Select and identify a basic emergency management audience (Haddow & Haddow, Ch 7) •Once done so, you are to provide a brief description of the group’s demographics and specific needs extending fro
121 One of the principal purposes of disaster communications is to get individuals and communities to take action. Hazard mitigation and preparedness communications focus on promoting actions that individuals and communities can take to reduce the impacts of future disasters and to be ready when the next disaster strikes. Communications dur- ing disaster response provide critical information that individuals and communities can use to take action to survive the disaster and access relief assistance. In the recovery phase of a disaster, communications focus on informing individuals and communities of the types of recovery assistance available from a variety of governmental, nongovern – mental, and private sector sources to help rebuild their lives and infrastructure. There are several audiences that must be reached in order to be successful in communicating across the four phases of emergency management—mitigation, pre – paredness, response, and recovery (see the text box below for more details). First and foremost, there is the public audience which is comprised of a wide array of subsets including functional-needs populations, residents in disadvantaged neighborhoods, tourists and visitors, homeowners, families without cars, etc. The bulk of the disaster communications is focused on reaching the public and helping the public take the saf – est action during all four emergency management phases. It should be noted that with the advent of social media this critical audience is collecting and exchanging their own information and acting on that information often without government involvement. Disaster Communications Audiences CHAPTER SEVEN Basic Emergency Management Audiences Basic emergency management audiences include the following: ● General public: The largest audience of which there are many subgroups, such as the elderly, the disabled, minority, low income, youth, and so on, and all are potential customers. ● Disaster victims: Those individuals affected by a specific disaster event. ● Business community: Often ignored by emergency managers but critical to disaster recovery, preparedness, and mitigation activities. ● Media: An audience and a partner critical to effectively communicating with the public. ● Elected officials: Governors, mayors, county executives, state legislators, and members of Congress. Haddow, G. D., & Haddow, K. (2014). Disaster communications in a changing media world. ProQuest Ebook Central http://ebookcentral.proquest.com Created from apus on 2021-05-02 06:53:23. Copyright © 2014. Elsevier Science & Technology. All rights reserved. Disaster Communications in a Changing Media World.DOI: 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.2014 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-407868-0.00007-0 122 There are three other primary audiences for disaster communications—elected officials and community leaders, partners and stakeholders, and the media. Elected officials and community leaders serve both as a critical audience for disaster informa – tion and also as communicators of disaster-related information to their constituencies. They are positioned to both provide information to emergency officials concerning their constituents and are leaders in their communities whom the public trusts and will turn to in a disaster. Partners include first responders, voluntary agencies, community groups, nongovernmental organizations, the business community, and others. These groups can also be a valuable source of information and a distributor of information to their customers and the community. Historically, the media has told the disaster story using a variety of sources including from the government emergency manage – ment agencies. The emergence of social media has created a cadre of citizens ready to provide first-hand accounts of conditions where they live in real-time. Social media has become an excellent mechanism for getting information back out from emergency officials to local populations through their networks and contacts. Communicating with these four primary audiences is no longer a one-way street for emergency officials. It is now a cooperative venture that will require new skills, protocols, and technologies to be employed to design, build, and maintain effective disaster communications. This chapter examines what it takes for emergency officials to communicate and work together with these four primary audiences. THE PUBLIC Historically, communications with the public was done almost exclusively through the media—television, radio, and newspapers. During the disaster-response and recovery phases these media outlets relied primarily on the emergency officials for information, access to the disaster site, and progress reports on government and nongovernment programs. These same media outlets were used by emergency officials to