Communications

Crisis Communications: Managing the First 72 Hours

Message discipline, timing, uncertainty, legal coordination, and credibility during the critical first phase of a major public-safety incident.

Course Details

Course Overview

Practical Context Before the Next Decision.

This course prepares public safety leaders and communicators to manage the first hours and days after a major incident, when facts are incomplete and pressure is highest. Participants learn how to establish message discipline, coordinate with command and legal personnel, communicate what is known without speculation, and maintain credibility as information changes. Attendees leave with a practical communication framework for the first 72 hours.

Designed ForCommand staff, PIOs & municipal leaders
Format1 day
Course AreaCommunications

Course Focus

Initial response and messaging strategyManaging uncertainty and incomplete informationCoordination with command staff and legal counselMaintaining credibility under pressure

Instruction

Meet the Practitioners Leading This Course.

Course leadership is matched to the subject and grounded in direct professional experience.

Matt Petrillo headshot
Instructor of Crisis and Strategic Communications

Matt Petrillo

Matt Petrillo is Director of Communications for Temple University's Department of Public Safety. He previously spent more than a decade in television journalism, including reporting for CBS News Philadelphia on breaking news, crime, public safety, and major incidents. That combination gives him firsthand knowledge of how information is gathered, framed, and distributed under pressure. Matt's instruction focuses on message discipline, media relations, internal coordination, strategic storytelling, and the choices that shape trust before, during, and after a crisis. He helps leaders understand what to say, when to say it, and how communication decisions affect operations and credibility.

Crisis Messaging, Media Relations, Public Narratives, and Organizational Credibility