Reading summary #11

Here's #11 again

On Wednesday, November 20, 2013 4:12 PM, Mike Wayman <mwayman78@yahoo.com> wrote:

Reference: Valvi, A. C., & Fragkos, K. C. (2013). Crisis communication strategies: a case of British Petroleum. Industrial & Commercial Training, 45(7), 383-391. doi:10.1108/ICT-04-2013-0026

Theme: With an oil spill in 2010 BP failed in it's communication during the crisis.

Summary:

• British Petroleum (BP) came face to face with a crisis on 20 April 2010 when an explosion in the Deepwater Horizon oil drilling rig caused a huge oil spillage in the Gulf of Mexico.
• The case study attempts to describe BP's serious communication mistakes managing a serious hit to BP's reputation.
• The case study attempts to provide a detailed outline of BP's communication failures by conducting in-depth investigation of newspapers, audiovisual material, social network sites.
• BP's crisis communication was a weak link in its crisis management strategy.
• Public Relations (PR) mistakes were made by BP and shouldn't be avoided in a crisis of their organization. They should select strategies that point out their organization's strengths and correct its weaknesses in order to take advantage of opportunities and counter external threats.
• This study could be valuable in communication, since BP's PR strategies during this oil spill have not been studied before this incident, now they have and suggestions have been made
• The communications solutions BP took during the crisis were examined and certain strategies BP should have followed in order to avoid its failed PR plan are outlined in the article.
• The suggestions can help both PIO's and researchers to learn from BP's mistakes and give more attention to communication strategies, which are critical to all crises.

Application to lesson topic: Good crisis communication is vital in any situation

Application to emergency management: In an emergency good crisis communication is vital. That is how information is passed onto the public. When crisis communication doesn't go well, there's enormous consequences.

Reading Summary #9 from Mike Wayman

Here's #9 again

On Saturday, November 9, 2013 5:03 PM, Mike Wayman <mwayman78@yahoo.com> wrote:

Reference

Adam, N., Shafiq, B., & Staffin, R. (2012). Spatial Computing and Social Media in the Context of Disaster Management. IEEE Intelligent Systems,27(6), 90-96

Theme: The use of social media and apps have made a huge impact on how information is delivered. Using these resources have made reports of a disaster in real time the norm. The use of social media can help those making decisions about the emergency easier and quicker.

Summary:

• The growing trend of using smart phones and other GPS-enabled devices has provided new opportunities for developing apps and technologies in new ways.
• One promising application area for this is social media and its application to disaster management.
• Real-time incident information collected from people on the ground about the extent of damage, how the disaster unfolded, the community's needs, and responders' ability to deal with the situation, combined with information from the larger emergency management community, could lead to more accurate and real-time awareness.
• Social media helps make informed decisions, better resource distribution and a better response and outcome to the disaster.
• The US Department of Homeland Security's Science & Technology Directorate (DHS-S&T) has initiated the Social Media Alert and Response to Threats to Citizens" (SMART-C) program, which aims to develop a citizen participation with the capability for decision making throughout the disaster via a multitude of devices and social media sites.

Application to the lesson topic: Social media is becoming common place way for people all over to communicate and stay in touch, especially when a disaster strikes.

Application to Emergency Services: The use of social media has proven to be invaluable when it comes to a disaster. Getting information out to family and friends of those affected is almost instantaneous with the use of sites such as Twitter. Social media also helps those on the ground during a disaster call out for help.  

reading summary #10

Here's my #10 again 

On Thursday, November 14, 2013 9:16 AM, Mike Wayman <mwayman78@yahoo.com> wrote:

Reference:

O'Brien, T. (2004). Renovating "This Old Press Conference". Public Relations Tactics, 11(12), 15.

Theme: Only hold a press conference when the story is likely to generate a good deal of media interest. Hold the press conference as a convenience for both the client and media.

