Media Dynamics and Dealing with Media Interests - Assignment Example

Media Dynamics and Dealing with Media Interests How a PIO should confront a hostile and an aggressive reporter according to Fearn-Banks. Tips that would be feasible or effective for situations regarding a Person of Indian Origin (PIO) confronting a hostile and aggressive reporter include dodging phrases like ‘no comment’ as such comments would make the reporter think that the PIO is guilty or is trying to hide something (Noor Al-Deen, 2011). Additionally, the PIO must keep in mind that presenting information with technical terms or jargon would make the information unclear. Lack of clarity will make the reporter think that the PIO is confusing the message in order to hide something. A PIO should confront a hostile reporter by appearing pleasant through avoiding nervous habits that the reporter might interpret as deception. A reporter without prior notice or preparation confronts you, that is, he or she comes up to you, stick a microphone in front of you and start asking questions. When faced by such a situation or rather ambushed by the press, no law obligates you to respond to any of the reporter’s questions. However, if you do respond, you must strictly reinforce and stick to how the official government message has been. This means that, if you end up saying anything that falls outside the official government communication boundaries, you will bear the consequences of your own actions (Hansen, 2010). Nevertheless, if you talk you can always keep your message simple, if there are things you feel they would be better if addressed by someone else more senior you could at all times spell out their names and indicate whether they will be available for interviews. However, do not speculate on causes or proximate responsibilities. Reporters are going into areas where they are not supposed to be and talking to other people. Reporters will go to a long extent in search of information. Therefore, you should always be prepared with clear and simple message that is quick, accurate, and carefully checked before delivery. You should also have consistent spokespersons well informed of the crisis, situated at the place of incident that should encounter press questions and make public safety a priority (Trappel, 2011). In order to counter misleading or false information leaking to the press, you should always be at the forefront to use the available or commonly used channels of communication including the intranet, internet, not forgetting social networks such as Facebook and Twitter to portray the required updates regarding the current situation. What should the government do when they report erroneous information on an incident at a press conference? Erroneous information is wrong information characterized by an error. In case of erroneous information regarding an incident in a press conference, the government should offer an apologia theory or a story that would restore the image of the government and ensure the public’s negative perspective attains diffusion. Therefore, the government should make decisions that would clarify and give timelines of the crisis events without speculating and backing up every detail with facts and evidence. In your opinion, what are some of the dangers of avoiding interaction with the media and speculate on the related consequences. I think avoiding the media might result to various issues regarding the situation. First, upon evading the media, reporters might start pestering into the affairs of the crisis and end up getting irrelevant information. Therefore, it is dangerous to avoid the media in an event of crisis. Instead, you should be on the scene trying to offer support and console the affected. This is because; avoiding press makes reporters think that there are bad things you are trying to hide. In addition, avoiding media might lead to inaccurate, irrelevant, and incorrect circulation of information since reporters must keep the public up to the speed regarding the crisis. Again, avoiding media might lead to severe consequences as reporters might circulate information that might cause panic to the public hence, resulting to risky measures that might endanger too many public lives (Hoi, 2011). Moreover, avoiding media might cause disintegrated and uncoordinated flow of information paving way for untrustworthy sources of information that are uncertain, might trigger to immense havoc, and can cause great fear among the members of the public. These are some of the tips that I would consider most important when dealing with the media. Some of the vital tips that I would consider when dealing with the media include; general rules followed especially during tragic events where reporting deaths or severe injuries is necessary, overall strategies that deal with the media such as sticking to the facts and avoiding speculations. I would also consider crisis communication theory that deals with image diffusion and sound decision-making (Wollan, 2011). I would consider these tips because, the principle aim of crisis communication incorporates clarity, accuracy, as well as timelines which offer guidance on what to do and delivers the key information in advance of hazard. Why should an emergency manager trust social media? An emergency manager should trust social media because it can reach a wide range of audience within a very period. An emergency manager should also trust social media since when used appropriately it can play an enormous role in conveying solid and persuasive message out to hundreds of thousands of people and constantly reinforce the manager’s position or authority as a leader (Hoi, 2011). It is also important for a manager to trust social media since it has access tools that can help contain the crisis. Describe social media to an emergency manager in a five-sentence paragraph. Include why they should care. 1. To an emergency manager, social media is the quickest, most effective way conveying information to the wider range of audience that includes; the media, the public, and all the other team members involved in crucial decision making regarding the incident. 2. Social media to an emergency manager is a tool of informing the public about the incident since failure to involve social media cannot deter civilians from receiving the information because it becomes only a matter of time before civilians get their hands on the information surrounding the crisis. 3. Social media can help an emergency manager to involve other people in planning stages of crisis containment. 4. Instead of spending thirty minutes or more answering questions from the press, an emergency manager can use social media such as Twitter to supply the intended message with much ease. 5. Social media can create a consistent following of updates by the members of the public through increased awareness of plans and procedures involved in the crisis. There is too much noise in social media to make it useful to an emergency manager. Why or why not do you agree with this statement? I agree with this statement because too much noise within social media makes it difficult for an emergency manager to covey the intended message without interference. Networking sites become full of too many posts that make it ambiguous for readers to understand what the main message (Trappel, 2011). Social media provides room for hash tags that are distractive to people especially when they are either redundant or off-point. References Hansen, D., et. al., (2010). Analyzing Social Media Networks with NodeXL. Massachusetts: Morgan Kaufmann. Hoi, S., et. al., (2011). Social Media Modeling and Computing. New York: Springer. Noor Al-Deen, H., et. al., (2011). Social Media: Usage and Impact. Maryland: Lexington Books. Trappel, J., (2011). Media in Europe Today. New York: Intellect Books. Wollan, R., et al., (2011). The Social Media Management Handbook: Everything You Need to Know to Get Social Media Working in Your Business. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Read More