4 - Communication Disaster Planninng - Sylvia C Kearney

REFERENCE: Furey, B. (2006, 01). Communications disaster planning and recovery: CHANGING PARAMETERS FOR CHANGING TIMES. Firehouse, 31, 64-67. Retrieved on Sept. 27^th, 2013 from: http://search.proquest.com/docview/229630346?accountid=14779

Buckingham, David, (2004) “Young People and Media” Briefing Paper for the United Nations Workshop on Global Media Driven Culture in New York

THEME: Public Safety Communication and Planning During Disaster

SUMMARY: A very interesting and often repeated incident is of course Hurricane Katrina. So much has been written and studies have been done to help train us all. This paper about communication disasters and planning and recovery gives details how to go about preparing for another disaster in step-by-step example.

o   Public Safety infrastructure is often overwhelmed when either a major disaster, or more than one disaster occurs. “As is often the case with transportation emergencies, no singular failure is normally to blame for creating a communications crisis. It often takes multiple concurrent disruptions for a problem to occur.” (Furey, 2006)

o   This is where communication becomes vulnerable. Some communication personnel become very stressed within a short time, especially like with Katrina, where people called for help as they were dying.

o   One of the most important points to prepare for disaster communication is to have a mutual aid plan with outside agencies that includes other resources besides communication.

o   Have a way of transporting them. And by all means, keep your fuel tanks filled at all times or fill them when they are half empty. This would also include generators etc. As someone once said, “It is better to have a half of a loaf of bread than none at all.” (Furey, 2006)

APPLICATION: NIMS (National Incident Management System) explains that you need to use the right resources for communication. If the event is happening now, News is happening now and communication has to be in place. One more issue to take into account, is the, “ . . . cultural imperialism thesis has effectively given way to a much more optimistic account of the global spread of media. Rather than global replacing the local, the two have been seen to merge in a process of ‘glocalisation’. . . .(Robertson, 1994; Featherstone, 1995) Buckingham, D. (2004).

APPLICATION in EMS: Sustainability development (SD) and the combination of the environmental, economic, and social issues are becoming an important subject when it comes to negotiating and planning disaster vulnerabilities including communications. Of course technology is becoming better and better and new plans are being worked on to help EMS and its resources to be able to communicate with each other and the media.

3 - Leadership Failures - Sylvia C Kearney

Reference: Kapucu, N., & Van Wart, M. (2008). Making Matters Worse: An Anatomy of Leadership Failures in Managing Catastrophic Events. Administration & Society, 40(7), 711-740.

Theme: Problems With Disaster Relief Leadership Exists and the Lack of Integration Between Development and Planning Must Addressed

 Summary: Disasters come in all types and sizes. They can be natural or man made. “Catastrophic disasters require additional leadership capabilities because extreme events overwhelm local capabilities and damage emergency response systems themselves.” (Kapucu, 2008). Another way to look at exceptional leadership is that if something works out well, due to great leadership, not very many people notice, but when there are leaders who strike out and encounter failure, then everyone notices. Leaders must represent competency like:

o   Decisiveness – a leader must act relatively quickly to the task at hand and he/she must be willing to make unilateral decision while remaining calm and collected.

o   Informing – critical information must be shared with the Incident Commander and the media, and it also includes shaping the mood of the public relations function.

o   Problem Solving – includes recognizing, investigating and resolving problems as they appear.

o   Managing – creating, acquiring, transferring knowledge and creating an environment that allows a flow of timely implementation of innovations.

o   Planning – coordinating with personnel and organizing to ensure that competent people are doing the work that is necessary.

o   Decision Making – is one of the traits that should be mentioned as number one since a leader needs to be able to constantly make choices at a moments notice. A leader however, needs to be able to see and understand the whole picture and be able to actively listen to information that he/she receives, in order to be an effective decision-making leader.

Application: Leaders are people that work well with others and can become your motivational speaker and your teacher. In a catastrophic disaster, leadership is often influenced by other’s effectiveness, and networking. The National Incident Command System for example claims that local, tribal, territorial and open government, have a right to information, however, it is important to know just what the local laws are. Leadership in catastrophic disasters is also political, as well as administrative. “They must lead the way in overarching structures, reporting chains of command,  . . .” (Kapucu, 2008). It is important to understand how widespread the leadership has to reach.

