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 Table of Contents  
REVIEW ARTICLE
Year : 2015  |  Volume : 3  |  Issue : 5  |  Page : 12-15

Mass media and its role in increasing society's involvement in disaster management


Member of Student Research Committee, Student Health Care Management, University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

Date of Web Publication29-Oct-2015

Correspondence Address:
Fatemeh Soltani
Student Health Care Management, University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan
Iran
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Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None


DOI: 10.4103/2347-9019.168565

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  Abstract 

Disaster is defined as what creates an imbalance in the normal and routine course of human lives. Therefore, disaster management is an applied science that uses analysis of previous disasters and recent scientific and technological advancements to find solutions for prevention or counter the effects of disasters. In this regard, mass media can increase the awareness of society about disasters and increase the society's involvement in disaster (SID) management, taking an effective step in reducing the adverse effects of disasters, and in time help prevent future ones. The aim of this study is to investigate the role of mass media and their effectiveness in disaster management especially in improving public involvement in disaster management. This study uses simple review method by searching for relevant information incredible scientific websites, scientific texts, and scientific articles. In this regard databases such as Magiran, Google Scholar, and Science Direct SID were investigated between years 2001 and 2014. The results of these searches revealed that several studies investigate the different viewpoints about the role of media in disaster management with the consensus being that mass media can be an effective tool for dealing with disasters and disastrous situations. In most studies, the conclusion is that without the help of national and mass media, it is impossible to achieve an effective disaster management. Finally, we concluded that media can play an important role in all stages of a disaster from before the disaster to after a disaster and rebuilding efforts. Mass media can improve the public's awareness and educate the people and also improve the SID management.

Keywords: Disaster, disaster management, media, society's involvement


How to cite this article:
Soltani F. Mass media and its role in increasing society's involvement in disaster management. Int J Health Syst Disaster Manage 2015;3, Suppl S1:12-5

How to cite this URL:
Soltani F. Mass media and its role in increasing society's involvement in disaster management. Int J Health Syst Disaster Manage [serial online] 2015 [cited 2024 Mar 28];3, Suppl S1:12-5. Available from: https://www.ijhsdm.org/text.asp?2015/3/5/12/168565


  Introduction Top


Disaster is driven from Greek word Krinon meaning a turning point especially in diseases and dangerous situations in political, social, and economical problems. Bournet believes disaster to the end of a spectrum which starts with an accident, continues into conflict, and finally ends with the disaster which is the most severe case of chaos. According to Herman “Disaster is an accident that causes confusion and bewilderment in people, impairs their ability for taking logical, and effective actions and as a result threatens their ability for achieving their goals.”[1] Disaster is usually a turning point that can lead to a suitable or unsuitable change.[2] Disasters often happen without warning and unexpectedly and are followed by a series of covert and overt consequences; therefore disaster managers must always be prepared to deal with these consequences in a suitable manner.[3] This makes media into one of the most important strategic tools in disasters and usually thefirst organization whose actions and news reports during disasters are reviewed afterward. Although this sensitivity make mass media look like a subsidiary of power bases, it also emphasizes the fact that careful, and calculated planning is needed to turn media in a tool that helps solve the problem instead of making things worse.[4] This importance has turned mass media into an inseparable part of disasters and even has led to the belief that an occurrence turns into a disaster once focused on by the media.[5] Therefore, one can use mass media to improve the involvement of society by creating new insights about disasters and improving the belief that the help from people reduce the adverse effects of disasters. All disaster management situations involve trying to manage multiply efforts for directly responding to the disasters.[6] Disaster is an inseparable and natural part of today's organizations and societies. Nowadays, disaster is no longer a rare, unnatural, and random occurrence but something that exists in the fabric of modern society.[7] The reason for this change is that now people look for information about the disaster, its causes, and organizations responsible for dealing with the disasters based on the media coverage of the disasters.[8] Every moment people around the world are informed about horrific news reports which are communicated at the speed of light by various news sources. In a few moments, people in all corners of the world have heard the news and are impatiently looking for updates, facts, and explanations.[9] Therefore, the main goal of disaster management is to achieve a logical solution for removing the abnormal conditions in a way that satisfies main goals and interests of the society.[1] Other goals of disaster management include removing disaster and emergency status, returning the society to its normal situation as quickly as possible, reduction of the effects of disaster on the society, preparing the society for dealing with future disasters, increasing the involvement of the society, rebuilding areas affected by the disaster, and educating and training the populace for dealing with disasters.[10] A large part of the efforts in disaster management concentrate to times before a disaster happens.[11] During a disaster, the three major activities are underway: Concentrating on communicating news and information asked by the populace, appointing an official spokesperson, and sending professional reports and messages to the mass media.[12] Of course it is better to prevent disasters but it's wrong to think that it is possible to prevent all disasters.[13] On the other hand, if disaster management is defined planning for controlling the disasters, four main steps needs to be taken in order to control the effects of disasters. First one needs to predict the possible adverse effects of disasters, and then contingency plans need to be created, afterward disaster management teams need to be created, organized, and trained and finally practical exercises need to be carried out in order to determine the effectiveness of the plans.[14] Due to the importance of the above steps and since media can play an important role in disaster control, this study aims to investigate and review previous works about disasters and the role of media in a disaster situation. We will also try to determine various viewpoints in this regard and determine the real role of media in disasters.


