Home Land Security: Measures Suggestible to Establish an Effective Media Relations Capability - Term Paper Example

? Homeland Security and Communication (College) Homeland Security and Communication Introduction Potential communication channels are very crucial for effectively dealing with the events before, during, and after a disaster scenario. Effective communication with the public during a disaster scenario would assist the response team in mitigating the implications of the disaster. In addition, communication channels also facilitate the passing of information to respective officials and it would aid them to respond to disasters timely and efficiently. In order to maintain effective communication channels, it is necessary to keep good media relations since the modern media have the capacity to greatly capture the public attention. Although media have the ability to effectively communicate to the public, it is essential to design specific strategies and policies while interacting with the public during a disaster scenario. Hence, coordinated operation of media and response team is essential to effectively overcome a disaster scenario. This memo critically evaluates various measures that are suggestible to establish an effective media relations capability. It also explores various effective communication practices within the response team and between the response team and other external parties. Benefits of effective communication channels Improved public communication is an inevitable element that would make the public more vigilant and assist the response team to design efficient strategies since an individual’s reaction will be shaped largely by the information and knowledge available to him at the time of the disaster scenario. According to the famous American thinker Dale Carnegie, “when dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but creatures of emotion”. Therefore, the media must be very careful in passing disaster information to the public. In the words of Blakemore and Longhorn (2001), we have witnessed the operational efficiency of different communication channels in the event of World Trade Center attack; the details and other related information regarding the terrorist attack were passed to the public through various communication channels such as authoritative journalistic channels, television, official political spokespersons, and web based news services. In that event, we have seen the flow of information that began from the moment of attack and continued through day by day developments. This practice has very much assisted the response team to effectively coordinate their activities and thereby greatly contribute to disaster relief operations. In addition, the concerned authorities could pass warning signals to public about the chances of subsequent terrorist attacks. Sometimes, the government may get intelligence reports regarding a future terrorist attack or other dreadful disaster. Effective communication channels are very beneficial in such situations to pass alarming information to the public in order to make them prepared. Blakemore and Longhorn (2001) say that coordinated operation of communication channels and rescue team have greatly mitigated the aftermath of WTC attack. The effective and thoughtful reporting of media greatly assisted the government to reestablish electricity and other necessary facilities for the citizens to recover the dead bodies of their family members. Fundamentals for crisis management It is precise that a disaster produces a series of crises across the affected region and it badly affects the day to day activities of the people. For instance, a severe disaster may destroy the affected area’s living necessities such as electricity connection, water distribution lines, and housing and transportation facilities. It is not practical to accommodate the victims in rescue shelters for a long period; hence, the concerned authorities must take necessary actions in order to fasten the rehabilitation activities of the disaster victims. In such situations, crisis management plays a vital role in dealing with the aftermath of the disaster. So, to perform the crisis management functions efficiently, it is essential to ensure active support from different effective communication channels since the way the officials communicate with the public would set the tone for entire response effort. The effective communication practices can greatly coordinate the operations of rescue workers from different sectors with that of general public. It is obvious that terrorist attacks ultimately aim to create chaos, panic, and strife in the country. Hence, clear and timely communication with public and responders would assist the legal authorities to overcome difficult situations efficiently and rapidly. Similarly, while dealing with crisis management, it is necessary to evaluate the implemented strategies and programs timely so as to ensure the effectiveness of the formulated action plans. It is also advisable for the crisis management team to involve public as a legitimate partner in response activities and collect their feedbacks and recommendations. Steps to establish media relations We have discussed the significance of effective communication channels in reducing aftermath of disasters. Hence, it is suggestible for the crisis management team to establish and maintain good media relations as it would benefit the management team in times of contingencies. In the opinion of Freeo (n.d), it is necessary to maintain a crisis communication team that would be responsible for formulating future action plans; in addition, the management has to designate an efficient individual as the primary spokesperson to represent the company and to answer media questions during and after a disaster. We know that all news services perform under rigid production time lines so that assistance from concerned officials and response team members would aid the reporter to improve media coverage and reporting attitudes. In the modern competitive era, every media reporter wishes to capture most exclusive news and to broadcast it instantly to the viewers. Therefore, media representatives always desire to directly visit the disaster spot and broadcast the live developments of events. Under such situations, the media relations director must force the crisis communication team to provide all possible assistances to the media members. According to Freeo (n.d), it is also suggestible to the crisis communication team to offer escort for the media officials. When the media representatives get sincere cooperation from the part of the management team, they would take maximum efforts to pass the crisis management’s needs to public. Likewise, the media relations director should also make arrangements for the reporters to get easy access to spokesperson. The media reporters must get the opportunity to raise their doubts regarding various aspects of the disaster and progress of rescue activities. The spokesperson must be patient enough to clear the reporters’ doubts clearly and authentically. It is essential to make the media representatives feel that the crisis communication team is open and amicable. At the same time, the media relations director must be careful to prevent the leakage of secret information. In the words of Freeo (n.d), it is often seen that media reporters demand to interview school staff, students, faculties, or other concerned employees who are involved with or have been affected by the disaster. This type of practice may interrupt the operational efficiency of the rescue force; hence, it would be better to restrict all interviews to the primary spokesperson or technical expert. In short, the media relations director must have preplanned strategies and policies so as to treat media reporters efficiently and satisfactorily. Lastly, it is also recommendable for the media relations director to treat all media reporters equally. Partiality in providing information may produce adverse impacts on the effective advancement of disaster relief activities. Indicators of successful media relations campaign We have deeply discussed different