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Discussion Board

• The public deserves to know about the risks they may encounter and organizations dealing with crisis situations should identify consequences and outcomes of the hazards for the public and provide information to help reduce harm to the community.
• When dealing with a crisis, an organization should try to find support from the public, which comes from people seeking information from the organization, people voicing their concerns to the organization, people being aware that the organization is there to offer assistance during the crisis, and ultimately, the organization should seek approval from the public (Heath et al, 2002).

• Due to crises such as terrorist attacks and natural disasters (i.e., September 11, 2001 and Hurricaine Katrina), organizations nationwide have reassessed their preparedness to deal with the possibility of these situations.
• Not just one organization, but a network of organizations (governments, NGOs, public services, health services, schools, businesses, media, etc.) must work interdependently to successfully communicate with each other and the public and ensure proper execution of emergency management.
• The problem lies in the lack of a regulated, master plan used by all of these organizations that informs them on how to deal with crises independently and interdependently.

• The state of Oklahoma has a Master Plan of Action for Emergency Managers to use when dealing with a crisis situation; however, within the first few pages of the POA, it states that it should be modified by individual counties/cities to be used to fit their needs.

• The state of Oklahoma offers a Master Plan of Action to emergency managers to use and modify in their own county or city to address crisis situations.
• Because we propose that every organization (governments, public services, health services, NGOs, media, etc.) that deals with crisis situations should be working from a regulated, master plan of action, we want to see how each county’s POA differs from the state’s Master Plan (or even if each county/city has a plan at all).
• Other information of public record such as meeting agendas and minutes, public announcements during times of crisis as well as when there is no crisis, etc. could be examined as well.

• Content analysis is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to exploring the full reach of risk communication.  Further studies could be done in order to look at all other groups involved in crises; i.e., NGO’s, public services, health care, media, government (local, state and federal), schools, and businesses.
• Once all these areas are studied, it will be possible to put together an idea of what causes the communication breakdown before, during and after a crisis.  In doing so, it will be more feasible to create a model of inter-organizational communication for risk communication and a regulated master plan of action.

• With the substantial influence the media imposes on risk messages members of the risk community network have substantial interest in gaining access to the media for carrying their messages.
• Media access is dependent on a number of factors, although only the two most prominent ones will be discussed: source legitimacy and resources.
• First, journalists/media treat organizations differently depending on the “degree of respect” with which they view those organizations (Blumler & Gurevitch, 1995; Yoon, 2005).
• Some of the reasons why organizations are viewed as legitimate are listed below: (Yoon, 2005)

• Sources who are regular and accurate
• Sources that can command more resources
• Large pressure groups with a separate public relations staff
• The size of the membership base of a social movement group

• People depend on multiple sources of information for risk information including TV, radio, newspapers, friends, and the Internet (Rodriquez, 2004; Stempel & Hargrove, 2002). Previous research indicates that some people first learn of disasters from others (Greenberg, Hofschire, & Lachlan, 2002).
• Some people first turn to broadcast media, then to print, Internet, and interpersonal sources. These latter sources serve to confirm, reassure and provide more in depth information.
• Therefore, while mass media may alert the public about health risks and help them form societal level judgments; research has shown that people more often rely on interpersonal channels of communication, such as social networks, to assess their personal health risks (McComas, 2006; Petts & Niemeyer, 2004; Scherer & Cho, 2003).

• Analyzing Risk Management and Inter-Organizational Collaboration Strategies in Local Schools

• Website Communication

• Special Needs Population and Emergency Preparedness

• Taxonomy of Weather End-Users

• Developing Violence Index