bit today in context of Ford presser.

For PR ppl, we learn abt crisis comms in school & often as part of ongoing professional development.

For laypeople, this might be a new term.

Let's look at how it was approached today.

2) In communications, a crisis can be defined as an event that involves an organization, requires quick response & risks reputational damage.

Public apologies are often key strategy in crisis comms plan.

An apology is exactly what Ford tried this a.m. https://www.tvo.org/article/its-too-late-for-apologies-the-crisis-is-here

3) But what was Ford government focusing on as it pressed play on what looked like an attempt at crisis communications?

If you are in the middle of a pandemic where 7,500+ Ontarians have died, should the focus of crisis comms plan simply be a political party's approval rating?

4) The Ford gov't views what's happening as a crisis, but for itself as a gov't more so than one of public health, hospitals, illness & death.

And it's not crisis communications if you apologize for the WRONG thing & drop a nuclear warhead on what's left of trust in the process.

5) What the Ford government doesn't realize it needs is not a crisis communications plan to save votes but a crisis communications plan to help save lives.

There is a big disconnect in what Ontario was given today vs. what the province needs from leaders to weather this storm.

6) When Ontarians are dying en masse, vented patients are being transported hundreds of kms to try to save their lives & needed surgeries are cancelled, the gov't needs a crisis comms plan that explains what we're facing, how we're going to get thru it & what people need to do.

7) What we deserved this morning is a premier who cares about us with a plan to fix the catastrophe he's created & to save lives.

Instead we got a premier whose PR people have a crisis communications plan focused on saving his political career & the next election. End/