  Literature Review Top


Siamak and Nahazi in an article titles “Strategies for defining the role of national media in managing disasters caused by natural causes” investigated various viewpoints about disasters and the role of media in disaster situations. He also proposed a practical and documented solution for managing disasters with the help of national mass media.[15] Vahid also investigated the role of mass media in disaster management and reported that media play an important and significant role in controlling disasters and correct utilization of media can significantly improve the speed and precision of disaster management methods.[16] The role of media in disaster management is so important that Pour Ezzat and Arian reported that it is impossible to achieve effective disaster management without the help of media.[17] Moreover in another paper, he emphasized the use of multicellular multilayer planning for dealing with disasters and reported that the effectiveness of this method depends on the support provided by national mass media.[18] Muhammad in this article titled “Investigating theories about the role of media in disaster management” states that developing countries must not ignore the role of media in managing their internal and external disasters and conflicts and must try to create a suitable platform for using media in disaster management.[19]

In order to determine the stages of disaster in which media can play an effective role, Hassan and Zahir investigated the disaster situations and the role of media in three stages of these situations including before, during, and after occurrence of disasters and reported radio to be the most effective media in disaster management.[20] Given the fact that the preferable solution is often to prevent disasters, the predisaster stage is more important compared to other stages. In this regard, Taher and Salavatian created a model for the role of the media for preparing and preventing disasters. They claimed that using this model can help prevent disasters before happening. They also propose the use of this model for predicting future disasters and preparing for dealing with them.[21]

On the other hand, even with all the possible help the media can provide in disaster situations, they can also contribute to worsening the situation. In this regard, Al-Sadat investigated the threats of media in disaster management. He believed media to be one of the main tools in understanding disasters and states that in order to achieve a suitable disaster management, proper management of media resources is necessary. He also emphasizes the important role of media in distribution of information about the disaster and states that while media can help reduce the effects of disasters during and after their occurrence, they can also work in cross-purpose with disaster management and worsen the effects of disasters.[22] However in most cases such as the article “the role of media in guidance, stanching and management of disasters” by Taherian, it is believed that media can increase the speed of response in disasters with proper distribution of information which in turn helps speed up the process of recovery from disaster situation [4] and the ability of media to negatively affect disaster management is rarely seen. Ahab and Javadian also believe that in the 21st century, information and communication is an important part of any management plan and media can help organizations to control disasters and conflicts that can affect their credibility and relations with the media outlets.[7]

As motioned above, various studies investigated the role of mass media in disasters, and most believed media to be an effective tool for controlling and dealing with disaster situations. Most studies agree that it is impossible to create an effective management plan for disasters without the help of national and mass media. Especially, the role of media before disasters is of great importance and some models even calculate the role of media in disaster prevention. Therefore due to the importance of disasters, many managers and policy makers try to make use of media for dealing with internal and external disasters and conflicts. However, a more careful analysis of previous studies shows that most of them concentrate on the positive aspects of the media in disaster situations and rarely investigate the negative aspects. Also, very few studies investigate the most important and influential media when it comes to disaster management. These fine points are often forgotten in favor of investigating the general role of media in disaster management which means that there is no general solution for dealing with the role of mass media in disasters. This paper will try to investigate the more obscure aspects of media's role in disasters especially the role of media in increasing society's involvement in dealing with disasters.


