UCLA Medical Center Unprepared for Major Event -- Tellem PR Crisis Scale a "3"

June 25, 2009 -- Malibu, CA -- Using its proprietary Tellem PR Crisis Scale, Tellem Worldwide, Inc. gives Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center a 3 out of 5 for poor crisis preparedness and potential damage to the brand. After the death of superstar Michael Jackson at 2:26 pm today, the medical center had more than enough time to prepare for the press conference called on site for 5:15 pm. In fact, if a crisis plan was in place for one of the best known and largest medical centers in the country, it would have taken about one hour to implement all the steps.

"I was extremely surprised at UCLA Medical Center's lack of preparedness," says Susan Tellem, partner and head of the company's crisis management team. "We handled the announcement of the first baby born in the world by ovum transfer and had no trouble fitting hundreds of media into the hospital auditorium in Long Beach. We also handled all the media for the Santa Barbara DA in the Jackson trial and again accommodated more than a thousand media with the help of all the agencies in Santa Barbara. All UCLA needs to do is prepare, rehearse and react."

Instead at 5:15, the courtyard was filled with media and many people who had come to the hospital to pay their respects or just rubberneck. The crush of people with no police presence in sight hampered the ability for reporters to report the news and the following occurred:
• An announcement was made that the press conference would be held in the auditorium. Hundreds ran across the street to the auditorium as the glass doors were abruptly locked by what appeared to be frightened security guards.• Credentialed reporters were then told to go to another location, and when they arrived, many were told the room was at capacity.
• There was no UCLA Medical Center spokesperson or ER physician at the press conference. Instead the press conference spokesperson was Jermaine Jackson.

Recommended actions:
 One of the best known hospitals in the country most likely to receive celebrities in its emergency room should develop a crisis plan that is detailed, rehearsed and re-rehearsed with physicians, nurses, executive staff and law enforcement;
 Appoint and train a hospital spokesperson (and several backups) who can talk about a variety of potential illnesses and injuries; provide a lab coat with the hospital's name prominently displayed; and
 Identify a press conference site large enough to accommodate at least 1,000 reporters from all over the world pre-credentialing them.

Tellem Worldwide, an agency with years of experience in assisting companies prepare for and/or manage crises, launched its proprietary "PR Crisis Scale" in 2004 as a tool companies and the media can use to help grasp the depth and ramifications of negative publicity as it occurs and learn the steps required to remedy it.
Susan Tellem, president & CEO of Tellem Worldwide and crisis expert, says her 30 years in public relations, as well as the increasing ability of reporters, blogs and social media to spread a negative story worldwide, spawned the idea of creating a PR Crisis Scale. Patterned after the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale, the Tellem PR Crisis Scale ranks the public relations aspects of a crisis from 1 to 5, with 5 being the greatest, based on its severity.

"Our Crisis Scale answers that question by ranking the severity compared to previous crises and outcomes." Tellem adds that by knowing the size and potential negative impact of a crisis, companies and the government can manage their expectations and resources better, thus giving them the best chance to repair an image and win back the public's (and media's) trust.

Like a hurricane, a PR crisis can increase or decrease in intensity based on subsequent developments. Some examples of crises and their rankings include:
5 -- Exxon Oil Spill/ New York Ferry (typically death and/or destruction
4 - American Beef Industry/Tenet hospital sale/Martha Stewart (millions of dollars at stake - reputation in danger of tremendous loss of credibility)
2 - Janet Jackson Super Bowl malfunction/Crocodile Hunter and his baby/Kobe Bryant case (big corporate apologies and/or damage to the brand)
1 - Britney-Madonna kiss/Winona Ryder theft (most celebrity antics unless they involve damage to the brand)

Some cases like the Jackson case defy categorization because of the very real damage to the reputation of the celebrity guilty or innocent, the potential for a sharp decline in the power of the brand, compounded by the tremendously vocal fan base and high profile attorneys.

With divisions in healthcare, food, entertainment and energy, Tellem Worldwide has expertise in broad range of PR crises, from celebrity scandal and healthcare fraud to product liability and wrongful death. The Tellem staff has been called in to act as experts for both law firms and media, including Entertainment Tonight and C-SPAN.
"When the media needs a professional opinion or a defendant's lawyer wants to protect the image of a client, our PR Crisis Scale helps illustrate the severity of a crisis in the news and its potential fallout," says Tellem. "With widespread and watchful media on alert, elected officials, celebrities and corporate management can find themselves being tried in the court of public opinion overnight."

Susan Tellem heads the crisis team along with John Tellem, who leads the agency's entertainment practice. For more information, visit www.tellem.com, call 310-313-3444 or email stellem@tellem.com. Follow Tellem Worldwide on Twitter: @tellem