5 - Problems and Recommendations for Media Communication - Andrea Graff

Reference: Lowrey, W., Evans, W. (2007). Effective media communication of disasters: pressing problems and recommendations. BMC Public Health.

Theme: Problems and recommendations for media communication

Summary:

Natural and man-made disasters have been increasing over the last decades and journalists and media personnel have a crucial role in covering these events. Public information officers (PIO) and media need to work together to make sure accurate and timely information gets to the public. Following are challenges and solutions faced:

• Public health's expanding role in preparedness: It wasn't until Sept. 11 that public health began to be integrated into the disaster response efforts. Their role in collaborating with the media is to get information on personal protective actions to the public during times of emergency.

• Professional and organizational realities: Public health agencies have been faulted for not "preparing in advance information useful in emergencies and for ineffective dissemination of information". PIO's are the go-between, they have to put out information that will be understood and is communicated accurately. "PIOs are also constrained by legal requirements designed to protect citizen privacy".

• Journalism advisors have several complaints about PIOs. They say PIOs err on the side of withholding access to information and experts, sometimes they lack the authority to provide access to information, and they too often perform poorly on camera and in interviews.

• Both journalists and PIOs worry about their ability to get information to the public when it is something they should be worried or concerned about. They both believe it is necessary to build close relationships with one another to respond effectively to health-related emergencies.

Application to the lesson topic: Media and PIOs have been and will probably continue to be a big issue in the sense of getting along and trusting one another. Realizing this and coming up with solutions to overcome the struggles they face and learning to trust each other will go a long way in getting timely accurate information out to the public.

Application to emergency services:  Making sure our PIOs have the most accurate information to give to the public will help in the relationship between the PIO and media personnel. That way, the media won't feel the need to go straight to the source to get information, but will trust in what the PIO has to say.

5- Public Relations' Influence on the News - James Delli Gatti

Reference: Turk, Judy VanSlyke (1986). Public Relations' Influence on the News. Newspaper Research Journal. 7(4), 15-27.

By: James Delli Gatti

Theme:

The sharing of information with the media has a high level of influence to the news reported by journalists.

Summary:

·         This article summarizes a study to examine how much influence the PIO has on daily newspaper content through the information they provide to journalists.

·         The world presented to the public is a reflection of the medias own construction of reality and not a mirror of reality.

·         The sources of information (i.e. PIOs and government information officials) and the interaction between source and journalist have as much to do with the media's selection process for information presentation as does the journalists values and the media agenda.

·         About half of the information provided by PIOs was used in subsequent stories.

·         The topics identified by PIOs as significant were the same topics given significance in media coverage.

Application to the lesson topic:

Sources do have influence on the medias construction of reality. Journalists were heavily influenced by information from PIO sources. There are multiple influences on the medial agenda.

Application to Emergency Services:

The role of PIO and journalist influence the information communicated to the public. The information that the incident commander wants and needs conveyed to the public regarding specific emergency situations is relayed through the PIO to the media creating a reflection of the scenario. Information presented by the PIO is often seen as more factual and reliable than other sources.

Reading Comments 4 - Robert Letterman

Robert Letterman

Disaster Communication using Social Media

Social media is such an ever changing and evolving thing.  Its sometimes hard to keep up.  These days most of us can't even go part of the day without our cell phone.  But now that our phones can be turned into mass communication devices the importance of keeping up with technology for those of us in disaster response is even more important.

Ready for Disaster

I suppose that most communities and people think that what they see on TV won't happen to them.  It's interesting that every major crisis that happens serves as a wakeup call for the community or area affected.  But when will the rest of us allow these incidents to serve as a wakeup call for us?  It's important to identify the highest areas of risk that we can predict in our own geographical areas.

4- Communication Gaps in Disaster Management - Robert Letterman

Robert Letterman

Reference

Paltalla, P., Boano, C., Lund, R., & Vos, M. (2012). Communication Gaps in Disaster Management: Perceptions by Experts from Govermental and Non-Governmental Organizations. Journal of Contingenicies and Crisis Management, 2-12.

Theme

               Communicating during a disaster is always difficult.  This article analyzes the gaps in communications that occur and how to best  enhance communication during a crisis.

Summary

Crisis management and response is gaining interest in the public and private sector.

