COMMUNICATION CHAIN – RESPONDING TO MEDIA INQUIRIES

The chain of communication will remain the same for all reactive responses to media enquiries about incidents on the beach or in the region (rescues, first aid treatments, safety warnings, beach visitations, etc.).

When a significant occurs:
1. Patrol Captain informs Surfcom
2. Surfcom notifies:
3. SLSQ Media on-call appoints the spokesperson and coordinates key messages to respond to the media.
a) Duty Officer
b) Lifesaving Services Coordinator or Regional Manager
c) SLSQ Media Phone
4. Spokesperson liaises with media to coordinate when and where interviews will take place if a response is required.
5. After the enquiry is fulfilled, the spokesperson calls the SLSQ Media Phone to debrief.
6. SLSQ Media on-call emails media@lifesaving.com.au with the nature of the enquiry, the outlet/s and the outcome.

When a media enquiry is received at the point of patrol:
1. Patrol Captain/Lifeguard takes contact details from the media and informs Surfcom as to the nature of the enquiry.
2. Surfcom notifies:
a) Duty Officer/Lifeguard Supervisor
b) Escalates to Regional Contact in Weekend Brief if required.
c) SLSQ Media Phone.
3. SLSQ Media On-call appoints the spokesperson and coordinates key messages to respond to the media.
4. Spokesperson liaises with media to coordinate when and where the interview will take place.
5. After the enquiry has been fulfilled, the spokesperson calls the SLSQ Media Phone to debrief.
6. SLSQ Media On-Call emails media@lifesaving.com.au with the nature of the enquiry, the outlet/s and the outcome

When a media enquiry is received at a Regional Level (ROM, LSC, LG Supervisor):
1. Patrol Captain/Lifeguard takes contact details from the media and informs Surfcom as to the nature of the enquiry.
2. Surfcom notifies:
a) Duty Officer/Lifeguard Supervisor
b) SLSQ Media Phone
3. SLSQ Media On-call appoints the spokesperson and coordinates key messages to respond to the media.
4. Spokesperson liaises with media to coordinate when and where the interview will take place.
5. After the enquiry has been fulfilled, the spokesperson calls the SLSQ Media Phone to debrief.
6. SLSQ Media On-Call emails media@lifesaving.com.au with the nature of the enquiry, the outlet/s and the outcome.

When SLSQ Media Team receives a media enquiry related to a significant incident:
1. SLSQ Media contacts Surfcom
2. Surfcom contacts
a) Duty Officer or Lifeguard Supervisor
b) Escalates to Regional Contact if required.
3. SLSQ Media On-call appoints the spokesperson and coordinates key messages to respond to the media.
4. Spokesperson liaises with media to coordinate when and where the interview will take place.
5. After the enquiry has been fulfilled, the spokesperson calls the SLSQ Media Phone to debrief.
6. SLSQ Media On-Call emails media@lifesaving.com.au with the nature of the enquiry, the outlet/s and the outcome.

Note –MEDIA TEAM will appoint appropriate spokesperson if the issue is serious – such as a drowning. The Club Captain or Patrol Captain may comment if the issue relates specifically to their beach – such as a beach closure, crowd numbers, minor rescue, minor first aid, shark sighting, weather, etc. – and the Duty Officer/Lifesaving Services Coordinator has approved).