communicate preparedness and hazard mitigation messages and to urge the public to act on warning and alert notices. These traditional media outlets were the principal dispensers of government disaster-related information because they reached the largest ● Community officials: City/county managers, public works, and department heads. ● First responders: Police, fire, and emergency medical services. ● Volunteer groups: American Red Cross, Salvation Army, the National Volunteer Organizations Active in Disasters (NVOAD), and so on that are critical to the first response to an event. Source: Haddow, J., J. Bullock, and D. P. Coppola. (2007). Introduction to Emergency Management, 3rd ed. Boston: Elsevier. Haddow, G. D., & Haddow, K. (2014). Disaster communications in a changing media world. ProQuest Ebook Central http://ebookcentral.proquest.com Created from apus on 2021-05-02 06:53:23. Copyright © 2014. Elsevier Science & Technology. All rights reserved. Disaster Communications in a Changing Media World Disaster Communications Audiences 123 percentage of the population and could be trusted to get the information right if they worked in partnership with emergency officials. In the 1990s, the Internet arrived and was quickly adapted to provide both timely and detailed information. Recent disasters—beginning with the 2004 Asian Tsunami, 2005 Hurricane Katrina, the 2007 London bombings, the 2008 Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar (Burma), the 2008 Sichuan earthquake in China, the earthquake in Haiti in 2011, Hurricane Sandy, the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2012, and the Boston Marathon Bombings in 2013—have seen social media come to the front and in many ways surpass the traditional media outlets in terms of timely reporting of conditions that provided the public and government agencies with valuable information concern – ing response operations. The traditional media has taken notice of social media and in many cases has adopted it as part of their regular reporting, especially during disasters (see the text box on CNN’s site below). CNN iReports CNN provides a space on its website ( www.cnn.com) for everyday citizens to post written stories, video, audio, and photographs concerning events that they witness (see Figure 7.1). Many of the postings concern natural disasters. The Frequently Asked Questions posted on the CNN website provide a picture of how iReports works. To view the FAQ section, go to http:// ireport.cnn.com/faq.jspa. Source: CNN. (2013). http://ireport.cnn.com/faq.jspa. Figure 7.1 CNN iReport Web page. Source: http://www.ireport.com/index.jspa. Haddow, G. D., & Haddow, K. (2014). Disaster communications in a changing media world. ProQuest Ebook Central http://ebookcentral.proquest.com Created from apus on 2021-05-02 06:53:23. Copyright © 2014. Elsevier Science & Technology. All rights reserved. 124 On average, CNN receives about 500 iReports submissions per day. The CNN iReports site includes links to the latest submissions, highest-rated submissions, most- viewed submissions, most-commented and most-shared submissions, and those submis – sions that are broadcast on CNN. CNN also provides a toolkit for iReporters with tips concerning the ingredients of a good story (see the text box below), taking great photos, shooting better video, and recording the sound of your story. There is an Assignment Desk function on the web – site that identifies current topics in the news that CNN would like their iReporters to report on. CNN iReports: StoryTelling Toolkit The Ingredients of a Good Story We asked a slew of CNN reporters, producers, and editors what they thought made a good news story and how to craft one, and came up with a few words of advice: ● First things first —Your story needs to include the basics; that is, who, what, where, when, why, and how. It needs to be true and it needs to be fair. ● It connects—Someone has to care about the story and the people in it, or it is not really worth telling. It is your job as a storyteller to explain why anyone should. ● It’s told in words we all use and understand —If you were going to call your best friend and tell him or her the story, what would you start with? And how would you describe it? That is probably the best part, and the simplest way to get it across. Start there and see where it takes you. ● It’s got pace —You want your audience to need to know what happens next. Build pace with narrative, quotes, natural sound, or, if you are working with video, creative shot editing. ● It feels real—Emotion is a powerful connector and can go a long way toward helping us understand one another. Think about how you can use images, sound, and words to express the emotional range of a story and its characters. ● Map it out—If you are planning to edit a video, put together a photo gallery or write a text story. It usually helps to put together a plan-of-action. What are the crucial details? What is the most important part? How are the pieces connected? Draft an outline or sketch a sto – ryboard before you get started with the hard work of writing and editing. You will be glad you did. Excerpt from: CNN.http://ireport.cnn.com/toolkit.jspa. In effect, the audience comprising the public and individual disaster victims have become key players in the collection and distribution of disaster information. Emergency officials are adopting information-collection programs and protocols that are equipped to accept this valuable information before, during, and after a disaster strikes from Haddow, G. D., & Haddow, K. (2014). Disaster communications in a changing media world. ProQuest Ebook Central http://ebookcentral.proquest.com Created from apus on 2021-05-02 06:53:23. Copyright © 2014. Elsevier Science & Technology. All rights reserved. Disaster Communications in a Changing Media World Disaster Communications Audiences 125 individuals posting information on social media sites. In addition, emergency officials must be ready to share disaster information with the public so that they can distribute this information to their networks via cell phone, email, text messages, Internet bulletin boards, and social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc. In working with the public and individual disaster victims, emergency officials must now create and sus – tain a two-way communications system that maximizes the information collection and distribution capabilities of the social media these audiences employ. Such a two-way communication system must also be established working with community-based groups that operate primarily in low- to moderate-income neigh- borhoods and with disadvantaged populations. These populations may have trust issues with government officials including first responders such as police and fire officials. Before, during, and after a disaster strikes, these populations may be more inclined to listen to and act on the advice of trusted community leaders. Emergency officials must work with community-based groups to establish neighborhood communications networks that facilitate communications from emergency officials to neighborhood residents via trusted community leaders. These neighborhood communication net – works would be designed to collect and transmit real-time information from trusted community leaders to emergency officials. This two-way communications system will not only be used in the response and recovery phases of a disaster, but also to spread hazard mitigation and preparedness messages among community members and to prompt action by residents and community groups, take actions designed to reduce the impacts of future disasters, and to be ready when the next disaster strikes. A significant percentage of the public and individual disaster victims will be mem – bers of functional needs populations as designated by Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in the National Response Framework ( FEMA, 2008) (see the text box for more information on the functional needs populations). Functional Needs Populations as Defined in FEMA’s National Response Framework 1. Functional needs population: Populations whose members may have additional needs before, during, and after an incident in functional areas, including but not limited to: main – taining independence, communication, transportation, supervision, and medical care. Individuals in need of additional response assistance may include those who have disabili – ties; who live in institutionalized settings; who are elderly; who are children; who are from diverse cultures; who have limited English proficiency or are non-English speaking; or who are transportation disadvantaged. Source: National Response Framework (NRF) Resource Center. http://www.fema.gov/national-response-framework . Haddow, G. D., & Haddow, K. (2014). Disaster communications in a changing media world. ProQuest Ebook Central http://ebookcentral.proquest.com Created from apus on 2021-05-02 06:53:23. Copyright © 2014. Elsevier Science & Technology. All rights reserved. 126 Communicating with individuals in these functional needs populations offers many challenges for emergency officials. Recognizing this challenge and taking steps to meet it are the first steps in designing and implementing a communications strategy that effectively communicates messages to members of these groups before, during, and after a disaster strikes. Attention must be placed on how disaster messages are crafted and delivered to these groups in consideration of the existing communications barri – ers. Some of these populations are comfortable with the new media (i.e., children) and some have a limited, if growing experience, with the Internet, etc. (i.e., elderly, non- English speaking, or members of diverse cultures). Emergency officials must appreciate how best to craft their disaster messages to these groups including the use of transla – tors and translated materials. Emergency officials must determine the best mechanisms for communicating with these special needs populations using a combination of tradi – tional and new media