Much has been researched and developed in the field of crisis management as it pertains to public relations and image restoration.

The basis of crisis communications is to provide the public with information regarding the disaster.  Crisis communication really began in the field of public relations

The method used by the article is to take a more general approach to researching these gaps and not focus on specific singular incidents.

An online questionnaire was set up to collect information and data to determine the nature and frequency of communication gaps.

One of the issues that comes up during crisis communications is the blame game that occurs between public information officers and the media.

The media will often concern themselves with assigning blame to government agencies and responders.

Despite the fact that communications plans are in place but results from the questionnaire indicated that more practice and development in the field needs to happen.

Application to Lesson

Sometimes we can become too consumed with how we respond to disasters and incidents but we must not let ourselves forget the planning of communication that needs to be developed.

Application to Future Work

This article explains the importance of communication planning not just in the public sector but the private sector as well.  As someone who plans to work in emergency management in the private sector establishing and understanding how communication will be executed during a crisis will be beneficial.

4 - Disaster Communication using Social Media - Ashley Burningham

Ashley Burningham

Reference: Preston, J., Stelter, B. (2012, date). In Crisis, Public Officials Embrace Social Media. New York Times.

Theme:

Social media is a powerful and necessary tool in disaster communication.

Summary:
- Hurricane Sandy prompts officials to embrace social media.
-Governor's Twitter feed proves this: 400 messages on Tuesday, 300 on Wednesday, and well over 100 on Thursday.
- Governor responding to messages, he believes social media is highly effective.
- Governor's followers increased from 20,000 to 50,000
- Phone service has been spotty
- People were reliant on texting and social media more than previously.
- Officials embraced social media to spread the word.
- Still participate in press conferences, but simultaneously post to social media.
- Serves as a round the clock press conference.
- Before the storm, they used Pinterest to generate ideas for preparing for disasters.
- "Social media is an integral part of an emergency communication plan."
- Many people don't have access to a television or radio, but most have internet access.
- Power outage prevents use of tv or radio.
- Social media allows information to come straight from the source.

Application to the Lesson:

This weeks lesson was on disaster communication and planning. With this day in age, it has become more apparent that social media is taking over the process of a lot of things. It has become a new tool utilized by officials in getting information out. Because disaster communication involves social media, it is applicable to the lesson this week.

Application to Emergency Services:

In emergency services, the Public Information Officer is in charge of distributing information to the media and public. Because social media is so prevalent today, law enforcement agencies need to take advantage of it.

4 - Ready for disaster? - Chris Schippers

References:

Holland, R. J., & Gill, K. (2006). Ready for disaster? (Cover story). Communication World, 23(2), 20-24.

Theme: This article discusses the results of a survey of more than 600 IABC members to show that communication plans are not as common as they should be.

Summary:

·         A survey of IABC members reveals that crisis communication plans are not as widespread as expected.

·         More than likely a third of the most organizations are not prepared for a disaster of crisis to occur because they don't have a formal crisis communication plan.

·         Communicators who were prepared with a plan and used it found it effective 99% of the time.

·         The survey is given at a right time to gauge the extent to which organizations have developed and used crisis communication plans, and whether the plans are worth the time and effort to create.

·         Poor planning after Hurricane Katrina was noticed on a global scale and damaged the United States' reputation.

·         Organizational crises open the door for communicators to demonstrate their skills in planning as well as tactical execution.

·         Attacks on September 11, 2001 served as a wake-up call to company leaders.

·         Just under half of the communicators whose organizations experienced a crisis with no plan are actually doing something about it and the other half aren't taking any action.

·         The survey also revealed good news about the integration of crisis communication plans into organizations' overall crisis response and business resumption plans.

·         The article discusses an 11 step process of developing a crisis communication plan.

Application to the Lesson Topic: 

This article details with statics from a survey the critical importance of a need for planning and preparation for a crisis.  By having this plan in place the organization or people who are affected will communicate more efficiently and recovery will be much easier.

Application to Emergency Services:

This of course relates to emergency services because it is exactly what emergency personnel are trained to do, have a plan and respond to the crisis according to that plan by following SOP's.  Planning and communication go hand-in-hand.  There needs to be a plan when responding to an emergency and the plan needs to be communicated to every emergency personnel involved for the plan to work.

