Disaster Communications in a Changing Media World (eBook)

Front Cover 1
Disaster Communications in a Changing Media World 4
Copyright Page 5
Dedication Page 6
Table of Contents 8
Acknowledgement 16
Introduction 18
Chapter 1: Communications: The Critical Function 24
Mission 25
Assumptions 25
Customer Focus 26
Leadership Commitment 28
Inclusion of Communications in Planning and Operations 31
Situational Awareness 33
Media Partnership 38
Communicating in the Era of Homeland Security 42
Conclusion 45
Chapter 2: Disaster Communications in a Changing Media World 46
Introduction 46
Historical Uses of Media 47
Civil Defense 47
Disaster Response and Recovery 50
New Media and Disaster Communications 55
``Burmese Blog the Cyclone´´-BBC News Headline 56
In China, New Media Helps Speed Recovery 58
New Media: New World 59
The Evolution of New Media Use in Disasters 63
Chapter 3: Principles of a Successful Communications Strategy 68
Focus on the Needs of Your Customers 69
Make a Commitment to Effective Communications 71
Be an Active Participant in Communications 71
Include Communications Director on Senior Management Team 71
Hire and Maintain Professional Staff 71
Invest in Ongoing Training for Staff 71
Invest Resources in Communications 71
Make Communications an Integral Part of All Planning and Operations 72
Bring Communications Professionals to the Table 72
Run All Decisions Through the Communications Filter 72
Develop Communication Strategies to Support Operations 72
Create Communications Strategies to Promote Plans 72
Be Transparent in Your Communications 72
Don't Lie 73
Don't Talk About What You Don't Know 75
Don't Talk About Actions of Other Organizations 77
Don't Make Promises You Can't Keep 78
Be Informed 78
Acknowledge the Conversation 78
Focus on Performance 78
Ensure that Your Information is Accurate 78
Make Information a Priority 78
Invest in Information Collection 78
Invest in Information Management 79
Use Only Confirmed Information 79
Make Decisions Based on Good Information 79
Release Information in a Timely Manner 79
Don't Hold Onto Information-Share It 79
Conduct Regular Updates 79
Make Special Updates When New Information Emerges 80
Reach Out to As Many Media Outlets As Possible 80
Make Yourself, Your Staff, and Others, Where Appropriate, Available and Accessible 80
Be Available and Accessible to Media 80
Make the Incident Commander Available to Media 80
Work with Elected and Appointed Officials 81
Support Your Public Information Officer 81
Make Technical Staff Available to Media 82
Include Officials from Other Emergency Agencies 82
Secure Media Training for Yourself and Staff 82
Create an Emotional Connection with Your Audience 83
Give Your Organization a Human Face 84
Assure Audience Who is in Charge 84
Be the Source of Information for Media and Public 84
Share Information 85
Speak in Plain and Direct Language 85
Ensure that All Parties are Served 85
Be Emphatic 85
Be Accountable 85
Be Consistent 85
Build a Partnership with the Media 85
Maintain a Trained Media Relations Staff 87
Be Consistently Accessible to the Media 87
Be the Central Information Source 87
Provide Safe Access to Disaster Site 87
Respond to Media Inquiries 87
Understand Media Deadlines and Information Needs 87
Work with All Media-Traditional and New 88
Monitor Media Stories 88
Thank Media for Their Help 88
Chapter 4: Application of Communications Principles to All Four Phases of Emergency Management 90
Mitigation 91
Preparedness Programs and Actions 99
Response 112
Recovery 121
Conclusion 123
Chapter 5: Disaster Communications Audiences 124
The Public 125
Elected Officials and Community Leaders 132
Partners and Stakeholders 134
The Media 135
Chapter 6: Building New Disaster Communications Capabilities 136
Introduction 136
Citizen Journalists and the Traditional Media 140
Calls for Contribution 142
Formal Partnerships 143
Replacing Traditional Media with Online News Sites 144
New Media and Government 145
Chapter 7: Working with the News Media 150
Introduction 150
News Operations 152
The Never-Ending News Cycle: It's Never Too Late for News 152
Reporters Now Write Their Story, Do a Web Version, Blog, and Post Audio and Video 152
Respect What's Being Generated Online by the Public: The Media Does 153
Reporters Mine Online Content for Story Ideas and Sources 153
News Rooms Decide What's News Several Times a Day 154
Who's Who in a TV Newsroom? 154
The Scoop on TV News Operations 155
Building Relationships with Reporters 155
Sample Intro Call Rap: 156
How Do I Match My Story to Media Outlet? 162
Keys to All Successful Media Outreach 162
