As information trickled into the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority on June 23 about what would become the deadliest train crash in its history, the organization, known to locals as the Metro, coordinated an outreach effort focused on reaching metropolitan-area residents via local media. The group also conducted outreach via Twitter, its own Web site, and e-mail, and separately reached out to the national media, victims' families, and employees.
The strategy has earned mostly positive reviews from communications professionals, who ...