4 - Missing Summary - Mike Wayman

4 - Challenges of Disaster Communication Fieldwork - Jeff Neal

Reading Summary 4: Planning for Spontaneity: The Challenges of Disaster Communication Fieldwork

Jeff Neal

Reference: Horsley, Suzanne. (2012).  Planning for Spontaneity: The Challenges of Disaster Communication Fieldwork. International Journal of Qualitative Method.

Theme: Crisis Communication and disaster communication is difficult, and even more difficult to study.  Most events occur in places researchers have never been and have not planned for, with uncertain conditions.  This article discusses the challenges and benefits of disaster research and fieldwork.

Summary: The author of this article attempts to study crisis communication during disasters using the participant-observation of a disaster response with informal on-site interviews.  The challenge is that there are not many disasters and when they do happen most occur without much notice.  Researchers must be prepared to respond quickly and to areas were the conditions are uncertain.  Imagine responding to New York during 911.  Getting into New York was almost impossible and unless you were already in the area, fights had been grounded.  Planning for this event could not have happened.  This is the reason that there is little research done during disasters.  There are times researchers can respond. 2009 Red River Valley floods in Fargo, North Dakota is an example of this.  The author states that gathering information during disasters is critical for data analysis, theory development, and practical application. Benefits of observational research include the researcher not asking participants to perform in any unnatural way (i.e., filling out a survey or taking part in an experiment), but instead allowing the researchers presence to be accepted as they go about their business.

Application to the lesson topic: Planning is important to effectively operate in a disaster.  One critical element is research.  In the fire service we would always have a debriefing following an incident to discuss the good and bad strategies and tactics used during the incident.  The evaluation of data is what has helped develop current systems that are in place.   

Application to emergency services: It's extremely difficult to study communications during a disaster. Simulating the stress and situational difficulties that accompany a disaster is a challenge but could be the best approach to prepare for the actual event. Because when the disaster happens is on the job training which does not always produce the best results.

4- INTEROPERABLE INFORMATION - Joseph Galbraith

Joseph Galbraith

Lesson 4 Reading Summary

Reference:  Musavi, S., Memon, A., & Chawdhri, B. (2011). MODELING AN INTEROPERABLE INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION NETWORK FOR DISASTER MANAGEMENT FIRST RESPONDERS. International Journal Of Academic Research, 3(2), 17-25.

Theme: Major issues exist in the communications system in Pakistan in spite of their history of natural and manmade disasters.

Summary:

• Communication before, during and after a disaster is crucial to the survival rate.

• The two main communication problems discussed in this article are early warning systems and interoperable communications for responders.

• Issues perceived in this geographical region (South West Asia) were lack of both of these systems.

• Most emergency personnel depend on local cellular networks.

• Along with interoperability comes the importance of a centralized communication center such as an Emergency Operations Center and Joint Information Center.

• The region is very familiar with disasters both manmade and natural and still does not a have an adequate communication system.

•Early warning systems are crucial for storm, flood, tsunami, and volcano events. 

•Some issues identified with combating the advent of early warning systems are; lack of political will, weak communication among various actors and publics inability to realize vulnerabilities to disaster.

•The following are optimal for a good communications interoperability system and its planning for responders;

                - More sophisticated Vital Equipment

                - Backup Subscriber Management Center

                - Emergency Hot Lines

                - Paging Systems for Spreading Disaster Warnings

                - Rapid Up gradation Techniques for Base Stations during Response

Application to the lesson topic:

Communications is not only the most important thing for emergency services in dealing with disasters but it is also the most vulnerable piece of the emergency management framework due to our dependency on electricity.  Innovative techniques need to be developed to either develop and advance interoperability system or revert to primitive forms of communication in the event of loss of power.

Application to emergency services:

Emergency services have many communications interoperability problems in normal day to day operations.  A disaster will magnify these issues drastically.  In my place of work we have many problems that we need to work out in order to communicate with local public safety responders.  Exercises are key to working out these bugs and coming up with solutions that are resilient and that will work in the worst case scenarios.

4 - Planning for Spontaneity - Jeffrey Martin

Reference: Horsley, J. (2012). Planning for Spontaneity: The Challenges of Disaster Communication Fieldwork. International Journal Of Qualitative Methods, 11(3), 180-194.

