Joseph Galbraith
Reference: Barnes, M, PhD, Hanson, C. Novilla, N., Meacham, A. McIntyre, E.
(2008). Analysis of Media Agenda Setting During and After Hurricane Katrina: Implications for Emergency Preparedness, Disaster Response, and Disaster Policy. American Journal of Public Health. Pgs 604-610
Theme: The media has the ability to shape public perception during and after a disaster which in turn can affect public policy.
Summary:
• Statistical analysis was conducted on four prominent newspapers on the Hurricane Katrina Disaster.
• Most of the news stories focused on response as opposed to preparedness.
• The federal government was the focus of blame rather than the individual citizens.
• The efforts of public health officials and practitioners to market preparedness through the media is not a priority for the news outlets before the disaster.
•78% of the news stories focused on response and recovery. 8.9% focused mitigation and preparation.
• 40% of the articles focused on accountability of the federal government. 13.8% attributed blame to the individual citizens.
• The overwhelming negative tone expressed towards the federal government's response forced government officials to consider policy changes.
Application to the lesson topic:
The media can play a large role in the shaping of public opinion which will in turn force policy makers to consider changes. The agenda of the media can produce bias and sometimes false information.
Application to emergency services:
In emergency services we have to learn how to use the media to our advantage. We must know how to market our product using the media. This relationship starts well before the disaster using our information officers. We must also understand the agenda and goals of the particular media outlet that we are dealing with. Sometimes we have no choice but to play to their agenda in order to push out information in times of crisis.
