(1) The first major press conference after an emergency is a critical opportunity to provide information, reassurance & hope. It must be done well.
The evening presser on the FIU bridge collapse in Miami wasn't done well.
The evening presser on the FIU bridge collapse in Miami wasn't done well.
(2) First, the briefing should be managed by one person, such as the Police Chief, Fire Chief or Mayor. The Miami-Dade County Mayor is in Hong Kong on a trade mission, so the Deputy Mayor began the briefing. He did OK, then handed over to others. We didn't see him again.
(3) Gov Scott spoke next. I give him a 7/10. Sen Rubio was excellent: I give him a 10/10. Maybe he should be the next governor? He sure as hell isn't going to be a POTUS. Florida is a large state that needs an excellent governor. I hope it's him.
(4) The person whose role ultimately bears the greatest responsibility for this tragedy is the FIU President, Mark Rosenberg. He sits atop the bureaucracy that is the client for the project. The technical advisers in his organization made the call on design, build & oversight.
(5) Reading Mark Rosenberg's bio, which starts in the 1970s, it's clear that he is one of the most powerful politicians in Florida, let alone Miami. He is establishment, he is swamp, and he is trying the sympathy card while claiming "everything" was done right.
It wasn't.
It wasn't.
(6) Later in the briefing, when Rosenberg is answering questions, you can see the people behind him shuffling, looking down, looking sideways, and generally showing body language that screams discomfort at what he's saying, but also fear of him.
(7) Sweetwater Mayor Orlando Lopez spoke. His city has about 15,000 people. When elected in 2015 he got 936 votes versus 598 votes for his nearest competitor. Turnout was 24%, or 2,176 votes.
Protocol demanded he be allowed to speak, but he didn't add any informational value.
Protocol demanded he be allowed to speak, but he didn't add any informational value.
(8) There are tiny cities and counties all over the USA. It's very inefficient, ineffective and it breeds corruption. Similarly, some counties, like Miami-Dade & Cook County, IL, are ridiculously large for the county model of govt. Voter turnout is too low to be a check on power.
(9) It comes down to this: If you can't re-organize local govt so it functions better, at least co-ordinate your emergency mgmt & comms training so you have better press briefings. I have a lot of respect for the Fire Dept and PD involved in this response. Others, notsomuch.
(10) This briefing should have planned by the lead speaker's PR boss who then briefs the other speakers and PR people beforehand. You head off curly questions at the pass by stating unequivocally that speculation about causes won't be entertained at the briefing.
(11) Having stated that you won't respond with speculation about causes (because you don't have accurate info yet), it's easier to bat away the inevitable questions because the reporter looks inappropriate for asking. But you have to go out strong to do this.
(12) The Deputy Mayor was weak and laid everyone wide open for tricky questions about who is to blame. The FIU President, instead of reminding reporters he couldn't comment, went into full We Did Nothing Wrong mode. Which is unacceptable.