2 - Overcoming Mistrust of the Media - Sylvia C Kearney

Reference: Kelly Wilson, "High Anxiety," American Journalism Review, February/March 2008, http://www,ajr,org/article,asp?id=4478,

Liu, B., Horsley, J., & Yang, K. (2012). Overcoming Negative Media Coverage: Does Government Communication Matter? Journal Of Public Administration Research & Theory, 22(3), 597-621. Retrieved on October 11, 2013 from: http://ehis.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.uvu.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=1ca5fd07-d640-477b-964d-776f0fea671b%40sessionmgr14&vid=3&hid=106

Weaver Journalist in the 21^st Century, Randal A. Beam, David H. Weaver, and Bonnie J. Brownlee; CfMC Quarterly Vol. 86, No. 2 Summer 2009 277-298 ®2009AEIMC  “CHANGES IN PROFESSIONALISM OF U.S. JOURNALISTS IN THE TURBULENT TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY”

Theme: Issues Exist in Communication and Mass Media, Especially With Legal and Ethical Considerations in Emergency Situations

Summary: The public often mistrusts what some news journalists are reporting about the government, for example, and reasonably so. A study revealed the following:

1)    “In 1994 Citizens trust in government plummeted to 17%, and again in 2008.” (Liu, Pew, et al., 2010)

2)    Government communicators have also been forced with more and more limitations on their freedom of speech, due to laws and regulations than the journalists in the private sectors. (Liu, Horsley, and Levenshus 2010).

3)    In 2002 major newspaper companies declined, by shedding many publications and over 2000 journalists lost their jobs. It was the new platform of journalists who needed to adjust to the Internet and create new content. Values changed, including professional practices, autonomies, ethical predispositions, etc. (Wilson, 2008).

4)    One part of journalists reported with a neutral, detached observation, whose main tasks were to pass along factual information to the public, where another part of journalists chose to interpret, explain and even advocate their own solutions to social or political problems. (Weaver, 2009)

5)    Case and point, in 2002 journalists were covering President Bush, as he began to build an invasion of Iraq, called Desert Storm. (Weaver, 2009)

6)    Then there came blogging, a practice that is now widespread. Most journalists prefer to write blogs for their organizations, which brings yet another different type of journalism to light. Instead of factual information, the public is more interested in finding solutions to society’s problems.

Application: Gathering factual information these days is more difficult if one only views one source of information. In order to receive all the details without opinions, we have to rely on our own intelligence and view more than three news sources, including those from different countries. Only then, can we gather the real truth. Only then, can we make up our own opinion and follow our God given free will. The same exists in offering information in EMS. I believe that the information has to be factual, timely and without personal opinions.

6 - THE PIO: A POSITION WITH INFINITE BOUNDARIES - Chris Schippers

Chris Schippers

Reference:  Ruda, S. J. (1998). The PIO: A position with infinite boundaries. Fire Engineering, 151(12), 61. Retrieved on October 10, 2013 from http://ezproxy.uvu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=1774778&site=ehost-live

Theme:  This article discusses the role of the Public Information Officer and why it is necessary to have one.  It also points out the responsibilities of the PIO and the skills required to be one.

Summary:

·         Service agencies are realizing the importance of having staff capable of handling media relations.

·         To be effective, the PIO must be well trained and well informed.

·         The PIO must be prepared for possible attention from the rest of the world, not just the community they are assigned to.

·         Discusses the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma and how the PIO was responsible for informing the world of search and rescue operations for victims of the explosion.

·         It is not unusual today to receive calls from the local media asking how well prepared your department is to handle a major emergency, a natural disaster, or a terrorist attack similar to one that had recently occurred in some other community, state, or country.

·         Talks about the PIO of the Los Angeles Fire Department and preparedness.

·         Discussed the use of multiple PIOs and their responsibility in the LA riots of 1992.

·         During the riot there were multiple fires up to four or five started within a minute and the media gave of the wrong impression of the Fire department, showing unattended fires.

·         Explained how the PIO let the public know that they were triaging the fires and attending to those most threatening to the neighborhoods were responded to first.

·         The media then became allies of the fire department after the information given by the PIO.

·         Defines natural disasters.

·         The PIO and his staff work around the clock in order to see to it that the public doesn't take for granted the services the department provides. It is the duty of the PIO's staff to make sure that their bosses, the taxpayers, are aware of the fire department's accomplishments.

·         Highlights accomplishments of the PIO for Los Angeles processing more than 123 press releases; has responded to 51,919 media inquires; and has disseminated to the media and city officials 16,833 notifications of newsworthy incidents.

·         Goes over required skills such as interpersonal communications, oral and written communications, ability to interact with city government officials, time management skills, and organizational skills.

·         The PIO must be motivated and have the ability to motivate others.

·         The PIO is undergoing a continual learning process. Ideally, most of the learning will be the result of experience, not mistakes.

Application to the Lesson Topic:

Over the course of the article the importance of a Public Information Officer is brought to your attention and show what value they are to the Los Angeles Fire Department.  This applies to the lesson topic in that it talks all about the what a Public Information Officer is, what it does, and what skills it take to be one.

Application to Emergency Services:

After reading this article, Emergency Service departments everywhere can see the value and importance of the Public Information Officer and why it is necessary to have one.  If it weren't for a PIO, the media would not have a source of accurate information and this could ultimately hinder the operations and response to disaster management.  Not to mention, the PIO responsibility of keeping the public informed is crucial to the public's survival before, during, and after disasters.

6 - Journalists and emergency managers discuss disaster response - Andrea Graff

Reading summary 6 - Andrea Graff

Reference: Veil, S. (2012). Clearing the air: journalists and emergency managers discuss disaster response. Journal of applied communication research. Routledge.

