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Disaster Broadcasting. The Role of Broadcasters in a Pandemic . The Broadcasters Role in Disasters. News Independent Immediate Without fear or favour Accurate Many perspectives U sing the audiences. Public Interest Partnerships with agencies but always independent
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Disaster Broadcasting The Role of Broadcasters in a Pandemic Dr Mike McCluskey International Media and Broadcast Consultant
The Broadcasters Role in Disasters • News • Independent • Immediate • Without fear or favour • Accurate • Many perspectives • Using the audiences • Public Interest • Partnerships with agencies but always independent • Information to save life and property • Immediate • May be repetitive • Telling real stories • Collaborating with the community • Assisting agencies Dr Mike McCluskey International Media and Broadcast Consultant
Types of DisastersWhat can we prepare for? • Natural • Typhoons, tornadoes, storms, earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, fires, floods, droughts, pandemics, • Manmade • Wars, strikes, famines, terrorism, economic depressions, crashes (flight, train and road), shipping, nuclear and chemical (accident or terrorism) Dr Mike McCluskey International Media and Broadcast Consultant
Ongoing Responsibility • After • Rebuilding • Clean up • Mourning and grief • Financial loss • Mental health • Good stories to inspire • Prolonged • Help coping with fear • Before • BCP in place • Disaster Plan • Agency relationships • Monitoring • Collaborations • Ability to adapt • Not sensationalized • During • Keep me informed • Use trusted sources • Calm the public • Be useful • Accessible • Multiplatform include Social media • Stay on air • Maintain interest and energy • Don’t scare us Dr Mike McCluskey International Media and Broadcast Consultant
Dr Mike McCluskey International Media and Broadcast Consultant
Critics of social media often complain they encourage frivolous recordings of what people are eating for lunch or where they're having drinks after work………….But……… what if social media could help detect and track global disease outbreaks weeks earlier than traditional surveillance methods, allowing officials to introduce treatment and reduce the spread of a potential pandemic? • From the Globe and Mail http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/social-media-could-help-detect-pandemics-md-says/article584757/ Dr Mike McCluskey International Media and Broadcast Consultant
Information Sources • Discussion: How is information gathered – live and recorded, from the field, from agencies, from experts, from governments, from the public, from social media, from other media organisations? • Consider: • Keeping reporters safe • Over reliance on experts and officials • Media can be faster than agencies with vital information • The media feeding frenzy - the dangers of following • Real stories matter • The public can provide information that saves lives Dr Mike McCluskey International Media and Broadcast Consultant
Information Sources • Discussion: Who to trust, how to sift information and sources, when is it fact, how to treat unsubstantiated information, rumours and hearsay, how to differentiate between fact and fiction. • Consider • Very few people in disasters maliciously misinform • How trustworthy is social media and citizen reporting? • Who do we need in our newsrooms and program control rooms? • Do we have enough people editorially capable? • How practiced are we at good editorial judgement in crisis? Dr Mike McCluskey International Media and Broadcast Consultant
Are we prepared for a crisis? • Discussion: Operating under severe stress and limited resources – how to maintain effectiveness, accuracy, trust and still serve the community well. • Consider • What we broadcast is vital and may save many lives. • Do we have disaster plans? Have we practiced or simulated disaster? • Can we call in extra resources immediately? • What contingency do we have if our transmission fails? • How well have we performed in disasters? Dr Mike McCluskey International Media and Broadcast Consultant
the best policy for limiting infectious disease outbreaks is to get the news out loud and quickly…….. but…………. media reports of rumours that turn out to be untrue could make future outbreaks more severe • From: How Media Reports Influence Pandemics, MIT Technology Review http://www.technologyreview.com/view/419652/how-media-reports-influence-pandemics/ And another perspective: “The media has gone into full gear with little analysis and review of the evidence…….. • the global outbreak is imminent… • The worst health crisis facing the world in 90 years…” From Global Research, Centre for Research on Globalization http://www.globalresearch.ca/political-lies-and-media-disinformation-regarding-the-swine-flu-pandemic/13433 Political Lies and Media Disinformation regarding the Swine Flu Pandemic By Prof Michel Chossudovsky Dr Mike McCluskey International Media and Broadcast Consultant
Disaster Broadcasting - Pandemic • Discussion:How we should prepare ourselves for a pandemic? – what to do? – using the information we have heard and discussed in the morning sessions • Consider • Plans • Preparedness • Collaborations in place • Advanced notice? • Nature of broadcasts • When is a pandemic a disaster? • When does a disaster require rolling public service coverage? Dr Mike McCluskey International Media and Broadcast Consultant
Who Pandemic Guidelines – Communications - Objective 3 Dr Mike McCluskey International Media and Broadcast Consultant
Who Pandemic GuidelinesCommunications – relevant actions WHO Actions National Actions 1. Establish phased national communications strategy or pandemic influenza. 3. Plan and test capacity for meeting expected domestic information demands for diverse audiences, including professional/technical groups, the news media and general public. 4. Ensure communications infrastructure is adequate for pandemic needs. 5. Establish and maintain a web site with relevant information. 8. Familiarize news media with national plans, preparedness activities and decision-making related to seasonal and pandemic influenza. 10. Develop feedback mechanisms to identify public level of knowledge about pandemic influenza and emerging public concerns. Address rumours proactively, and correct misinformation. 1. Provide information to facilitate risk communication related to influenza. 2. Plan and test capacity for meeting current and expected future international information demands, among others by maintaining a web site. 5. Increase the familiarity of news media with WHO activities, operations and decision-making related to influenza and other epidemic diseases. 7. Develop feedback mechanisms to identify emerging public concerns, address rumours, and correct misinformation. Dr Mike McCluskey International Media and Broadcast Consultant
WHO Outbreak Communication GuidelinesTrust; Announce Early; Transparency; Public; Planning • Review and discuss: Look at WHO Outbreak Communication Guidelines – how do they fit in with our own BCP and Disaster Broadcasting Plans? – how do they fit in with our need to serve the community but remain independent? • Reflect on: • News coverage begins with a potential pandemic unfolding, but when does emergency response broadcasting and BCP begin? • What sort of coverage is needed? What is essential? • Just news? Some break ins with community information? • Rolling 24 hour coverage? Maintain over days, weeks or months? • Are we well enough prepared for a pandemic? • How long will it last. • Is possible for us to fulfil all our obligations to our communities? • What steps do we need to take to ensure coverage continues throughout the Pandemic? Dr Mike McCluskey International Media and Broadcast Consultant
Pandemic Issues for Broadcasters • Discuss a couple of challenges: • Providing information to save lives is essential, but over-telling of pandemic tragedies can add to the trauma in people’s lives, how do we provide the right balance? • From our previous discussion about sources and maintaining trust and accuracy, what systems, safeguards and guidelines do we need to provide out teams from before the pandemic starts. Dr Mike McCluskey International Media and Broadcast Consultant
Pandemic Issues for Broadcasters • Discuss a couple more challenges: • Which teams?– news teams of course for news, but for community service rolling coverage, maintaining trust means to have the best and most trusted broadcasters on air – how do we maintain that over weeks or longer? Staff may need to be, or become blocked from travelling home to families so how do we maintain staff welfare balanced with our essential service? • Our need to cover news, stories and issues from a pandemic will never finish, but when does our role for disaster response community service come to an end? Dr Mike McCluskey International Media and Broadcast Consultant
Review of discussions: • What do we need to do to be really prepared for a pandemic or other disasters? Dr Mike McCluskey International Media and Broadcast Consultant
Dr Mike McCluskey International Media and Broadcast Consultant