and neighborhood-based communications networks. Excerpt from Social Media: A Tool to Reach the Access and Functional Needs Community Posted by: Kim Stephens, June 15, 2012 As a part of a current project I have found some great content that references the use of social media as a tool to reach vulnerable populations. There are four reports I’d like to highlight that address this concept—some from the point of view of the citizen, others from the point of view of the first responder. All of the reports remind us that a one-size-fits-all approach for communicating is not a successful strategy in this day-and-age where people get to pick how they find information. If you are reluctant to use social media because (as I’ve heard stated) you don’t think your community uses the tools—think again! 1. “S ocial Media: A Tool For Inclusion” was written by Anne Taylor with funding from Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, Horizontal Policy Integration Division (HPID). 2. A r eport entitled “Emergency Notification Strategies for the Deaf/Hard of Hearing Planning Project,” developed for the Western Massachusetts Homeland Security Advisory Council, also lists social media as an option for communicating, specifically with the deaf popula – tion during emergencies. 3. “Emer gent Use of Social Media: A New Age of Opportunity for Disaster Resilience.” (2011). This is an article by M.E. Keim and E. Noji for the National Center for Environmental Health Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, CDC. 4. “ Communicating with Vulnerable Populations: A Transportation and Emergency Management Toolkit.” What I like most about this toolkit, even though the main focus is not social media, is that their suggestions emphasize relationship building—something that social media can help accomplish. Excerpt from: iDisaster 2.0. June 15, 2012. http://idisaster.wordpress.com/2012/06/15/social-media-a-tool-to-reach-the -access-and-functional-needs-community/. Haddow, G. D., & Haddow, K. (2014). Disaster communications in a changing media world. ProQuest Ebook Central http://ebookcentral.proquest.com Created from apus on 2021-05-02 06:53:23. Copyright © 2014. Elsevier Science & Technology. All rights reserved. Disaster Communications in a Changing Media World Disaster Communications Audiences 127 Since Hurricane Katrina there has been a growing interest in serving functional needs populations, and professionals working in government, the nonprofit, voluntary, and private sectors have begun to work together to address the basic needs of these populations in disasters (see Jane Bullock’s “Another Voice” on communicating with children about disasters and safety below). Another Voice Talking to Children About Hazards: The Sesame Street Get Ready and Fire Safety Projects Jane Bullock Jane Bullock is the former chief-of-staff to FEMA Director James L. Witt and a principal in Bullock & Haddow LLC, a Washington, D.C.-based disaster management consulting firm. In 1969, a new experiment in children’s television debuted called Sesame Street. Sesame Street was the product of the Children’s Television Workshop (CTW ), a group of visionary individuals led by Joan Ganz Cooney who recognized the need for a new approach to children’s televi – sion. The goal of the program was to focus on the underserved population of children aged 2 to 5 living in low-income to poverty-level households. These children needed help to learn cognitive and social skills before entering school and it was felt that education, which is acces – sible to rich and poor alike, could play a major role in reducing the gap between low-income children and their counterparts in the middle class. To make this program effective, Sesame Street created one of the most rigorous research, message development, product testing, artis – tic, and evaluative processes to reach their audience. By all accounts, it has been extremely effective. Which was why, in 1979, the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) reached out to CTW and Sesame Street in reaction to statistics that indicated a significant increase in fire-related chil – dren death and injury rates. The Sesame Street audience was extremely vulnerable to fire threats in their homes; children were prone to play with matches and lighters and often would hide from firefighters entering the home because they looked so foreign in their fire suits. CTW began an aggressive project to identify what messages would work best for the preschool age and primary school-aged children and which medium worked best to communicate to them. One classic example of the CTW treatment is “Drop, Stop, and Roll,” teaching children what to do if their clothes are on fire. Through songs, skits, and puppet acting, children learned a criti – cal principle of personal fire safety that is now practiced in daycare and schools throughout the world. A hallmark of all CTW materials are creative songs, coloring books, simple games, and excellent teacher and caregiver aids to help deliver the materials