#BTSpeakingOut – Mr Ellis lacks the expertise

The views and opinions expressed by the author(s) do not represent the official position of Barbados TODAY.

by Robert “Bobby” Downes

The appointment of journalist Mr David Ellis to lead he COVID-19 Communications Unit and the subsequent public reaction are instructional in many ways. They point to a Government on edge and uncertain about its next move with this public health crisis and a public confused by the choice of a respected journalist who is not a public health communications expert.

The message has too many messengers and the Government has also misunderstood the difference between media relations, strategic communications and crisis communications.

Mr Ellis may be capable in media relations, he certainly lacks the expertise in the other two areas and while he can learn, this is not the occasion for on-the-job training.

Barbados has had a few public issues in the past that required crisis communiations interventions the most notable being the HIV/AIDS situation. There is a need for trust, speed, empathy and dealing with the institutions and publics involved, then and now.

It is noteworthy that in North America and indeed some European nations that medical experts with good communications skills have been elevated to the frontline with corporate communications specialists supporting them. That was also the case in Barbados with HIV/AIDS.

After seeing the television programme from Harrison Point on Wednesday it is evident emphasis is being place on media relations hopefully to evoke raw emotions. However, we need much more than that at this time.

It may not be too late for the Government to draft former public health officer Dr Eliot Doughlin, an excellent medical practitioner and an equally good communicator into its COVID-19 communications effort. He is apolitical, credible and can easily interact with the public and the experts.