Theme:  The article discusses fieldwork disaster communication, and the apparent lack of research on the subject.

Summary:  the American Red Cross organizes during disaster to communicate with primary public entities, including the media, donors, partner agencies, and those affected by disaster.  There is little or no research on disaster communication in the middle of an event as it unfolds in front of your eyes.  Communication in the field is vastly different from that in a communications center.

·         The need for an organization to protect its image during a volatile time can cause an organization to exert more control over the dissemination of information.

·         The greatest difference between conducting qualitative fieldwork in disasters and in more stable, certain environments is the simple fact that it is a disaster.

·         Flexibility is vitally important at a disaster site in which the setting and circumstances are constantly evolving.

Other reading:  Eisenman, D. P., Cordasco, K. M., Asch, S., Golden, J. F., & Glik, D. (2007). Disaster Planning and Risk Communication With Vulnerable Communities: Lessons From Hurricane Katrina. American Journal Of Public Health, 97S109-S115.

This article discusses communications with the public during Hurricane Katrina.

Application: Communication from within the safety of a command center does not have the same issues of that from the field.  For those managers and leaders performing actual fieldwork, there needs to be an understanding that it is a very dynamic and possibly hostile/dangrerous environment from what they may be used to. 

4- Communication Gaps in Disaster Management - Ray Huntzinger

Communication Gaps in Disaster Management -- Reading Summary #4


By Ray Huntzinger


Reference:

Palttala, P., Boano, C., Lund, R., & Vos, M. (2012, March).
Communication gaps in disaster management: Perceptions by experts from
governmental and non-governmental organizations. Journal of
Contingencies and Crisis Management. 20(1), pp.2-12.

Theme:

The theme of the journal was an overview of a study attempting to
address communication issues and gaps during disaster situations; and
ultimately develop tools to measure crisis communication
effectiveness.

Summary:

--The purpose of the study was to identify gaps in communication
during the management of disasters.

--Crisis communication aims to resolve crisis situations and lessen
public uncertainty during crisis/disaster events.

--The method, results, and conclusions of the study involving gaps in
disaster communication were outlined in detail.

--Stakeholders for the study were selected from those involved in
management of previous major disasters.

--The method to determine past gaps in disaster communication involved
three questions to stakeholders: What are the major constraints in
communication with the media and public? What are the constraints with
communication to civilians and communities? What are the constraints
in communication with other involved organizations?

--Some of the gaps identified in the study include deficiencies in the
flow of information within the disaster response/management network;
the relationships, expectations, and accountability of the flow of
information within the media; and the failure of emergency management
to monitor information that is released to the public.


Application to lesson topic:

The journal article describing the study directly relates to many
items, including the purpose, of the National Emergency Communications
Plan. Finding and addressing the gaps in disaster communication is a
major part of the overall lesson topic.


Application to emergency services:

The information in the journal article can be directly applied to
disaster management crisis communication during future incidents;
communication gaps/lessons from past disasters are identified and
recommendations are made.

3 - How Bush Blew It - Chris Schippers

How Bush Blew It

Chris Schippers

Reference: Thomas, E., Gegax, T., Campo-Flores, A., Murr, A., Meadows, S., Darman, J., & ... Tuttle, S. (2005). How Bush Blew It. Newsweek, 146(12), 26-40 Retrieved on September 22, 2013 from http://ehis.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.uvu.edu/ehost/detail?vid=5&sid=b6e828f1-aa5d-4181-951b-290968241215%40sessionmgr198&hid=6&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=aph&AN=18202381

Theme: The leadership style of President George W. Bush, in the response to the Hurricane Katrina disaster was a disaster itself, regardless of the stubborn New Orleans residents that didn't want to evacuate.

Summary:

·         President George W. Bush's Staff were apprehensive to tell the President his vacation would have to be cut short because of Hurricane Katrina.

·         President Bush didn't know how bad the results of the storm were.

·         The President lacked "situational awareness," less even, than an average American.

·         Because of the ease for Presidents to overreact to media buzz and noise around them, President George W. Bush often dodged the media or avoided reading newspapers.

·         His leadership style is somewhat one-sided and a bit of a one-way street, in that, he relates disagreement with disloyalty.

·         His staff is largely people that agree with him instead of having a voice or something different to bring to the table.