in a nonthreatening and educational way. Building on the success of the Fire Safety Project in the 1980s, FEMA, which the USFA became part of in 1979, was extremely interested in reaching out to children to help them understand other natural disasters and how they could be impacted by them, and what they could do to be prepared for hurricanes, earthquakes, and floods. A collateral interest was to see if children could bring the messages home to their parents to influence the adults to take part in an action, such as to make a family plan or an emergency kit, or tie down their Haddow, G. D., & Haddow, K. (2014). Disaster communications in a changing media world. ProQuest Ebook Central http://ebookcentral.proquest.com Created from apus on 2021-05-02 06:53:23. Copyright © 2014. Elsevier Science & Technology. All rights reserved. 128 water heaters to achieve a greater level of preparedness and mitigation in their homes and communities. Working with the CTW staff and research process, it became clear that the word “prepared- ness” wasn’t going to work and we needed to find something simpler and more understand – able. Out of their exhaustive process came the Big Bird Get Ready Series, which built upon the common childhood idea of “Get Ready, Get Set, and Go.” Starting with hurricanes, a Big Bird Get Ready Kit and supporting materials were researched, designed, and extensively pilot tested. These kits were geared toward a slightly older audience of 5 to 12 years of age and could include concepts such as weather and sci – ence, watch and warning, etc., as part of the education. Each kit included an informational bro – chure of three parts: 1. Get Ready examples included what does the hazard mean, and how to Get Ready by know – ing where to go, knowing what to do in an earthquake, identifying high ground near a house in a flood, and having an evacuation route and a Family Safety Kit. 2. Get Set examples included know what is watch and warning, stay tuned to local radio and television, pick inside and outside safety spots near your home. 3. Go to Safety examples included locating the nearest shelter, dealing with earthquake after – shocks, and staying away from swollen streams. The brochure was specifically designed to be like a small book with one side being in English and the other in Spanish. It took CTW almost 6 months to research the most widely accepted Spanish dialect to be used for the translation. The other two main components of the kit were a board game and a cassette of songs and stories. At this age level, CTW found that more complex activities such as board games and card games were most effective and an excellent way to reinforce messages and deliver information. A key to these kits was still the cassettes which included stories and creative songs that were written for each hazard. “Hurricane Blues,” “Beat the Quake,” and “Get Out of the Water” were original songs designed in different musical styles popular in the 1980s and designed to be played in classrooms, care – givers operations, daycare and after care centers, churches, businesses, and even in family cars. While Big Bird was an anchor to the series, other Sesame Street characters such as Bert and Ernie, Oscar the Grouch, the Cookie Monster, and the Count played starring rolls. In the last kit produced, Get Ready for Floods, a special section was added on how to best talk to children about dealing with a disaster. After the devastation caused by Hurricane Andrew, CTW staff and characters went to the shelters around Homestead and worked with the children using the Get Ready for Hurricanes materials and the songs and stories on the “Hurricane Blues” cassettes. A special outgrowth of the Get Ready project was a Sesame Street episode that dealt with Bert and Ernie going through a hurricane disaster. Originally developed and shown in the early 1990s, a newer version of the story was developed as recently as 2004 after the series of four hurricanes swept through Florida. The kits were a huge success and demand outstripped FEMA’s ability to produce them in color and some private-sector funding was made available; but FEMA was never able to keep up with the demand. While the program was never officially evaluated, it was recognized by professional teaching organizations, child welfare groups, and the Congress. The key to the success was the CTW process of intensive research and intensive product testing on the Haddow, G. D., & Haddow, K. (2014). Disaster communications in a changing media world. ProQuest Ebook Central http://ebookcentral.proquest.com Created from apus on 2021-05-02 06:53:23. Copyright © 2014. Elsevier Science & Technology. All rights reserved. Disaster Communications in a Changing Media World Disaster Communications Audiences 129 ELECTED OFFICIALS AND COMMUNITY LEADERS Elected officials and community leaders play significant roles in all phases of emergency management and in both receiving and delivering disaster messages. It is vitally important that emergency officials keep those elected officials