Important aspects of Crisis Communication - from the sources listed on the info page:
Challenge two: Education is not the sole
purpose of news reporting. It is often assumed that the news media should serve primarily as an educator of the public and of policymakers.
Five stages of reaction to a disaster - 1. Self-Preservation: The first reaction to a disaster is fear and initial anxiety. People are afraid. They seek information. They do what is necessary to figure out how to save themselves. 2. Group Preservation: With the right information provided, there is a tremendous effort—usually guided by what we call pro-social behavior—to help others.
These two entries are both surprising and important. First, the news media certainly does have the responsibility to provide accurate and unbiased information about what's going on. I think that what citizen journalism has shown us is that in addition to information, people need social support; they need to know that they are ok and so are their loved ones. The media has a responsibility to give that support to their audience, and the audience expects it as well. Traditional media doesn't always do this. Recent disasters - 9-111, Katrina, Haiti - all show how everyday people circulate information and offer social support to those who are in danger or need, and to the people who are looking for them.
To me, this is connected to the first two states of reacting to disasters and Crisis Communication - self preservation & group presentation; people need to know that they are not alone and that there is help on the way. This is done via crisis communication - social networking sites, blogs, mobile sms messages and so forth. This brings people together - local + global = glocal social support -> rebuilds local community and makes new ones.
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