·         No one told him what he needed to hear; that efforts being made by state and local governments, and FEMA, were ineffective and basically useless.

·         President Bush should have anticipated and prepared for the worst outcome and aftermath events of the storm by having troops ready to deploy when needed.

·         Bush's advisers were not much help either.

·         The government's response to Hurricane Katrina was a domino effect as problems cascaded and compounded; each mistake made the next mistake worse.

·         Communication between local leaders and senior Washington Officials were poor at best.

·         Bush failed to take steps that would have helped such as order the military to take over emergency communications; instead, he went to bed.

·         As to avoid security issues and chaos by flying to New Orleans, he and his advisors thought it best for Bush to finish his vacation.

·         FEMA was incorporated into Homeland Security after 9/11 and as a result has digressed.

Application to the Lesson Topic:

President George W. Bush lacked some of the traits which make a good leader as outlined in our readings of the importance of being a good listener.  If he would have listened to some of the advice on the urgency to take over control of the situation, aid would have been rendered more effectively.

Application to Emergency Services:

This article is directly correlated with Emergency Services in that the display of poor leadership skills affected the people of New Orleans to the extreme.  Aide was not given in an appropriate manner or time and as a result unnecessary destruction, chaos, and riots emerged.  More work was created for emergency service crews as a result of poor leadership displayed by President Bush.  Good leadership is important to emergency services, for if leadership is poorly executed, results can be fatal.

4 - Communication Lessons - Michael Newland

 Michael Newland
Reference:

Varvas, S., & Mckenna, B. (2013). Learning the Communication Lessons of the Port-au-Prince Earthquake Relief Effort. Journal of Technical Writing & Communication, Vol. 43 Issue 1, Pg 43-61.

Theme:

Natural disasters are often unpredictable events. Supplying relief and aid to affected individuals is difficult especially in third world countries. Without adequate communication relief efforts become nearly impossible to coordinate.

Summary:

·         In January of 2010 a 7.0 magnitude earthquake occurred in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. 300,000 people lost their lives with hundreds of thousands more injured and homeless.

The emergency response for this disaster was severely hampered by the destruction of the United Nations communication headquarters. Poverty and miscommunication resulted in riots when food and supplies were being distributed. Several people did not receive any food or supplies for several days. Haiti’s political situation and structure at the time made relief communication and efforts even more difficult. We learned about a lot of things from this disaster that were done poorly.

·         The Three Stages of Disaster Relief outline what goes on before, during, and after a disaster in order to mitigate as much damage as possible. It also covers relief difficulties such as communication problems.

·         The first stage is Pre-Disaster Preparation and Communication. “This stage is essential for it outlines the necessary actions that must be followed to communicate effectively to the public, aid organizations, agencies, and governments to recover from a disaster (Varvas, 2013).”

·         The second stage or Response Stage is, “The implementation of strategic disaster planning and media communication responses to create awareness (Varvas, 2013).” In this stage regional, national, and international actors start to generate aid and support to those affected by the disaster. This stage can be difficult due to lack of short term and long term funding. In third world countries there are concerns that their governments are spending their money elsewhere due to corruption. Developing incident command systems is vital to relief efforts.

·         The last stage is Post-Disaster Communication and Management. After the disaster is over and relief efforts are in full swing there needs to be a post-disaster evaluation and analysis. “There are two steps where lessons and adaptive systems can be taught: 1. Lessons learned from the response stage; and 2. Long-term lessons derived from restoration (Varvas, 2013).”

·         From learning from past disasters like the Haiti earthquake four suggestions were created from several organizations. “To reduce distress from disasters, clear communication channels, political collaboration, proper education, and training are essential (Varvas, 2013).”

Application to the lesson topic:

Communication is incredibly important during disaster relief efforts. Without it you cannot hope to effectively give aid in a timely manner. You also would not be able to get vital information out to the public. Communication is a cornerstone to disaster response and relief.

Application to emergency services:

Responders trying to provide medical treatment and rescue to disaster victims must communicate with each other their organizations and with the government in order to coordinate efforts. Paramedics, EMT’s, and Police officers must remain in contact in order to send and receive information.