in their jurisdic – tion informed before, during, and after a disaster strikes. Elected officials and com – munity leaders can serve as credible spokespeople in communicating with the public, with partners and stakeholders, and with the media. Often, these officials maintain social media accounts that can serve as force multipliers in getting emergency messages to the public. This is true with communications efforts in the response and recovery phases and in promoting hazard mitigation and preparedness programs and activities. Local elected officials and community leaders should receive regular briefings and updates during disaster response on conditions in the disaster site, the status of evacu – ees, number of dead and injured, and impact of the disaster on community infrastruc – ture and environmental resources. They also need to keep abreast of all response actions by governmental, nongovernmental, voluntary, and private sector responders. A specific level of detail will be required in these briefings as these leaders will make decisions on the use of community resources and if necessary, appealing for state and federal disaster assistance. State officials, particularly the governor, also require detailed information about disaster-impact and response conditions. Only the governor can request a presidential disaster declaration that results in the provision of federal disaster assistance to individ – uals and communities. Members of Congress are an important group to keep informed as they will work with their colleagues to secure federal assistance once a presiden – tial declaration has been made, especially in catastrophic disasters such as Hurricane Katrina and the Northridge earthquake. At some point in time, any number of local, state, and federal officials will want to visit the disaster area. This is a valuable communications mechanism as these political audience. The songs “Hurricane Blues” and “Beat the Quake” were tested with over 15 different children audiences, as were the board and card games. The other key was CTW’s knowledge of their audience. Disasters disproportionately impact low-income families because of where they must live and the type of housing they live in, and CTW knew how best to reach them. They produced well-researched and credible messages, delivered by figures in Big Bird, Bert and Ernie, Oscar, et al., that children, parents, and caregiv – ers trusted, and made those messages educational, practical, and fun—and they saved lives. In the aftermath of the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989, finding safety spots included in the Get Ready for Earthquake Kit became a standard school practice. Haddow, G. D., & Haddow, K. (2014). Disaster communications in a changing media world. ProQuest Ebook Central http://ebookcentral.proquest.com Created from apus on 2021-05-02 06:53:23. Copyright © 2014. Elsevier Science & Technology. All rights reserved. 130 leaders will bring the media with them to the site. Appropriate staff and support resources should be allocated at all level of government to support keeping elected officials and community leaders informed. It should be noted that staff from the offices of elected officials and community leaders are a valuable source of information on conditions in their jurisdictions and emergency officials should seek to create a relationship with these staff members to facilitate the exchange of information. Additionally, these staff members may include communications specialists who could be made available, on request, to assist with communications efforts. Well-informed elected officials and community leaders can make credible and con – fident spokespersons for communicating information to the public and the media. These officials are often media savvy and well-spoken and understand the require – ments for delivering a consistent message in a compassionate manner. Involvement in hazard mitigation and preparedness communications programs during nondisaster periods provides opportunities for these officials to learn more about disasters and become comfortable talking about disaster issues (see Figure 7.2). Local community leaders will play major roles in conveying disaster information through neighborhood communications networks. These leaders will also be well- acquainted with hazard mitigation and preparedness messages and issues. In disaster response, they should serve a dual purpose of delivering disaster-response information to their constituents and collecting disaster-impact information in their neighborhoods and communicating this information to emergency officials. Figure 7.2 Lincroft, New Jersey, November 12, 2012—New Jersey Governor Chris Christie gives a press conference on Hurricane Sandy recovery efforts at the FEMA Joint Field Office. FEMA is working with state and local officials to assist residents who were affected by Hurricane Sandy. (Photo by Liz Roll/FEMA.) Haddow, G. D., & Haddow, K. (2014). Disaster communications in a changing media world. ProQuest Ebook Central