Summary:

• Don't call it a press conference – Call it a press briefing, or reception or media tour
• Don't conduct your event in a traditional corporate setting – Have the conference in the public or at the setting of the story
• Manage expectations – Sometimes a press conference is set up before the IPO is notified. As the IPO work to make sure the press conference is successful and informative.
• Think visually – Consider dress of those involved and how the setting of the press conference will look. These will impact how the information is received.
• Never guarantee coverage – Don't make promises to any reporter for additional or 'inside' coverage.
• When all else fails, keep your head up-Understanding that you can't control the media will make it slightly easier to maintain your cool when unexpected challenges present themselves in the final minutes before your event

Application to the lesson topic: A press conference can go very good or very bad, preparation and being educated about the press conference topic by the IPO makes all the difference.

Application to Emergency Services: A press conference dealing with any emergency service needs to be thought out and well prepared for. Thinking through some of these suggestions helps insure a successful, informative press conference.

Tsunami Coverage: What was Missing

Tsunami Coverage:  What was Missing

Justin E. Ross

Reference: Tsunami Coverage. (2005). Nieman Reports, 59(1), 64.

Theme: The different ways in which media outlets covered the 2004 tsunamis.

Summary:

• Some areas that were effected by tsunamis had never been visited by reporters before

• There was a lack of cultural sensitivity on behalf of the media outlets and the reporters responding to the incident.

•  This information was informed by conversations between reporters and psychologist.

• In some countries there was a reluctance on behalf of the local media outlets to report on the devastation, for political reasons.

• Some reporters did an effective job by picking a few individuals and creating a long term "narrative" to accompany their story.

• Some stories led readers to believe that the people of the affected community had nothing to start with, but they were actually well off by their cultures standards.
  

Application to the lesson topic:

The media needs to pay attention to facts on the ground when writing a story about a disaster, but more importantly they need to look at the story from a lens other than their own.  That is to say they need to think about the cultural norms of the community in which they are reporting.

Application to emergency services:

As a PIO I could help guide media outlets towards stories that actually represent the situation on the ground.

 

Justin E. Ross
j_elliotte@yahoo.com
360 609-2839

How Social Media is Changing Disaster Response

Robert Letterman-Reading Summary 9

Reference

Maron, D. F. (2013, June 7). How Social Media is Changing Disaster Response. Scientific American.

Theme

                There a benefits and risks to social media tools that can be used during emergencies.

Summary

·         At the time of Hurricane Katrina, Iphones did not exist, nor did Twitter.

·         During Hurricane Sandy these social media sites played a major role as cell phone usage was limited in the affected areas.  Twitter and Facebook were used to locate loved ones.

·         "The convergence of social networks and mobile has thrown the old response playbook out the window," Michael Beckerman, president and CEO of the Internet Association.

·         During Hurricane Sandy, "users sent more than 20 million Sandy-related Twitter posts, or "tweets," despite the loss of cell phone service during the peak of the storm"

·         The Boston Marathon bombing also saw tremendous activity on Facebook and Twitter.  The Boston Police Department tweeted: "CAPTURED" when it concluded the manhunt.  It was re-tweeted 140,000 times.

·         Google docs were also used to spread the word to those affected of available shelter, food, and hot showers because of the road closures.

·         A danger that these sites can pose is that some people can mistakenly spread mis-information about emergency incidents.

·         "Tweets flow so quickly it's like a fire hose where you're trying to extract bits of information that are relevant"

·         Users of these sites must also be aware that scammers use social media sites to solicit money posing as victims of a disaster.

Application

                I think it is critical for emergency management personnel and public information officers to become highly skilled in the use of these social media sites. Not only can we use them to relay critical information to the public and victims.  We must be able to navigate these sites so that we can correct any potential misinformation of an incident.

 

Reading Summary 4- Randy Rask- Disaster Communication on the Internet

Randy Rask

Lesson 4 Reading Summary

Reference:

Barr D., Friedman D., Koskan A., Tanner A. Disaster Communication on the Internet: A Focus on Mobilizing Information.  Journal of Health Communication; Dec2009, Vol. 14 Issue 8, p741-755, 15p, 2 Charts.

