In the news this week is another campus crisis. (click here) Fifteen students including three current football players at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth were arrested and charged with drug trafficking as a result of a police sting operation. TCU officials took the rare move of releasing all information in real time including statements, press releases, and held a full open news conference on the day the news broke.
Compare this with Penn State where transparency by university leaders took some time to appear.
We’re not comparing the severity of the offenses…both are bad. However the immediate openness that TCU is exhibiting can go a long way in preventing massive damage to its reputation. In a crisis, you can’t control the news of the day. You can control the timeliness and credibility of your response.