Updates about the massive Toyota recall are coming out daily, sometimes hourly. There are more recalls and more concerns from drivers—a public relations nightmare of the worst kind. Not only are huge dollar amounts and a company’s reputation at stake, but potentially people’s lives.

Yesterday a statement in the media by Chris Gidez, director of risk management and crisis communications at Hill & Knowlton, a public relations firm, got my attention. He made this point: “Today companies have to be Johnny-on-the spot as soon as something hits,” he said. “We live in a Facebook world and you have to move fast to keep consumers informed.”

I contacted Mr. Gidez for an interview and posted a story on our Web site today at http://property-casualty.com. He made some good observations comparing the two cases.

In today’s world, for example, the Tylenol case, for years seen as the “gold standard” in risk management, might not fare as well. Tylenol waited about a week before recalling product from store shelves. In today’s world of blogs and Internet news sites—which means reporters often are churning out news 24/7—a week is an eternity. Organizations need to have a plan of action in place well in advance, detailing who is a spokesperson and the types of things that need to be said.

He observed that in our digital world, where even deleted e-mails can be resurrected, anything that went on within the Tylenol organization before the recall would have been discovered and most likely leaked.

While it appeared initially that Toyota has done a good job of responding, the auto giant is now coming under fire for not coming forward soon enough with potentially damaging information.

To make things worse, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood caused a stir on Wednesday when he advised that a Toyota car owner “stop driving it. Take it to a Toyota dealer because they believe they have a fix for it.” He later recanted the statement after Toyota shares began to drop, modifying it to, “if you own one of these cars or if you’re in doubt, take it to the dealer and they’re going to fix it.”

In the digital age, Mr. Gidez said, companies need to keep in mind that not only does word travel fast because of technology that didn’t exist years ago, but that details will be leaked, pundits will discuss every aspect of a situation, every crumb of information will be blasted over the Internet and blogs will be written.

We live in the “Google Age,” he said.

While the company will survive, what lies ahead are years of court cases and class action lawsuits and a “new normal,” for Toyota, Mr. Gidez observed.

Because I’ve worked as a reporter for the past 20 years or so, I’m used to asking the questions. That’s why it’s been such a switch for me to change hats off the job, where I’ve recently taken up the roles of both public relations rep and the person being interviewed by the press.

I’ve always been interested in the outdoors and more recently in birds and so I became involved with our local Audubon Society chapter. Last year I was elected to chair the publicity committee. Until recently this has consisted mainly of putting together and distributing brochures and flyers to publicize events. It also has meant working with the local newspaper to establish contacts.

But things really started to heat up when I got a call recently from a reporter at the newspaper. It turns out that a half-dozen or so bald eagles had taken up residence in the woods adjacent to a local shopping center and word had reached the newspaper. Since I was established as the Audubon group’s contact, the reporter called me with questions about why these very large birds would choose such a spot, so close to cars and people.

She interviewed someone from our organization, but still had questions. I made some frantic calls and lined up another board member for the reporter to interview. The result was a nice, page-one, above-the-fold article two days later.

That’s when the fun really began. I got a call that a TV news station was doing a story on the eagles and also wanted to interview someone from our organization. No one else was available and I was on vacation that day, so I volunteered.

I’ve had some on-camera TV experience, but it’s been quite a while. So I made a list of the dos and don’ts I could remember and prepared to put them to use again.

In a couple of hours I met the reporter at the site and answered her questions on-camera. The interview went well (and was short, thank goodness) and aired that evening.

It later occurred to me that as interviewer during my day job and as volunteer PR rep and interviewee on my own time, I can offer some tips for anyone preparing for a television interview—some of these points are applicable to print medium as well. Here are my suggestions:

• Find out in advance what the reporter wants to know, or needs to flesh out the story

• Ask yourself possible questions and rehearse the answers

• Try to take an interesting, unique approach if possible

• Think of any other possible related questions that could be asked

• Plan what to wear and keep it simple. No crazy plaids or neon colors

• Since your face is what will be featured, wear a flattering color (but not too bright) near your face, such as a tie or scarf. For example, since I was to be interviewed outdoors and would wear a black coat, I tied a bright tartan scarf around my neck

• Ask where you should be looking during the interview—at the reporter or the camera

• Remind yourself, often, to smile.

Recently I wrote about my sister’s saga when trying to her her home repaired for water-damaged floors and carpets. Because the house was being refinanced, the bank holding the mortgage took the insurer’s check and was wouldn’t release it (see previous blog). When the matter dragged on with no results, my sister became frantic. She contacted her insurance adjuster, Debbie Birkmeyer, who took over.

The adjuster, AKA “Wonder Woman,” obtained the check, placing it in my sister’s hands so work could finally begin.

Because of the extent of the repairs, everything on the bottom floor of the house was put in storage, meaning my sister and her two children had been staying in a hotel. What I didn’t realize, however, is how long they had been out of their house—six weeks in all!

My sister explained that once work finally began, the weekend was approaching, meaning the house wouldn’t be finished until the following week. Here again her adjuster interceded, knowing how desperate the kids were to sleep in their own beds. Ms. Birkmeyer brought in a larger crew that worked around the clock over the weekend. By Monday the work was done. She even arranged for reimbursement for the hotel tab.

And that’s what I call service.

My sister was so overwhelmed by her adjuster’s above-the-call-of-duty performance that she e-mailed a note to Allstate, her property insurer. As a result, it’s been confirmed by an Allstate spokesman, that the California property claims adjuster, Ms. Birkmeyer, was recognized for her outstanding customer service. Way to go!

Relieved to have her family back in their home, my sister summed it up: “It’s not about the money,” she said. “It’s about being safe. After six weeks out of the house, the kids were suffering.”