Danielle Peracchio

Professor Nolfe
COM 361 JE
September 22, 2016
Assignment 2
1. What would you have recommended Chairman Rawl do upon learning of the Prince
William Sound oil spill?
Upon learning the news of the Prince William Sound oil spill I would have recommended that
Chairman Rawl first fly to Alaska and show his support to assure that the public would be
amended and help lessen the worries. Also, try to establish the most effective media center for
ample communication throughout Alaska and the rest of the world. Lastly, I would make sure
that the rapidity of Exxons response was much higher.
2. How would you have handled the media in this case?
If Exxon handled the media more effectively it could have helped this oil spill crisis in major
ways. Due to the remoteness of Valdez, Alaska it was complicated to have full communication
outside of the Alaska area. In order to communicate better I would have suggested there be
several media centers across the country communicating the updates and factual points of
interest surrounding this crisis. Also, in order for other reporters to get efficient information to
the public there should have been more available phone lines from Valdez to New York.
3. What would have been your timing in terms of public relations responses in this case?
In terms of the timing of Exxons Chairman Rawl response was incredibly delayed which caused
for a far worse situation that they were already in. In my opinion the most crucial time for a
response with a situation like this in the first 48 hours, it can truly make or break the trust with
the public. By addressing the public sooner it creates a sense of trust, and unity between Exxon
and the public.
4. What would be your overall public relation strategy aggressive, low key, or middle-ofthe-road if you were Exxons public relations director?
In a situation such as this, with such horrible circumstances being Exxons public relation
director I would needs to have an overall aggressive public relation strategy. Exxon should have
been far more persistent and on top of talking to the public and getting information out there
quickly. By not responding vigorously they are looked at as being too relaxed and make it appear
as if they are not taking responsibility. By having an aggressive strategy it will cover bases from
the government, environmental organization and the general public. Also by having an
aggressive plan you can put into place a relief fund to put on display showing that you are trying
to commend the oil spill crisis.

5. Do you think this will ever qualify as a textbook example of what not to do in a crisis?
I think this case already has been qualified as a textbook example of what not to do in a crisis
like this oil spill. Ironically, many years later almost the same situation happened with the BP oil
spill crisis. BP knew if they wanted to survive their oil spill crisis that they could not be the next
Exxon Valdez. Exxon Valdez is now known as the mother of all public relations crisis
catastrophes.
6. Now that Exxon has merged with Mobil, what is the corporation doing about
environmental issues? What is ExxonMobil doing about environmental issues? Why
would the company continue to issue news releases about environmental activities so
many years after the Exxon Valdez incident?
ExxonMobils website allows the public to be updated as to what they are doing now and that
they will be doing tomorrow to environmentally protect our life cycle. A quote from their site,
ExxonMobil is committed to operating in an environmentally responsible manner while
providing the energy needed to power the worlds progress. ExxonMobils Corporate
Environment Policy and Protect Tomorrow. I think by them putting out news releases it allows
for more reassurance with the public to ensure they are always in the loop compared to the
previous Exxon Valdez incident.