Uso del suelo urbano y conformación urbana de los sectores de estudio

When it comes to the actual messages, what information does the public need? As mentioned earlier, in a disaster, the public needs to know what the government is doing to protect it and what steps the public needs to take in order to protect their lives and property.

How does an agency know if its public affairs program is meeting the public’s needs in times of controversy and crisis? One way is to see if conforms to recognized risk communications guidelines. One criterion is the list called “The 7 Cardinal Rules for Risk Communications”, written by Vincent Covello and Frederick Allen:136

• Accept the public as a legitimate partner. The CG disseminated MSIBs

and news releases to alert the public and stakeholders on the actions they should take to protect themselves long before the storm to allow for orderly actions, not panic.

• Plan carefully and evaluate performance. Prior to the storm making

landfall, the D8 Public Affairs Officer, in conjunction with Headquarters, Area and the Public Information Assist Team (PIAT) planned their response organization and what the ground rules for PA personnel would be. The orders were flexible enough to allow PA personnel to modify them as needed to overcome logistical obstacles. Performance was

136 _{Vincent Covello and Frederick Allen, Seven Cardinal Rules of Risk Communication, 1988,} http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/epa/risk_comm_principles.pdf [accessed December 28, 2006].

evaluated in a couple of ways. First, PA personnel scanned news coverage (TV and print) daily to see what types of stories were being covered and how. In addition, in house After Action sessions at the various levels in the PA infrastructure (e.g., HQ, Area, D8 and PIAT) were held to see what improvements could be made in the future to make things run smoother. The lessons that applied to other levels in the infrastructure were shared with them to be incorporated into their disaster communication plans. For example, a better way to archive digital images was listed as a requirement for future large disaster responses where thousands of images are being taken.

• Listen to the audience. When it was clear that fishermen had bad

perceptions of the CG’s actions with regard to removing fuel from their sunken vessels, the CG brought in native speakers to explain why the actions were being taken, which alleviated their concerns.

• Be honest, frank and open. The results of the HEALY divers’ deaths was

released to the general public immediately after the families of the divers received them, listing the chain of events which lead to the deaths. Despite the negative light it shined on CG diving operations, the service was praised by the news media for its candor.137

• Coordinate and collaborate w/ other credible sources. The CG routinely

uses the JIC model and uses technical specialists to clarify complex issues, both for the responders and the public.

• Meet the needs of the media. Every effort was made to help the media

meet their deadlines, including embedding media with CG units, providing Hoistcam video, providing “color commentary” to narrate live rescue video and continually updating a web based news release website accessible to the media dedicated to the response.

• Speak clearly and w/ compassion. Many CG personnel on camera were

from New Orleans and were therefore victims themselves. They were able to empathize with the people they were rescuing and therefore were not seen as faceless bureaucrats, but as fellow human beings trying to make a bad situation better.

To this list, I would add the following:

• Ensure the agency has a Common Operational Picture. Every level of

the organization involved in the incident response should be working off

137 _{“Coast Guard Candor,” Seattle Times, January 17, 2007,}

http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgibin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=diveed17&date=20070 117&query=Coast+Guard+Candor [accessed February 10, 2007].

the same set of information. This will prevent conflicting messages coming out of the same agency.

• Ensure anyone who might possibly act as a spokesperson has a baseline of media relations training. Schedules change, traffic delays people from

getting to the interview location. If someone else needs to step in, they will at least understand what is permissible to say and what isn’t, plus they will be less anxious about having to speak to the media.

• Have a plan B to disseminate information. What if phones go down?

Loss of electricity? Just because you don’t have power doesn’t mean the media will not cover the story. Find alternative means to disseminate the information, such as text messaging, or even runners.

• Max disclosure w/ minimum delay. Do not delay bad news—part of being

frank and open is to also be timely.

• Have a comprehensive public affairs plan known by the organization. A

plan that no one knows about is not a plan. Not only must an agency have a plan, it must train affected personnel on how it works and ensure they comprehend it.

The CG met these rules in its public affairs posture during Hurricane Katrina.138

The CG enjoyed positive public perception, not just because it performed well operationally, but because it was able to get its story out to the public very effectively, despite some serious logistical challenges. Other agencies also performed well during the response to Hurricane Katrina, but they did not fair as well in the media or public’s perception. For instance, Louisiana was able to evacuate approximately 90% of its citizens out of the impact zone saving tens of thousands of lives. Very little coverage of that fact made it into news broadcasts, leaving a perception that more people were stranded in New Orleans than actually were. As bad as the situation in New Orleans was, people believed it was even worse.139

138 _{Recently, there was a situation where the Coast Guard did not initially meet these rules, and paid} the price in negative media coverage and significantly reduced training opportunities for mounted

automatic weapons training on the Great Lakes. Once the Coast Guard realized the public was outraged, it began following the 7 Rules by saying it made a mistake in not seeking public input, held several public meetings to get the public’s input, and ultimately scrubbed the proposal based upon that input. The Coast Guard has told the public it will work with it prior to proposing another weapon training plan.

139 _{Susannah Rosenblatt and James Rainey, “Katrina Takes a Toll on Truth, News Accuracy,” Los}

Angeles Times, September 27, 2005, http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-