DeSantis stepped up communications in a big way during Hurricane Dorian, but some crisis management experts question why he has not done the same during the coronavirus pandemic.

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In the days leading up to Hurricane Dorian, Gov. Ron DeSantis was as popular as plywood and bottled water. An omnipresent voice on television and radio, the new governor presided over frequent, widely televised updates that provided information on wind speeds, brought in experts on storm surge, advised which Publix stores were open and let people know where to evacuate if the monster struck.

But during the coronavirus pandemic — a longer-lasting and more impactful threat to all Floridians — DeSantis has largely set aside the tested formula for daily hurricane briefings.

Sometimes the governor appears at a hearing room in the state capitol building. Other times, as in Wednesday’s press conference at the Miami Beach Convention Center, the governor speaks from a location somewhere in the state.

On occasion, the Republican governor is accompanied by local and federal officials. In Miami Beach, he was joined by representatives from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, City of Miami Beach and Miami-Dade County. Other times he brings along key state officials. At the opening of a testing site at the FITTEAM Ballpark of Palm Beaches on March 30, he was joined by emergency management director Jared Moskowitz.

But, overall, the playbook used during storm threats, which has worked to inform and calm the citizenry from Pensacola to Key West, has been junked during the coronavirus pandemic.

For example, Floridians have not been hearing on a daily basis from state surgeon general Scott Rivkees. Or from officials in charge of food supply, like Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services Nikki Fried, a Democrat, who has made the rounds partly by speaking during telephone town halls with Florida congressmen.

So why doesn’t the governor have more comprehensive, hurricane-like briefings? The governor’s office did not respond to inquiries for this story. Neither did Fried or Rivkees.

Public relations and mass communication experts say the governor, and the state government in general, is missing an opportunity.

“One of the key functions of having visibility in times like this is being able to report public health information, but, also, by doing so, you are building trust with the public,” said Dan Keeney, president of DPK Public Relations and an expert in crisis management. “It's either an opportunity seized or an opportunity missed.”

Especially when the public is facing a variety of challenges and concerns. Troubles with the state’s unemployment benefits process have been well-documented. There has been confusion about testing for COVID-19. Panic buying has left retailers bereft of supplies like paper towels and a meme-inducing shortage of toilet paper.

Keeney and others said there are reasons leaders may opt to lay low in times of crisis. One is that they simply lack answers. It is a strategy, he points out, which has been adopted by more U.S. governors than just DeSantis.

“Time has a very healing quality, and what people are anxious about today, they may not be a week from now,” Keeney said. “These little fires get set, and then you're asked to defend your actions, but those can sometimes go away if you just keep a low profile for two days.”

Moreover, despite the governor’s daily briefings, the average Floridian would be hard-pressed to find out where to watch them. The Florida Channel, which carries his press conferences, is not exactly a household name. And even if the event is carried by local TV, the times vary from day to day.

And there are even questions about which journalists are allowed to attend. The Florida Society of News Editors chastised the governor last month for the “purposeful exclusion of the Miami Herald’s bureau chief, Mary Ellen Klas” from a press conference, calling it “an alarming development.”

“Press conferences are done on short notice, and there is also a sense that he is hand-picking the reporters,” said Trimmel Gomes, a political analyst who has worked in Tallahassee since the days of Jeb Bush. “Leave it up to the reporters to decide who is going to show up. Send the advisory to everyone. That has been a concern.”

Holding at least one televised press conference at the same time each day would go a long way in building trust with the public, Gomes said. Throw in advice from top experts, he says, and DeSantis has every tool imaginable to step up in a big way.

“It is baffling,” Gomes said of the lack of regularity. “We’re seeing the New York governor get a handle on this. He gets national airplay, and he’s got a team of experts flanking him and PowerPoint presentations going through the facts. With Florida being such an important state, DeSantis should be doing the same thing.”

One reason DeSantis might not be doing so is the possibility, or even the likelihood, that experts and agency directors would contradict his message, Gomes said. That could make decisions appear more politically motivated than scientific.

“Perhaps the agency heads would be more forthcoming with their direct concerns,” he said. “And you would have the governor stay on message on the political end to not upset Washington and our new resident, Donald Trump.”

Gomes said that, lately, it appears DeSantis has adopted some of Trump’s strategies.

“DeSantis is under fire for the unemployment system not working,” he said. “Now his commission is starting to mirror what is happening at the national level and is blaming the previous administration.”

Even so, Gomes and other experts say DeSantis is more than capable of becoming the leader Florida needs right now.

“We need our leader to inspire us and help us through this,” said Ron Sachs, CEO of Sachs Media Group. “He certainly has the skill set to do that. I think the opportunity has not been embraced yet, but I think it’s going to happen, and we've seen flashes of it.”

Sachs, who worked in communications for two former Florida governors, said the “defining moment” for DeSantis might best be achieved in a dedicated, live broadcast.

“What we need is the guy in charge to gather us all together in one well-communicated message,” Sachs said. “That’s not achieved in a briefing.”

Sachs also said it is less important that DeSantis have experts by his side at day-to-day press conferences than that he consult with them behind the scenes. While DeSantis is undoubtedly doing that, Sachs said, sifting through that information is incredibly difficult and can have long-term effects on the governor’s career.

“There's a lot of pressure with advisors and councils that may be in conflict with each other,” Sachs said. “A governor or president who mishandles a hurricane or fire or other disaster gets defined by mishandling those situations.”

If there is one piece of advice Sachs could offer DeSantis at this point, he said it would be to speak from his heart and show the people of Florida he is by their side in these most difficult of times.

“I would liken it to the most important fireside chat that any elected official might have occasion to give,” Sachs said.

@WendyRhodesFL

wrhodes@pbpost.com