http://ebookcentral.proquest.com Created from apus on 2021-05-02 06:53:23. Copyright © 2014. Elsevier Science & Technology. All rights reserved. Disaster Communications in a Changing Media World Disaster Communications Audiences 131 PARTNERS AND STAKEHOLDERS There are any number of partners and stakeholders in all phases of emergency management who should be part of an effective communications operation including: ● Fir st responders ● Go vernment emergency management organizations: ● FEMA/DHS ● State emergency management agencies ● Local emergency management agencies ● Reg ional agencies involved in emergency management such as the Council of Governments ● Other federal agencies such as the Cor ps of Engineers, USDA, EPA, HUD, HHS, and others ● V oluntary agencies—Voluntary organizations active in disasters (VOADs) ● Nongo vernmental organizations (NGOs) ● Business sector ● V olunteers and service providers Partner and Stakeholder Engagement through Social Media Interview with Communications Consultant Oliver S. Schmidt ● Question: What must an organization do in order to use social media effectively once a crisis occurs? ● Answer: While the specifics always depend on the particular organization and a thorough situational assessment, an effective crisis response will ideally come down to executing a crisis management strategy that includes a comprehensive social media component. It is important to remember that stakeholder engagement via social media must be geared toward building social capital and stakeholder trust well before a crisis occurs. This should be done through continuously reaching out to and fostering strong relation – ships across various stakeholder groups so that in the event of a crisis the affected com – pany, government agency or non-profit organization is viewed not as an adversary, but as a trusted partner its stakeholders turn to in order to receive crisis related information and support. Excerpt from: Disaster Resources Guide, 2012. These partners and stakeholders are included in NIMS and ICS and can be sources of information and messengers delivering information to the public and other part – ners and stakeholders (see Figure 7.3). Leaders from these organizations should be rou – tinely briefed and updated on disaster conditions in disaster response and brought in Haddow, G. D., & Haddow, K. (2014). Disaster communications in a changing media world. ProQuest Ebook Central http://ebookcentral.proquest.com Created from apus on 2021-05-02 06:53:23. Copyright © 2014. Elsevier Science & Technology. All rights reserved. 132 at the beginning of the formulation of hazard mitigation and preparedness programs. Protocols should be developed to ensure that this audience is well-informed and that information collected by this audience is secured and processed. Figure 7.3 Washington, D.C., February 6, 2013—Officials from the White House Office of Public Engagement, Office of Science and Technology Policy, and FEMA participate in a Think Tank confer – ence at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building at the White House. The conference highlighted initiatives developed by innovation teams inside and outside of the government in the areas of communications, analytics, design, and technology and the response to Hurricane Sandy. (Photo by Jocelyn Augustino/FEMA.) Two Examples of FEMA Communications to Partners and Stakeholders ● Firefighters and emergency managers: The U.S. Fire Administration’s Coffee Break (07/02/2013, 02:56 pm ED T ). ● Firefighters and emergency managers: The U.S. Fire Administration’s Coffee Break Training weekly bulletins provide an opportunity to learn a valuable skill specific to the topic of the week. The bulletins are brief, just one page, but are packed with informa – tion you can use. You can receive the Coffee Break Training bulletins via email. Access the ‘Receive Coffee Break Training Updates by Email’ link at: http://www.usfa.fema.gov/nfa/ coffee-break/. Source: FEMA Facebook page. (2013). https://www.facebook.com/FEMA. The FEMA Think Tank FEMA recognizes that the best solutions to the challenges we face are generated by the peo – ple and the communities who are closest to these challenges. It is essential that these partners are invited to the table to actively participate in thought-provoking discussions. That is why we are reaching out to state, local, and tribal governments, and to all members of the public, including the private sector, the disability community, and volunteer community, Haddow, G. D., & Haddow, K. (2014). Disaster communications in a changing media world. ProQuest Ebook Central http://ebookcentral.proquest.com Created from apus on 2021-05-02 06:53:23. Copyright © 2014. Elsevier Science & Technology. All rights reserved. Disaster Communications in a Changing Media World Disaster Communications Audiences 133 Many of these groups are heavily involved in the recovery phase and should be included in all communications efforts during this period. These groups and their lead – ers can deliver