4 - Communicating Crisis - Andrea Graff

Andrea Graff

Reference: Isbell, M., Goldstein, R. (2006). Communicating crisis: inter-organizational collaboration among disaster relief agencies. International Communication Association. (p. 1-17).

Theme: Know your key players and communicate before disasters occur.

Summary:
Research was done to "review and investigate where the communicative differences may lie between internal and external crisis communication". Three main themes developed from the results of interviews which are: 1. planning 2. structure 3. collaboration continuum. I'm going to focus on the first, planning. There are three sub-themes to this theme:

• Pre-agreement: Know all of the players and build relationships with each of them. Trust needs to be built way before a crisis occurs and this comes from performance and experience.

• Sharing resources: Working together is key. Knowing who has what and who is bringing what to the table due to prior communication will keep costs lower and help everyone to work together.

• Outliers: Those who are part of the in-group, meaning they had pre-planned and gone to exercises were given larger responsibility during crisis events. Out-group members, or agencies that didn't participate were treated secondary. All help was welcomed, but the in-group had preferential treatment.

Application to the lesson topic:
Knowing the key players and establishing regular communication needs to be a main focus. Practicing for disasters and going over drills and exercises will help everyone to know their roles and be better prepared for the event of a disaster.

Application to emergency services:
As emergency services managers we can plan exercises and drills to make sure not only our staff but all key players will know what to do in the event of a disaster and hopefully work out the kinks beforehand. 

3 - Leadership Integrity - Andrea Graff

Andrea Graff

Reference: Lucas,  F., Katz, B. (2011). Gone with the wind? Integrity and Hurricane Katrina. New Directions for Student Services. (pp. 89-96).

Theme: Maintaining leadership integrity.

Summary:

• The number one characteristic that employees and the public want in a leader is integrity.

• To reassure employees and the public during and after a crisis there are some things you should keep in mind. The first is to make sure you keep calm. Emotions are highly contagious maintaining your composure will help to calm panicked people.

• Maintain a sense of humor. Spontaneous humor can help relieve the tension and overcome fear.

• Make sure you listen, it is the key to gaining assistance. And also communicate. "Accurate, timely, and ongoing information sharing is critical to maintain ethical and structural integrity on campus".

• And finally, take care of yourself. Over the days the strengths of the leaders get eroded, taking fifteen to thirty minutes of privacy each day can help to recenter and refocus.

Application to the lesson topic:
Integrity is the number one thing people look for in a leader. They need to know that when it comes to a crisis situation they can trust their leaders and there is no doubt as to what they are ordering.

Application to Emergency Services:
During a crisis situation it is important that we as leaders realize that everyone is going to be watching us and turning to us to see how they should be responding. It is up to us to keep our composure and help others to stay calm while at the same time getting things taken care of and making sure things get done.

2 - The Waco Watch - Andrea Graff

Andrea Graff

Reference:  Holley, J. (1993). The Waco watch. Columbia Journalism Review. (pp. 50-53).

Theme: Questioning the way journalists do their jobs.

Summary:

• Reporters were accused of alerting cult members to a possible raid either by a phone call or by "starting the series before the raid took place".

• The media broadcast messages from Koresh, the cult leader, resulting in the release of some of the children.

• A radio station was criticized for undermining federal authorities negotiating strategy when they flew a banner for the Branch Davidians.

• The vice president of a radio station said they did not have a "blanket policy" about cooperating with authorities.

Application to this lesson topic:
In this case the media was being accused of warning of the raid on the ranch, which they deny, and also of not cooperating with authorities when it came to airing stuff without permission.

Application to Emergency Services:
Just be really careful when it comes to reporters, they can be your best asset, or your worst nightmare. Make sure someone is briefing them so they don't feel the need to dig for their own information and that the information they get is accurate.

1 -Media bias and coverage of disasters - Andrea Graff

Andrea Graff

Reference: Moeller, S. (2006). "Regarding the pain of others": media, bias and the coverage of international disasters. Journal of International Affairs. (pp. 173-196).

Theme: Media bias and the coverage of international disasters

Summary:

• The amount of air time a certain disaster receives is influenced by who is evaluating it and usually when something is reported heavily in the news it is because a celebrity is backing it.

• If the disaster is in a part of the world we use as a vacation destination there will be far more attention than a place no one really knows about even if the death toll is quadruple in the unknown area.

