The Wall Street Journal gives a behind the scenes look at what the nation’s zoos are doing to improve their image after recent events have propelled them into the limelight.

The article explains how The Association of Zoos and Aquariums, a trade group that accredits the facilities, has been at the forefront of a movement to improve zoos’ images and counteract negative publicity from animal rights groups, anti-zoo activists and other critics. The group has spearheaded publicity campaigns that seek to educate the public on various aspects of zoology. They have also encouraged zoo administrators to be more open with the public and the media, and put new stress on crisis management and media training.

While these efforts should be lauded, Goldman & Associates believes that many facilities would greatly benefit from more sustained public relations programs that involve extensive media relations work as well as robust new media programs that incorporate blogs, vlogs, podcasts and the like, in order to build and maintain goodwill from the public. Our general feeling is that most of these facilities are not utilizing programs on a consistent basis, and so lack strong support from the public when an incident does occur. In the world of the 24/7 viral news cycle, organizations cannot afford to be behind the story because it’s just too hard to catch up. Building a solid foundation BEFORE a crisis won’t ensure that a crisis doesn’t occur, but it will almost surely make the situation more manageable.