Public relations pros offer advice for the next crisis

FARMINGDALE - All but about a dozen of Morgan Stanley's 3,500 employees in the World Trade Center made it out alive Sept. 11 thanks to a crisis plan set up after the 1993 WTC bombing. They'd been equipped with flashlights and a detailed evacuation procedure.

The Morgan Stanley case serves as an example of how crisis planning can save lives, Long Island Power Authority spokesman Bert Cunningham told the Public Relations Professionals of Long Island at its December meeting. The event focused on PR in the post-9/11 world.

Crisis preparedness planning is an offshoot of the PR practice. Many firms offer it as part of their package to clients on retainer, and it's not just a matter of handling the press.

Crises can range from a disaster like a fire or flood to a death or serious injury on the job to a lawsuit, sexual harassment complaint or unflattering product report in the news media. About five out of six stem from management action, said Katherine Heaviside, president of Epoch 5 Marketing, a Huntington firm.