It is 4 p.m. on a quiet Friday in August. Top executives are away on vacation or business trips. The corporate headquarters is emptying out as employees leave for the weekend. Suddenly the quiet is broken by the roar of motors, as a horde of television vans appears at the front gate. Satellite dishes sprout on the lawn like mushrooms.
Reporters barge into the lobby, microphones thrust like lances into the faces of startled employees.
An incident has occurred at one of the company's facilities, and the media wants a comment. Every company must be prepared for this nightmare. The incident that triggers it could be a pipeline explosion or a hacker attack that paralyzes a corporate Web site. Regardless, the press will want answers. And if the wrong message is given to the press, the damage a company suffers could be irreversible.