methods that would add to improved media relations. It is possible to analyze the effectiveness of a media relation campaign from the operational outcomes of the crisis communication management. We know that responses come from different sectors of the society after a disaster occurred. The volume of disaster responses can be directly attributed to the level of media coverage that the incident has obtained. Hence, the level of public concentration to a disaster site is a direct indication of the efficacy of the media relations campaign. Similarly, the degree of efficacy of rescue activities depends on media relations to some extent. Various sides of a disaster aftermath can be effectively communicated to the public if the crisis management team maintains better media relations, and it would assist the rescue workers to carry out their responsibilities efficiently. For instance, in the event of a wildfire, it would be a cumbersome task for the response team if the public togetherly try to visit the affected area. In such situations, effective media coverage regarding the disaster would make the public aware about the seriousness of the issue so that response teams can avoid unnecessary interruptions. The speed of the proposed rebuilding programs also reflects the efficacy of the media relations campaigns since media can play a vital role in amplifying disaster relief activities. When media bring different political and other external factors that impede the faster operational progress of disaster response team into the public concentration, it would aid the crisis management to get adequate assistance from concerned authorities and thereby dispose their duties successfully. Establishment of communication channels within the response team Although public and legal authorities considerably contribute to disaster response activities, disaster response team is mainly responsible for dealing with the aftermath of the disaster. We know that a disaster produces severe consequences to different sectors of the society, and hence, the response team is driven to work at several areas. So, it is necessary to coordinate the activities of response team members at different areas in order to overcome the adverse impacts of the disaster as soon as possible. It is possible to effectively coordinate the activities of response team members if and only if potential communication channels exist within the response team. In the event of an emergency situation, the crisis communication office must pass the information to its all disaster response team members. It is suggestible to open an emergency operations center that is equipped with “telephones, printer, fax machine, flip chart and/ or a white board, markers, pens, pencils, radio or walkie talkies, and extra batteries” (Emergency Response Unit). Each response worker must be provided with walkie talkies and radios so as to pass the latest developments to information centre and to get directions from the crisis communication office. In the modern period, satellite based telecommunication techniques are also recommendable when disaster response team works at remote places. The information center must work 24 hours in order to ensure flawless communication which would add to faster disaster recovery. It must be noted that communication failure between response team members is itself a disaster. Communication channels between the response team and external parties In addition to the establishment of communication channels within the team members, it is also essential to ensure effective communication between response team and external agencies like Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). FEMA is a national emergency response team that works with the mission to support the citizens and first responders in order to mitigate all hazards. This agency has nearly 4,000 standby disaster assistance employees and it provides improved emergency training to its members. FEMA often works with nation’s other emergency management systems (FEMA). Hence, cooperative disaster response operations with established national agencies like FEMA would greatly assist crisis communication team to mitigate the dreadfulness of the disaster. In order to get assistance from these types of external agencies, the emergency response team must maintain good relationship with such national service providers. It is also suggestible for the crisis communication team to establish 24 hours hotline that would assist it to connect with external emergency response agencies. The modern communication techniques like video chatting can be effectively employed to facilitate online communication with external disaster response parties. Children and disaster responses It has been psychologically proved that severe disasters often produce harmful impacts on children. Sleep disturbances, fatigue, lack of entertainment activities, and initiation of illicit substance abuse are identified as the indirect disaster implications that would seriously impinge one the mental development of children, especially adolescents. Therefore, it is advisable for parents to give increased caring to their children in times of such horrible situations. The parents must try to assure their children that they have taken all possible measure to deal with any severe difficulty. It is strongly recommended that the parents should train their children to recognize various danger signals. It must also be ensured that “child knows what smoke detectors, fire alarms, and local community warning systems sound like and what to do when they hear them” (American Academy of Pediatrics). Protection of secret information We discussed that effective communication of various aspects of the disaster would be beneficial for mitigating the disaster implications. At the same time, it is not recommendable to release certain details of disaster scenarios that would produce adverse impacts on the society. For instance, if the media release news regarding a bomb explosion threat, it may make the public panic, leading to cumbersome difficulties for government to control people. Hence, it is advisable for the disaster response tam to conceal such secret information in order to reduce the severity of the disaster. Similarly, it is often seen that increased public visit to the disaster site may produce barriers to faster and effective disaster recovery operations. The crisis communication team must give great emphasis on disaster recovery rather than media relations. Conclusion The above discussion points to the need of effective media relation in mitigating the implications of a disaster. We have described different benefits that are achievable by the maintenance of good media relations. Effective media coverage assists the crisis communication team to greatly capture the public concentration and thereby fasten the recovery actions. It is suggestible for the crisis communication management to appoint a spokesperson who is responsible for passing latest developments to media. It is possible to apply modern technological developments so as to establish effective communication channels within response team and between response team and external parties. While dealing with crisis management, it is necessary to give great significance to avoiding psychological impacts on the children. Finally, it is not recommendable to release certain disaster related facts that would adversely affect the nation’s safety. References About FEMA. Retrieved from http://www.fema.gov/about/index.shtm American Academy of Pediatrics. (Aug 29, 2008). “Helping families during hurricanes and tropical storms”. Retrieved from http://www.aap.org/new/helpingfamilies.htm Blakemore, M & Longhorn, L. (Nov 2001). “Communicating information about the World Trade Center Disaster: Ripples, reverberations, and repercussions”. Retrieved from http://131.193.153.231/www/issues/issue6_12/blakemore/index.html Emergency Response Unit. Cuttington University. retrieved from http://cuttington.org/emergencyresponse.html Freeo, S. K. (n.d.). Crisis communication plan: A PR blue print. Retrieved from http://www3.niu.edu/newsplace/crisis.html#top Read More