Emergency and Risk Communication Margo Edmunds, Charles Fulwood, Shane Harris, and John Parker

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Emergency and Risk Communication Margo Edmunds,
Charles Fulwood, Shane Harris, and John Parker

• Emergency Management Communications Track 3.07
• National Emergency Management Summit, Washington,
  DC
• February 4, 2008

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Affiliations and Disclosures

• Margo Edmunds, Ph.D. VP, The Lewin Group and
  JHU Communications Program
• Charles Fulwood, Partner, MediaVision USA, and
  JHU Communications Program
• Shane Harris, National Journal
• John Parker, M.D., FACS, FCCP, Senior Vice
  President, Technical Fellow, Science Applications
  International Corporation (SAIC)

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About Todays Session

• Interactive
• Multi-disciplinary approach
• Review national preparedness policy framework
• Key principles of crisis communications
• Rapid response accuracy and credibility
• Advance planning
• Message development and framing Know your
  audience
• Practical tips on working with the media

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Role of Government in Emergency Preparedness

• DHS - National Response Framework
• HHS
• State
• Local
• Regional and online networks
• National associations of government officials
  (NEMA, NGA, etc.)

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Role of Private Sector

• ESF Industry/critical infrastructure
• Hospitals and clinics
• Schools
• Employers
• Voluntary response teams
• Individuals and families
• Communities

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Role of the Media in Emergency Response

• Get accurate info out fast
• Help inform public about what is happening, what
  to expect
• Inform the public about what to do, how, and
  when
• Frequent updates of vital information to promote
  ongoing situational awareness
• Role in recovery learn what happened and how to
  fix it

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Katrina Evacuees in Houston

• Washington Post/Kaiser Family Foundation Survey,
  September 10-12, 2005
• 680 men and women in Houston shelter
• 93 were African-American
• 76 had children under 18 with them
• 52 had been employed full time
• 52 were uninsured
• 43 were on a daily medication
• 46 had a working cell phone

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Katrina Evacuees contd

• 38 were physically unable to leave or were
  caring for someone physically unable to leave
• 34 were trapped in their homes and had to be
  rescued
• 40 spent at least one day outside on freeway or
  underpass
• 68 thought the government would have responded
  faster if more of them had been wealthier and
  white

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A Case Study Anthrax

• The incident (summary)
• The players
• The facts
• The communication
• The execution
• Continuity of Operation (COOP) (USG)
• The autopsy of the incident
• What went right
• What went wrong
• What we learned

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The National Response Plan

• The National Response (Federal, State, Local)
  Framework
• INTENT - Why it was developed?
• IMPLICATION - Why it is important?
• Sovereignty
• Public sector coordination
• Private sector coordination and organizational
  responsibilities
• Where are we? Where are we going?
• WHY is communication important (CRITICAL)?

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Homeland Security Presidential Directives
(HSPD)Methods of Communication

• What are the themes of these Homeland Security
  Presidential Directives?
• Will they be effective?

• HSPD - 10
• HSPD - 18
• HSPD - 21

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Emergency and Risk Communications 2.0

• Rapid and accurate response
• Frequent updates
• Credible spokesperson (s)
• Authoritative but empathetic
• Contingencies and multiple channels of
  communications
• Appropriate media for different audiences
• One message, multiple vehicles
• Trust among all parties

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Communicating Risk with Diverse Communities

• Mainstream media coverage
• Role of ethnic media
• Television
• Radio
• Print (weeklies)
• Digital media
• Language and cultural issues
• Language-locked communities
• Katrina refugees or evacuees

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A Case Study NYC MTA

• If you see something, say something campaign
• Message success or message failure?
• NYT, January 7, 2008 1,944 calls to transit
  hotline
• Number of arrests 18
• Number of terrorists 0
• Reports about people counting 11

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What You Can Do

• Build partnerships with ethnic media
• Include ethnic media in distribution lists
• Hold briefings
• Meet with Editorial Boards, publishers
• Develop editorial memoranda and policy updates
• Include in public education campaigns

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Working Journalists Perspective on Media

• Media as primary source of information for the
  public during an emergency
• Need for agencies and organizations to have a
  prescribed set of procedures for the press
• Briefing locations
• Contact information and preferred mode
• Whos in charge of on-site response

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Building Relationships

• Officials should cultivate relationships with
  journalists who will be covering emergencies
• Good model the military
• Relationships help get good information out fast
• Improves understanding of government roles and
  leads to better coverage

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Feeding the Media

• Important to provide as much information as
  possible
• Correct mistakes promptly
• Honest mistakes
• Confusion is part of the nature of emergencies,
  especially in the beginning

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Breaking News v. Longer Coverage

• Officials focus on television journalists and
  print reporters for major dailies
• Should also involve magazine writers
• More in-depth coverage
• Help provide context and shape understanding of
  the event
• Lessons learned perspective

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The Case for Now

• Public trust easy to lose, hard to keep
• Trust between government and media objectivity
  is priceless
• Time between incidents is critical
• Overcome daily deadline culture
• Raise awareness that risks are real
• Give people the right information and tools to
  prepare

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References and Resources

• Aspen Institute, 2006. First Informers in the
  Disaster Zone The Lessons of Katrina.
  www.aspeninstitute.org/atf/cf
• Neuman, W. In Response to M.T.A.s Say
  Something Ads, a Glimpse of Modern Fears. The
  New York Times, January 7, 2008.

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References and Resources

• R. Morin and L. Rein. Some of the Uprooted Wont
  Go Home Again. Washington Post, A1, Friday,
  September 16, 2005.
• Washington Post/Kaiser Family Foundation/Harvard
  University. Survey of Hurricane Katrina
  Evacuees. September 2005. www.kff.org/newsmedia/
  7401.cfm

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Questions?
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For More Information

• Margo.Edmunds_at_lewin.com
• Cfulwood_at_mediavisionusa.net
• Sharris_at_nationaljournal.com
• John.S.Parker_at_saic.com

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