Chapter 8: Building an Effective Disaster Communications Capability in a Changing Media World 168
Introduction 168
A Communication Plan 169
Information Coming In 170
Information Going Out 173
Messengers 177
Staffing 178
Training and Exercises 179
Monitor, Update, and Adapt 180
Conclusion 181
Resources 182
Innovations 188
VA Emergency Officials Launch YouTube Channel 188
State Posts Clips About Preparedness On YouTube 188
Spanish Class Offered for First Responders 188
Guard Has New Cellular System 189
Advanced Technology Helps Firefighters Talk to Each Other in Maine 189
Making the Call When a Crisis Hits 190
State Unveils 211 Phone Number for Storm Calls 191
Alabama Tests Blimp for Disaster Communication Use 191
County EMA to Distribute 260 Weather Radios (Ledger Enquirer (GA), 5/18) 191
More Weather Radios for Sale in Wisconsin (Capital Times, 5/14) 192
Illinois Distributes Emergency Radios to College Campuses 192
Maryland Colleges Trying to Institute Text Message Systems to Send Emergency Alerts 193
Nonprofit Group Puts Web to Work for Emergencies 193
Wildfires Communications 194
National Cell Phone Emergency Alert System? 194
Emergency Text Alerts to Cell Phones Approved 195
California Wildfires-Using New Media to Communicate In A Crisis 196
Firestorm 2.0-Using Social Media Services to Track The California Fires 196
Twitter Used By News Outlets and Emergency Services During California Fires 196
Disaster-Related Newsletters 197
Continuity E-Guide: A Wednesday Update by the Disaster Resource Guide 197
Attainium's Business Continuity NewsBriefs 197
Disaster Research 197
Homeland Security Week 197
FEMA Emergency Management Higher Education Reports 197
Disaster Websites 198
General 198
New Media 198
Response 199
Warning 201
Preparedness 201
Media Support 203
Mapping 203
GIS 203
Bloggers 205
In Case of Emergency 205
News Organizations' Blogs 205
Hurricane Blog Aggregators 206
Weblogs 206
List of Blogs, etc. from 2007 Southern California Wildfires: 209
Message Boards and Web Portals 209
Special Needs Populations 210
Emergency Preparedness Initiative (EPI): A program of the National Organization on Disability 210
EPI Guide for Emergency Planners, Managers, amp Responders 210
National Organization on Disability 210
Disability Preparedness Resource Center: The Interagency Coordinating Council on People with Disabilities in Emergency Preparedness 210
Lessons Learned from September 11. Claude L. Stout 210
Special Needs Populations. Brenda D. Phillips, Ph.D. Center for the Study of Disasters and Extreme Events. Oklahoma State University. 2007 211
Disabilities Websites 211
Preparedness Messages 211
Talking About Disaster: Guide for Standard Messages 211
Public Perceptions of Disaster Preparedness Presentations Using Disaster Damage Images 212
The Twelve Cs of Disaster Preparedness Education. 2007. Rocky Lopes, PhD, Manager, Homeland Security, National Association of Counties 212
Research Papers 213
Early Warning- From Concept to Action: The Conclusions of the Third International Conference on Early Warning 213
Communicating with the Public Using ATIS During Disasters: A Guide for Practitioners 213
Quick Response Research Report 189-The Emergency Management Response To Hurricane Katrina: As Told by the First Responders-A Case Study of What Went Wrong amp Recommendations for the Future 213
Quick Response Report #117-Hurricane Georges: The Experience Of the Media and Emergency Management on the Mississippi Gulf Coast 215
The Role of the Media in Disaster Mitigation: Roundtable on the Media, Scientific Information and Disasters 216
The Media and Disaster Reduction: Roundtable on the Media, Scientific Information, and Disasters at the United Nations World Conference on Natural Disaster Reduction- 216
Natural Disasters and the Media: Relevance of Mass Media for Disaster Management 217
Communications Plans/Guides 217
Assessing Your Disaster Public Awareness Program 217
The Five Pillars of Emergency Communications Planning 217
The Five P's of Crisis Communications 218
Terrorism and Other Public Health Emergencies: A Field Guide for Media 218
Small Business Administration (SBA) Disaster Recovery Media Guide 218
Nigeria-National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) 219
Pandemic Influenza Preparedness, Response, and Recovery Guide For Critical Infrastructure and Key Resources, 2006 219
How to Develop a Communications Plan 219
Article by Nancy Rathbun Scott, Dumfries, VA 219
Case Studies 222
Emergency and Risk Management Case Studies Textbook 222
National Media Outlets 224
Online Local News Sites 225
Books 225
Index 228