How do PR teams actually handle communication when a client's crisis breaks?
I've always been curious about what happens behind the scenes when a celebrity or public figure is suddenly in the middle of a major scandal. I assume the publicist, attorney, talent agent or business manager and client are all trying to coordinate as fast as possible, but I'd imagine that's also when communication gets the messiest. Someone starts a group chat people keep adding more people, assistants jump in, someone changes phones, it seems like it could get chaotic pretty quickly. I was talking to someone in PR recently and they said one of the biggest challenges isn't keeping the conversation encrypted but it's making sure everyone in the conversation is actually supposed to be there.
Is there an industry standard for this? Do most firms just rely on WhatsApp, calls, and trust or are there more structured processes for handling high pressure situations? I've even seen tools like Kibu mentioned in conversations about identity verification but that's about it.
I'd love to hear from anyone who's worked in crisis communications or entertainment PR.