• When there is no political controversy attached to a disaster the media will give it more time because no one will be critical and people will donate freely knowing they aren't furthering a political agenda.

• "Simple emergencies" are those which are considered "Acts of God" and call for a straight forward humanitarian response. On the contrary are "complex emergencies" which are man-made disasters where humans are at fault. These demand humanitarian relief, social, political and even military attention. These are costly and time time consuming for the media to cover. 

Application to the lesson topic:
All disasters should be known to people via the news. They should all be unbiased and facts should be all that is reported.

Application to emergency services:
I guess just make sure that the media has accurate facts and knows the real story.

3 - Leadership Through the Blur - Ray Huntzinger

Leading Through the Blur: Leadership in Difficult Times

ESMG 4200 Reading Summary #3



Ray Huntzinger

Reference:

Kerfoot, K. (2001, December). Leading through the blur: Leadership in
difficult times. Dermatology Nursing, 13(6), pp. 450-451.

Theme:

The theme of the article was that leadership requirements are
ever-changing and dynamic; and true leadership can only be measured by
how well a leader adapts during the difficult times.

Summary:

--Leadership abilities are measured in difficult times as most leaders
can survive when times are easy.

--Leadership in the face of terrorism will cause leaders to learn and
grow; those who choose these actions over fear will be successful.

--Successful leadership requires focused "community building" during
difficult times.

--To survive, leaders must look at adversity as a new chapter in their
lives and ultimately take advantage of the learning opportunity.

--Leaders must lead by example, particularly when it comes to showing
compassion.

--Leaders must foster an inner peace, avoiding negativity, hatred, or
self-loathing.

--Leaders must rise to the occasion and keep the "spirit of the
organization" alive.

Application to the lesson topic:

The article relates to the lesson topic because its ideas require
strong, decisive, and honest leadership. In addition, effective
communication skills are required to implement any of the suggested
strategies.

Application to emergency services:

The leadership ideas described in the article would make any emergency
service leader more effective. The Emergency services require
positivity, decisive, compassionate, proactive, and community-based
leadership ideals, just as the article suggests.

3- Leadership in the Face of Disaster - John Scardena

John Scardena

Reference:

Karlene Kerfoot (December, 2001) Leading Through the Blur: Leadership in Difficult Times

Theme:

Leaders become successful when they can understand what is going on despite chaos and grow in ability by using the five properties of leadership of disaster control

Summary:

-Recent Disasters like 9/11, floods in Houston, Oklahoma City Bombing, and tornados have created a new syndrome of nervousness called "anticipatory anxiety" which is a fear of the unknown.

- Leadership facing threats from terror and disaster has become very different than times past.

-Tests of leadership are not brought about by times of safety but by times of crisis

-In times of disasters leaders will raise from crisis because they choose to fight instead of flight.

-People will gravitate to those who are bold and seem to live without fear of the unknown

-This is a great time of learning and growing for leaders, just as a muscle grown from excursion so does a leader.

-This is a time to build the community

-The people who will suffer most in a disaster are those who do not have a support system.

-This is a time to rethink leadership qualities and training; i.e. new methods of leadership

This is a time for practicing compassion- leaders must lead by how they want the world to be governed.

-The world is attracted to leaders whom follow the golden rule.

-This is a time to focus on the spirit of peace.

-Leaders must look threw the blur of disasters and blow away the fog of confusion and become strong.

-People need strong leaders who are intelligent, courageous, and have a good heart.

Application to Lesson Topic:

            The leason focuses all about leadership, the view of leadership and what the World needs. I think this meshes with media because the leaders that we speak of and the ones we look up to are passionate and dramatic. Media thrives on these ideas thus making a positive link between the leaders we are looking for and the exposure that they need.

Application to Emergency Services:

            When I think of leaders in a disaster or crisis situation, I do think of the men and women that are in emergency services. Whether that be the police doing crowd control, the Red Cross comforting victims, members of Reaching Efforts taking control of clearing debris and rebuilding homes so that the communities can return, all have a place and all need to have courage so that victims and others suffering from anticipatory anxiety can feel safe and calm. Ultimately it will be the first responders becoming leaders who will help the initial calm and it will need to be the second responders and public servants who reinforce that calm by taking control, being peace makers, and offering peace.