The Original Spin

The recent outbreak of hantavirus in Yosemite National Park could have been devastating to the park and its concessionaires that run lodging facilities in the park. In brief, this mouse-turd-born disease infected at least 9 individuals who had stayed in tent cabins at the park, killing 3 of them. The tent cabins are a very popular lodging in the park so literally thousands of people have been exposed. Rather than bury their heads, the NPS leadership took a very active role, calling and mailing anyone who stayed in those cabins, creating an information hotline and communicating clearly and openly with the media about the efforts being done to avoid future cases and identify how the problems happened in the first place. Proof positive that getting ahead of a difficult story can make a huge difference in the ultimate outcome.