4. Crisis Communication

Lesson 1: News Media and Crisis Management

This lesson is based on the CascEff deliverable “A report on the role of the media in the information flows that emerge during crisis situations” (Reilly and Atanasova 2016[D3.4]). It reorganises the content of that document for individual users, instructors, educators, and educational institutions that wish to engage in a learning session about the news media during crisis situations with cascading effects. It helps learners to consider and understand main areas of change in communication dynamics and information flows during crises, in order to influence the behaviour of disaster-affected populations and improve disaster management in general.

Therefore, the general aim of the first lesson is to help learners to understand the roles and dynamics of mediated communication related to disasters, and to reflect on how institutions and organisations can approach the news media for a successful management of crises. By the end of the course, students should be able to:

  1. explain the role of news media in information flows that emerge during stages of cascading disasters, and in particular:
  2. describe the positive and negative effects of news media coverage upon the behaviour of citizens and communities that are vulnerable to cascading disasters;
  3. explain how social media can supplement pre-existing media strategies deployed during stages of disasters;
  4. identify the information flows between key stakeholders (including professional journalists, emergency managers and members of the public), that can inform a collaborative model of decision-making in pre and post disaster stages, and help build situational awareness during crisis situations.

In order to achieve these aims, this lesson explores the role of traditional media in disasters in general, and its changes over time, and it links to issues of citizen engagement and the role of emotions during crises. The lesson also explores the role of traditional media during the different stages of a disaster, and within the wider informative flows that can shape communication at those times. Therefore, this part of the lesson also links to issues related to social media. It then explains the importance of context in evaluating media role, by focusing on three case studies and analysing their information flows and media role (Floods in England, Project X Haren, Pukkelpop). The conclusive part of the lesson brings together the issues considered in the form of a summative discussion of main areas of change in media and emergency management.

Lesson 2: Guidelines for Effective Crisis Communication

This lesson is primarily based on the CascEff report “A strategy for communication between key agencies and members of the public during crisis situations” (Reilly and Atanasova 2016 [D3.3]). It reorganises the content of that document for individual users, instructors, educators, and educational institutions that wish to engage in a learning session about a strategy for effective crisis communication. It helps learners understand and shape their approaches to communication dynamics and information flows during crises, in order to influence the behaviour of disaster-affected populations and improve disaster management in general.

Therefore, the general aim of the second lesson is to help learners consider and understand the variety of actors, roles and dynamics, intervening in shaping communication during disasters, and to develop successful strategies of communication management during crises. Specifically, this lesson provides a structured platform for developing knowledge towards a communication mix implementable at all stages of an incident. By the end of the course, students should be able to:

  1. explain the role of both social and news media in information flows that emerge at different stages of cascading disasters;
  2. explain how both social and traditional media can be deployed to influence the behaviour of citizens during each stage of a cascading disaster;
  3. identify strategic approaches to mediated communication that include all key stakeholders, based on a collaborative model of decision-making and increased situational awareness;
  4. assess the ethical implications of using information crowdsourced via social media during such incidents.

In order to achieve these aims, this lesson reviews elements of crisis management and strategy for communication, and it illustrates guidelines for managing communication related to crisis situations. For the first main topic, this lesson unpacks and examines the elements of strategies for communication related to disasters, in particular objects (what needs to be managed), subjects (with whom to manage, and what kind of media), functions, and stages of communication management (before, during, after a crisis), and factors affecting this communication, also proposing an insight into practices that brought those elements together in successful ways. Through the second main topic, this lesson brings together knowledge about successful communication management, to provide a set of guidelines for effective strategies of communication during disasters.

Tutorial

Lesson 1: News Media and Crisis Management
Lesson 2: Guidelines for Effective Crisis Communication