Northside Sun
By NELL LUTER FLOYD
Sunday 09/25/22-2:00PM
Whether you keep up with the news via social media, watch the Today show before heading to work or tune in to the evening news after work or read the New York Times or the Wall Street Journal, you probably have noticed national media drawn to the story of Jackson’s neglected drinking water system.
Lee Ragland, vice president and director of public relations at Godwin, an integrated marketing firm that located in downtown Jackson for 85 years, said there’s no question the water crisis has put the city in a negative light.
“If you think of Flint, Michigan, what do you think of?” he said, referring to that city’s crisis over its drinking water. “I think Jackson finds itself in that same situation. When the visual is brown water coming out of the faucets, that’s not good.”
Mignon Kucia, Ph.D., an associate professor of communications at Mississippi College, believes exactly how the large amount of media attention affects the city’s reputation remains to be seen but the best outcome that can be hoped for down the road is a neutral one.
The idea being “people don’t automatically think ‘bad water’ when they think of Jackson,” she said.
Kucia, who instructs a crisis communications class, said she watched the news on TV as the water crisis unfolded and couldn’t help but think “this is going to get ugly and be bad.”
The city of Jackson lacked an effective crisis management program, she said. Many organizations from churches to publicly traded companies invest time in crisis management plans so they know how to proceed, how to present a unified voice and what to say when an unanticipated event occurs that could damage their reputation or the financial bottom line, she said.
“If we look at Jackson as an organization, it’s evident there wasn’t a plan in place to address the crisis even though we’ve known for years it was an issue,” Kucia said.
Restauranteur Jeff Good sounded the alarm for many people on Facebook on July 30. He announced he had received notice, not from the city of Jackson, but the Mississippi State Department of Health that the entire city was yet again under a boil water notice due to a failure at the water treatment plant. That notice remained in place until Sept. 15 when it was lifted.
Good wrote: “I am begging our city to get honest about this and transparently divulge the seriousness of our situation.”
On Aug. 29, Gov. Tate Reeves declared a state of emergency due to little or no water pressure in the city, which has since been restored.
The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency was called in to help as were numerous other agencies and organizations that could offer specialized assistance. The Mississippi National Guard was put in place to distribute water at points throughout the city rather than just the one location the city had open before that time on a first-come, first-served basis.
The state also created a mobile incident command center, which is in place to help with repairs and improvements at the water treatment plant.
An effective crisis communications plan outlines who will be the spokesperson in a crisis, includes pre-written statements to fit the crisis so that nothing must be written on the fly and media contacts. In the case of Jackson, residents could have been advised prior to the water crisis to keep bottled water on hand should the water treatment plant fail, Kucia said.
“In the best-case scenario, there is a clear leader and a coordinated effort among all parties,” Kucia said. “You would have someone in charge who would say, ‘We’re going to speak with one voice and put the needs of the people before our needs to blame someone.’”
Reeves and Jackson Mayor Antar Chokwe Lumumba failed to initially present a unified voice, she said, with each one having his own news conference instead of joining for one.
A well-managed crisis has a spokesperson who provides transparent information and admits any challenges that are being faced. “If they manage it well, they have a chance to say, ‘We’ve messed up and this is what we’re doing to make it better,”’ Kucia said.
Providing up-to-date information is important she said, because otherwise people voice concerns that may be unfounded on social media. “In the absence of information, rumors start to fly,” she said.
Kucia sees a sliver of redemption occurring, providing the city uses resources from the state and federal governments to make repairs to the drinking water system, is transparent about the work and effectively mends broken relationships and lost trust.
A sense of community as happened after Hurricane Katrina hit the Mississippi Gulf Coast could be an unexpected outcome, she said. “It’s the esprit de corps that comes when there’s a problem like after Katrina or 9/11,” she said.
Many organizations from across the country have stepped in to provide residents with bottled water and that’s been helpful to many residents, Ragland said.
“It’s a positive that people have come in and helped but that shouldn’t have been necessary,” he said. “This is something that has been building over decades. It didn’t occur overnight.”
Rickey Thigpen, president and chief executive officer at Visit Jackson, sees the silver lining as the opportunity to repair the drinking water system in a major way. “We won’t have to have this as a weakness of ours in the future,” he said.
No city wants to make national news because of a water crisis, but Thigpen sees the positive side of things in the mayor’s communication with federal leaders.
“I’m glad the narrative from the vice president said, ‘We’re in constant communication with Mayor Lumumba in Jackson,’” Thigpen said. “How many mayor’s names are on the tongue of the vice president?”
Visit Jackson has received attention from its counterparts throughout the country who wanted to know what they could do to help, he said. Visit Jackson is putting out the word that the city is safe and open for business and that the traditional level of service is there, he said.
A good sign, Thigpen said, is that Visit Jackson landed on Sept. 9 the Southeast Tourism Society’s annual meeting scheduled for September 2023.
Only one media group wanted to delay a project in Jackson, he said, but Visit Jackson encouraged the group to stick with their plans.
“We said if you really want to help the city come now,” Thigpen said. “We’re waiting on a final answer. I think our message was compelling enough to convince them.”
The Visit Jackson Board of Directors announced the Tourism Water Crisis Sustainability Grant program, which has $50,000 in funding, for Jackson lodging, restaurant and museums and attractions, Thigpen said. The funding can be used for reimbursements for ice, water and soft drinks during the water crisis, he said.
Thigpen would like to invite members of the media to return to Jackson after the drinking water system is repaired and in good shape and provide the opportunity for them to tell that story. “I’d like to say, ‘This is where we were and this is where we are now,’” he said.
Above all, Ragland wants Jackson to succeed and flourish because that’s important for the entire state.
“We need Jackson to be a strong, vibrant city,” he said. “It’s the state capital. It’s the center of business. It should be the engine that drives the train.”