Theme: Establishing a relationship between emergency managers and journalists is one of the most important pre-planning things you can do.

Summary:

• Over the years the relationship between the media and emergency managers or PIOs has had a bad reputation and the citizens of the communities are the ones being affected. 

• If emergency services managers don't form relationships with journalists and are unwilling to give information when asked, the journalist is going to get the information one way or another, even if from an unreliable source.

• Emergency managers and journalists need to work together and cultivate a relationship built on trust, by the manager giving accurate and timely information and the journalist reporting only what is given by the manager.

• Having an established relationship with the manager will greatly enhance the chances of getting the story and shots the journalist is looking for.

• There seem to be a lot of trust issues between managers and journalists. Journalists think managers are holding back information and managers think journalists come in saying they want to do a story about one thing, but then do it about something else that is negative.

Application to the lesson topic:
Emergency managers and journalists getting along and getting accurate and timely information to the public is a necessary practice that needs to be worked on. Trust needs to be built way before an incident occurs.

Application to emergency services:
Establish relationships with your local media crews and journalists. Allow them to explain their reasoning for doing what they do and also explain yours in hopes of understanding one another. We need to realize it's not always up to them what airs and what doesn't, if there's a bigger story at the time that is going to get the air time.

5 - Balancing Information Release During an Animal Disease Outbreak - Robert Letterman

Robert Letterman

Balancing the Release of Public Information During an Animal Disease Outbreak

Theme

                The author essentially gives a "how to" respond synopsis when an animal disease is reported. She explains the PIO's responsibility and what to do in a given scenario.

Summary

·         Access to public information by the public needs to be maintained, especially during a crisis.

·         Their goal is to promote programs and educate the public on disease prevention and outbreaks in agriculture related incidents.

·         An outbreak of a significant disease will cause the activation of the Joint Information Center as the department is used to handling one to 12 calls a day with their small staff.

·         Ohio has 36 reportable animal diseases that they respond to.

·         They must consider all stakeholders during disease outbreaks.  Some may be non-English speaking and they also have an Amish populace that may not receive vital information.

·         At the outset of the outbreak the PIO is very proactive and getting as much information as possible out to the public.

·         The PIO is meant to be an advocate with the public and the responding agency.

·         They must control how much information is relayed to the public.  Too much could be just as bad as too little information.

Application

                I like this article because it came from the department of agriculture in Ohio.  Sometimes we can get so caught up in what happens to humans we can forget that we consume and rely on a healthy agriculture for our wellbeing.  Any disruption in that could have severe consequences.  My employer supplies natural gas so in an outage or leak we would need to apply some of the principles laid out in this article to alert the public.

Reference

Wilt, M. (2006). Balancing the Release of Public Information During an Animal Disease Outbreak. Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law, 625-628.

5 - Media firestorm: A PIO Perspective - John Scardena

John Scardena

  

Reference:

Moskovtz, Mike. (199, January).  Thurston High School Shooting Tragedy: The Media Downpour. Public Relations Tactics, Vol. 6, Issue 1, 10806792.

Theme:

The theme is based on a Public Information Officer's account of the shooting spree at Thurston High School. The author gives specific examples of what the situation was, what happened, and what they learned from it. He gives six main points from what he has learned from this crisis.

Summary:

Ø  There are six strategic steps when dealing with the media and mass communication as a public information officer.

Ø  1. Assemble a Crisis Team: Set up a team of PIO's that can fully combat the onslaught of media.

Ø  2.Quickly Analyze, but don't overanalyze the situation: communication needs to come fast so put it out there but don't look into thoughts too deep or share ideas that are not fully developed, the media can run with it and it can backfire hard.

Ø  3.Set up a Media Information Center: a safe place away from the disaster zone for media to gather and to give information out to everyone at the same time.

Ø  4. Communicate as quickly as possible: Timing is everything, it can save lives or it can cost them. Especially with a crisis, social media can help clear chaos.

Ø  5.Provide steady communications on the status of the crisis: When you handle the media and communicate correctly the situation becomes manhandled and not the other way around (the situation manhandling you)

Ø  6.Make the media a partner not an enemy: If you help the media or hurt the media they will run with it, and people listen… so help the media. Give information don't run from it or hide from it, always be out front first and have an idea ready.

Ø  The glitches, goofs, gripes and grumps: mistakes are always made, we're human but getting out and admitting it helps keep a positive image and allows you to keep moving forward

Ø  Regrets: learning from the past is important but living in it is bad. Keep looking forward and be willing to improve.

Application to Lesson Topic:

            PIO's are always right in the mix of everything, this article points out some of the stresses that a PIO deals with and how they are the face of disaster control. We can learn from this experience and others that information to the public, how it's received and when it's received is very important to crisis control.

Application to Emergency Services:

            Emergency Services deal with disasters every day, mostly small, but once and awhile catastrophic ones. When those experiences happen, all eyes and ears will be on the PIO from the EMS teams. It is extremely important to our major and to the line of work we are going into.