Theme:  How the internet is used to disperse information during times of disaster.  Using news to gather information and then mobilizing that information through the use of the internet. 

Summary:

·         Natural and man-made disasters are plaguing the world in our decade. 

·         Different forms of emergency preparedness and response information is very important in these times to mitigate loss of life and property. 

·         Audience demands are high during times of disaster.   Because of this, many organizations have started to use the web/internet as a means to disperse information.

·         The public needs access to disaster response efforts and information so that they know what role they need to play or what they need to do to help mitigate the disaster.

·         Crisis communication is important in responding to disasters

·         During emergencies, the Internet helps by being able to update information as quickly as possible.  Much quicker than television or radio.

·         This leads to mobilizing information in a quick manner. 

·         Some information that is mobilized on the Internet in times of disaster are evacuation information, help-line phone numbers, checklists for preparedness supplies, websites with more information on the disaster, and instructions on what to do in the case of an emergency. 

Application to Lesson Topic:

The lesson was on crisis management and communication planning.  This article shows how important the Internet's role is during times of disaster.  The ability of being able to mobilize information in a very timely manner is very important in crisis management during a disaster. 

Application to Emergency Services:

In the emergency service field, it is difficult to manage a crisis without the ability to mobilize information to those who need it.  Many different methods are taken to disperse information to those affected by the disaster.  The Internet is one of those methods that is very effective in disseminating information to the public as quickly as possible.  We as emergency workers need to remember how effective the Internet is when we want to get information out to the public. 

lessons from media coverage of Black Saturday

Joseph Galbraith

Lesson 2 Reading Summary

Reference:

 

Muller, D. (2010). Ethics and trauma: lessons from media coverage of Black Saturday. The Australian Journal of Rural Health , 5-10.

 

Theme: The actions of the media during the Black Saturday disaster has left many questions regarding ethical behavior.  The interaction with emergency services authorities and survivors must be improved to keep journalistic integrity.

Summary:

• The research article interviews 28 members of the media that covered the brush fires in February, 2009 in Victoria, Australia.  The purpose was to find out how the media reacted to roadblocks, authorities and survivors.  The after effects on the media employees were were also examined.

• The authorities set many roadblocks after the disaster specifically to keep media members distanced from the scene.  Different media organizations reacted differently to this measure. The following tactics were used by the media.

            -Find another way in

            -Get past by chance

            -Get past by deception

            - Resist Deception

            - Accept the road block

 

• There was no general consensus by the media industry on how to deal with restrictions.

• Many journalists did not believe that the roadblocks were there to protect their safety.  Many believed that the authorities were trying to protect the survivors. 

• Media members were also faced with whether or not to access private property to get a story.  Different tactics were used with many reasons for doing so, including getting the real story to the public.

• More consensuses were agreed upon when it came to interviewing survivors.  Prior consent was requested for interviews and images.  Close up coverage was avoided during times intimacy and grief.  Also, when interviewed, survivors were given a fairness test before being broadcast.  Fairness means that the media member would have to determine if the answers given were affected by the emotion caused by the event and would the person answer different at a later time.  It was suggested that media members undergo training by trauma experts to understand how certain questions can affect survivors negatively.

•Another ethical issue was raised during this disaster of when should a reporter put down the camera and help the victim.  Is he or she contributing more by covering the story or by assisting? 

• The different actions by the various news organizations were caused by; rivalries, authorities, editors and the survivors that they dealt with.  Some survivors wanted to talk to the media because it helped them cope. 

• Much still must be learned by media organizations on how to help employees cope with trauma.

Application to the lesson topic:

This article applied ethical questions to the media and emergency services and sparked more discussion on ethical standards.

Application to emergency services: Emergency responders must try to stay professional when dealing with the media.  Even when the media is at fault for an unethical action, they will not report on it.  Instead the emergency personnel will be scrutinized unfairly.  Proper planning and understanding the ethical standards in place by the media will help emergency organization accomplish their tasks more efficiently.