information on recovery efforts directly to their customers and their workers. They are also the source of updated information on how their recovery efforts are progressing. As with elected officials and community leaders, some partners and stakehold – ers employ communications staff who could be made available to work in a Joint Information Center (JIC) and help collect and disseminate disaster information. These same communications staff could also participate in the design and implementation of hazard mitigation and preparedness communications programs during nondisaster periods. Again, working with these groups during a nondisaster period strengthens relationships that will be very useful when the next disaster strikes. THE MEDIA In disaster response, the media comes to emergency officials for information, access to the disaster site, and interviews with response officials. Sharing information with the media is a must. Regular briefings, access to response officials, and access to the disaster site and disaster victims will meet the needs of nearly all media respond – ing to a disaster. Serving this audience in a disaster is all about scheduling and meeting the media’s information needs. Media need not be an adversary; in fact, it does not take much to make the media a partner in the response. Timely and accurate information and a thank you every now and then can help forge a solid partnership with this audience. to seek their input on how to improve the emergency management system. FEMA wants to hear your ideas and suggestions, to both explore best practices and generate new ideas. The FEMA Think Tank will help facilitate these conversations and encourage further discussion. The FEMA Think Tank has two main components: ● Online Forum: Submit your own ideas, comment on others, and participate in conversa- tions meant to generate creative solutions. The forum is open to anyone who wants to dis – cuss a variety of emergency management issues, such as how we prepare for, respond to, recover from, or mitigate against all types of disasters, as well as ideas on how we can con – tinue to integrate the whole community. ● Discussion Sessions: Deputy Administrator Serino will conduct sessions to discuss some of the real-life solutions and ideas that are generated by this online forum. These sessions will be open to the general public and captioning for participants who are deaf or hard of hearing will be provided. The Deputy Administrator will travel to a different location each session to personally meet with members of the emergency management community. Source: FEMA. (2013). http://www.fema.gov/fema-think-tank . Haddow, G. D., & Haddow, K. (2014). Disaster communications in a changing media world. ProQuest Ebook Central http://ebookcentral.proquest.com Created from apus on 2021-05-02 06:53:23. Copyright © 2014. Elsevier Science & Technology. All rights reserved. 134 However, if you withhold or appear to withhold disaster information and access, then the media is likely to turn on emergency officials and it is “Hurricane Katrina” all over again. The days of not sharing information or selective sharing of information by emergency officials is over. Not just because the traditional media will not stand for it, but because social media is becoming a significant new source of information for tradi – tional media. In recent years, first informers, using social media outlets, have become trusted sources of disaster information. Emergency officials must engage these first informers in a systematic way—much the way CNN and other traditional news outlets have— and fold these new information sources into the disaster communications efforts. As previously noted, CNN has developed guidance for its iReporters on how to cover a disaster event including tips on storytelling, how to take great photos, how to take better video, how to record audio clips, and how to best use music in your report – ing. Emergency managers might consider doing the same when communicating with their customers on social media sites. CONCLUSION The four important audiences targeted for communications in a crisis are the general public, elected officials and community officials, partners and stakeholders, and the media. There are subsets within each of the audience groups such a func – tional-needs populations in the general public and both traditional and social media comprising the media audiences. Emergency managers must determine how best to communicate to each of these audiences using all available media outlets. REFERENCES Disaster Resources Guide, 2012. Q&A on Social Media and Crisis Management. An Interview with Oliver S. Schmidt. June, 2012. FEMA, 2008. National Response Framework: NRF Resource Center. Haddow, G. D., & Haddow, K. (2014). Disaster communications in a changing media world. ProQuest Ebook Central http://ebookcentral.proquest.com Created from apus on 2021-05-02 06:53:23. Copyright © 2014. Elsevier Science & Technology. All rights reserved. Disaster Communications in a Changing Media World