We’ve just done our round-up of the best and worst interviews of the year.
‘The cover-up is worse than the crime’.
This crisis media management wisdom has been around for a long time.
But it is still not always followed.
Take Harry Brook as an example.
For those who don’t know, Brook is a cricket star and England’s white-ball captain.
And he has been enduring a torrid time in the crisis communication spotlight.
Brook originally made headlines at the start of the year, after it was reported he was punched – or “clocked” to use his words – by a nightclub bouncer in New Zealand the evening before an England defeat last November.
He initially responded with a statement. It said: “I am determined to learn from this mistake and to rebuild trust through my future actions, both on and off the field. I apologise unreservedly and will work hard to ensure this does not happen again.”
When he addressed the media ahead of a series with Sri Lanka a few weeks later, the skipper elaborated on what had happened and insisted he was out on his own at the time of the incident.
He said the evening had started with some players “going out for food”.
And added: "There was no intention of going out, no intention of putting ourselves in a tricky situation.
"I took it upon myself to go out for a few more, and I was on my own there. I shouldn't have been there.
"I was trying to get into a club, and the bouncer just clocked me, unfortunately. I wouldn't say I was absolutely leathered. I'd had one too many drinks."
I remember thinking at the time it was strange he had decided to stay out longer alone. The explanation didn’t seem to pass the sniff test.
And the defence soon crumbled, with the Daily Telegraph reporting that teammates Jacob Bethell and Josh Tongue were also present.
It was a revelation that triggered more crisis communication.
In yet another statement, Brook said: “I accept responsibility for my actions in Wellington and acknowledge others were present that evening.
“I regret my previous comments and my intention was to protect my team-mates from being drawn into a situation that arose as a result of my own decisions.
"I have apologised and will continue to reflect on the matter. This has been a challenging period in my career, but one from which I am learning.”
He added: "I recognise I have more to learn regarding the off-field responsibilities that come with leadership and captaincy. I remain committed to developing in this area and to improving both personally and professionally."
Some people will understand the desire to protect friends and teammates. It might be viewed as admirable.
But as a crisis comms strategy, it is a horribly flawed approach.
The drip feed of new information – followed each time by an apology - has kept the story in the news cycle three months after the incident happened, creating more damning headlines, media coverage and opinion pieces.
Words like ‘lied’ and ‘backtrack’ are never a good look for anyone. They are embarrassing.
The lack of transparency detracts from Brook’s credibility and creates doubts about his leadership suitability. His coach, Brendan McCullum, has since said he is a “work in progress off the field.”
But it also raises uncomfortable questions about who else knew what had happened and decided that not making a full disclosure was the best approach.
Was McCullum aware? Rob Key, the director of cricket? England Cricket Board chief executive Richard Gould?
It seems unlikely Brook acted alone in opting to hide the truth.
What crisis comms lessons can you learn from this?
McCullum said last week he felt the fallout from the story had been handled “pretty well”.
And he added he found it “quite annoying” that the media “keep going on and on about it”.
The reason journalists continue to focus on the story is because it has not been handled well at all.
So, what can others learn from this?
Firstly, there is some food for thought here about breaking your own bad news.
Brook told the media he didn’t think the “story would ever come out”.
That seems naïve. And it also feels uncomfortable when you are discussing the same damning story in a press conference.
In an age of smartphones, social media, citizen journalism and increased scrutiny, it was inevitable the story would break at some point. Brook is high-profile in the cricket world.
Would it not be better to take control and break the story yourself? When Brook told senior management about the incident, he was fined £30,000, given a final warning and told he nearly lost the captaincy.
That information – if released proactively – would have helped show that decisive action was taken and given the England Cricket Board some control of the story.
The sorry saga also highlights that effective crisis communication is never about half-truths, untruths, cover-ups or withholding information.
It should be about anticipating and understanding public sentiment, taking responsibility, expressing empathy with those affected and explaining difficult situations honestly and factually. Then explaining how what went wrong is being put right.
It is not normally the initial problem that causes the most reputational damage.
It is the cover-up.
As we stress during our crisis communication training courses, there is often a natural and understandable temptation to play down the significance of what has happened or lessen the problem.
That temptation would have certainly been there in an England setup already facing accusations about its culture.
But it must be ignored.
As we said at the start, the cover-up is worse than the crime.
It deepens suspicion, impacts trust and ensures you lose control of the narrative – look again at those headlines and the fact Brook is currently on three apologies for the same story.
Our crisis communication courses stress that transparency, responsibility, accountability and empathy are essential.
When Brook and his team have finished with the T20 World Cup, maybe he should book himself - and those around him - on a course with our expert tutors.
He needs the help.
His current approach to crisis communication has left him on a particularly sticky wicket.
Media First are media and communications training specialists with more than 40 years of experience.
We have a team of trainers, each with decades of experience working as journalists, presenters, communications coaches and media trainers.
Find out more about our crisis communication training courses.
