Rail operator Norfolk Southern is getting slammed for its response following the derailment of one of its trains carrying hazardous materials near East Palestine, Ohio, this month.

Why it matters: Derailments typically require a hyper-local response, but Norfolk Southern was caught flat-footed when this incident garnered large-scale attention.

Catch up quick: The train — which was carrying hazardous materials, including at least five tanker cars of vinyl chloride, a carcinogenic gas used to produce PVC plastic and vinyl products — derailed on Feb. 3, Axios' Jacob Knutson reports.

• The derailment forced hundreds of people to evacuate, led to a controlled release of potentially hazardous chemicals into the air, and caused alarm about toxic fumes and water contamination from spilled materials.

State of play: While the derailment and subsequent chemical fire did make national headlines, the news cycle was starting to cool by Sunday Feb. 12, according to Memo readership data shared with Axios.

• A Norfolk Southern spokesperson claimed the story was pushed back into the news by the tweets of political activists that were then amplified by foreign-owned bots.

Yes, but: As the spotlight on Norfolk Southern intensified, the company failed to adequately address the tough questions required to regain control of the narrative and reestablish trust.

• Norfolk representatives pulled out of a local town hall due to concerns over "growing physical threats," Axios' Sam Allard reports.
• And the company continues to avoid health-related questions, maintaining the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Public Health and others are responsible for such communications.
• “If folks are experiencing symptoms with which they’re not accustomed, I would strongly encourage them to go see a trusted medical professional,” CEO Alan Shaw told CNBC.

Between the lines: According to Norfolk Southern, their initial communication challenge was determining who owned what message.

• Traditionally, incident communications are run by local first responders and the rail operator serves in more of an advisory role, a company rep told Axios.
• Yes, but: With more than 1,000 train derailments each year, it's something all rail companies have navigated before.

Flash forward: Norfolk Southern is now going on a media blitz to push back against "misinformation" it believes is being peddled by political agitators.

• In recent interviews with CNBC, CNN, PBS and The Wall Street Journal, Shaw's message was consistent: misinformation is rampant, the air and the water are clean and Norfolk Southern is sorry and committed to supporting the community for the long term.

What they're saying: Experts we spoke with said the spread of misinformation is no excuse.

• "Active, round-the-clock, cooperation with community leaders and regulators is absolutely essential to avoid an information vacuum that breeds fear and misinformation," Molly Levinson, founder and CEO of The Levinson Group, told Axios.
• "The communication with the public has been off base from the start and has really opened the door for a lot of misinformation, confusion and even conspiracy theories," emergency management professor Samantha Montano told ABC News.
• “Norfolk Southern [officials] initially used first responders as the sole responders to deal with the cleanup, and they lost trust in the community by not being accessible, responsive and honest," says Penta Group senior partner Mike Berland. "Only recently does it appear that they realized their responsibility to the communities and are now taking accountability. Restoring the trust will take much longer.”

The bottom line: You can't blame everything on the bots.

• The company was on the defensive from the start and never truly controlled the message, which led to more confusion and paved the way for misinterpretations.
• How to best squash misinformation campaigns should be a routine step in every crisis playbook moving forward.

Read more.

Go deeper: What we know about the Ohio train derailment.

Zoom in: Roughly a week after the initial crash, there was an uptick in tweets and coverage pertaining to the Norfolk Southern derailment.

• The spike in social conversation "was driven by fringe provocateurs on the far ends of both sides of the political spectrum, as well as likely foreign actors. Much of the conversation contained false information and narrative manipulation, intended to leverage the situation for political gain," an agency spokesperson hired to help Norfolk Southern manage the backlash told Axios.

White House press secretaries are the most visible and influential communicators on the world stage, and many parlay it into even bigger opportunities.

Be smart: The position was created in 1929 during the Herbert Hoover administration, and journalist George Akerson was the first take on the role.

• Since then, 35 communication professionals have occupied the podium, with Karine Jean-Pierre currently holding the position.

By the numbers: The average shelf life of a White House press secretary is two years.

• Stints range from 12 years — Stephen Early under FDR — to only one month — Jerald terHorst under Gerald Ford.

Zoom in: Once their time is up, roughly one-third of White House press secretaries pivot into media.

• Most recently, Jen Psaki snagged a weekly MSNBC show, a column in the network’s morning newsletter and a streaming and social show in development.
• Bill Moyers was a mainstay on PBS, while Kayleigh McEnany and Dana Perino both host shows on Fox News. Sean Spicer is an anchor on Newsmax.
• Plus, other members of communication teams, like George Stephanopoulos, Symone Sanders and Alyssa Farah, have used the White House as a conduit to full-time TV work.

Zoom out: Jake Siewert was one of the first to immediately dive into the corporate world as head of communications at Alcoa, and later Goldman Sachs.

• All three of Obama's press secretaries have held major corporate gigs — Josh Earnest is the current chief communications officer of United Airlines, Jay Carney is global head of policy and communications at Airbnb (and Amazon before that), and Robert Gibbs was chief communications officer of McDonald's.
• Others joined trade associations, founded public affairs firms or stayed in politics, but Sarah Huckabee Sanders is the only one to hold statewide elected office.

The bottom line: While the role of White House press secretary is one of the most powerful in political communications, it's also usually a mere stepping stone to more lucrative roles in the media, corporate and consulting space.

Dana Perino was the first Republican woman to serve as White House press secretary from September 2007 until the end of George W. Bush's term in 2009.

• Now, she reports the news each morning on Fox News' "America's Newsroom" and shares her opinions about the news each evening on "The Five."

🪜 How she got here: Perino got her start in local journalism before climbing the political ladder.

• "Growing up, my dad made me read the Rocky Mountain News and the Denver Post every day, and I had to choose two articles to discuss with him at dinner. That's what started my lifelong love of news."
• Her first D.C. job was answering phones for then-Rep. Scott McInnis (R-Colo.).
• "Six weeks later, I moved over to the Office of Congressman Dan Schaefer (R-Colo.) as his press secretary and eventually worked my way up to the White House."

↪️ The career pivot: Following her stint as White House press secretary, "President George W. Bush, Marlin Fitzwater and the late Charles Krauthammer all gave me similar advice: do what you love and that the rest will fall into place."

📈 Trend watch: Communicators as top advisers.

• "When I was at the White House, I remember being on Marine One when the president asked me my opinion on something — and I knew that my opinion differed from the other guys on the chopper — but I immediately flashed back to presenting my thoughts at the kitchen table.
• "I always thank my dad for starting that exercise young, because it gave me the confidence I needed to do my job."

Go deeper: Check out Perino's entire Communicator Spotlight.

"The initial response is by far the most important."