  Materials and Methods Top


This study uses simple review method by searching for relevant information incredible scientific websites, scientific texts, and scientific articles. In this regard databases such as MagIran, Google Scholar, and Science Direct society's involvement in disaster (SID) were searched for related articles published between years 2001 and 2014, and a total of 30 articles were selected. These articles were searched using keywords: Media, disaster and media, disaster, disaster management and media, and disaster management. The books with titles related to disaster and disaster management were also selected. In some cases, some chapters of the selected books concerned disaster management such as book titles “Principals and Organization and Management” and “Health and Treatment Management.”

Findings

The summary of the results about the role of media in disaster management is presented in [Table 1] and indicates the importance of media in societies especially in disaster situations.
Table 1: The results of investigating the role of media in disaster management and in society

Click here to view


Generally, it can be said that media play their role in all three stages of “before disaster”, “during disaster,” and “after disaster.”[27] In the before disaster stage, the main goal is to prevent the disaster from occurring. During a disaster, the role and effectiveness of media becomes more obvious because at this stage media can help stimulate the emotions and feelings of the populace and inform people, national and international organizations about the disaster. At the after disaster stage, the strengths and weaknesses of communications with the media and sharing of news and information can be determined.[28] Complete involvement of the society in all stages of disaster management, before, during and after a disaster is one of the main bases of disaster management. Without involvement of general populous, the heavy load of managing disasters will be transferred to government and policy makers which can in turn lead to worsening the situation and lowering the success rate of relief operations due to limited resources of the government. The involvement of people in disaster situations include active participation in all stages of disaster prevention, reduction of adverse effects of the disaster, preparations, confrontations, and rebuilding efforts during and after disasters. In other words, people need to be involved in all stages of disaster management from initial planning and risk assessment to final stages of disaster management which include rebuilding and returning the situation to normal. Therefore, the involvement of people is one of the most important parts of disaster management that needs to be considered in every planning effort. Active insolvent of people during countering the disaster and rebuilding efforts makes helps to successfully implement plans created before disasters and supports the needs of those affected by the disasters. Therefore, disaster management plans involving general populace need to be considered as part of the sustainable development of societies.[29] Therefore given the power of the media for attracting mass audiences and their role in shaping of public opinion, they can play an important role in disasters and social, political, and international conflicts.[24] In this regard mass media plays three important roles during disasters:

  • Playing the role of an information storage subsystem
  • Playing the role of a communication subsystem for connecting various systems involved in the disaster
  • Playing the role of a public relations subsystem and guide for humanitarian aids.[30]


Given the above roles of the media and with three possible approaches to disaster aversion, disaster coping, and disaster acceptance in disaster management one can imagine four distinctive roles for the media in disaster management:

  • Passive approach in which the media prefers to keep quiet about the current disaster and its reaction in regards of the disaster is denial or neglect
  • Reactive approach in which the media organization reacts by answering to the threatening environmental pressures and dynamics in order to sustain its existence
  • Active approach in which the media becomes active immediately after a disaster in order to control and contain the disaster
  • Super-active approach in which media not only accepts the existence of disaster with an outlook toward new opportunities for growth and acts to contain the disasters but also makes certain predictions and preparations in order to deal with future disaster situations.[30]



  Discussion and Conclusion Top


This study tried to investigate the role of media in disaster management for different societies, especially Iranian society. The results showed that media can play an important role in all stages of disaster management from before disaster to after disaster and during rebuilding efforts. Media can increase the awareness of the populace and educate people leading to increased involvement of different parts of society and can also help use this new involvement in order to manage disaster and reduce its adverse effects. Disasters are an inseparable part of our lives and their number and extent increases each day. Therefore given the fact that disasters can happen at any moment and anywhere, it is advised to use the potential of mass media in order to improve the SID management, prevent the disaster when at all possible, or else help reduce its adverse effects.

Suggestions

Based on the results of the current study, it is suggested for future studies to focus on what types of media show better results in disaster situations. Also, it is necessary to investigate the negative aspect of media's involvement in disasters and not be content with only investigating the positive aspects of media in disasters.

Acknowledgment

I would like to thank Mrs. Samouei, the assistant in guidance and consulting.

Financial support and sponsorship

Isfahan University of Medical Sciences.

Conflicts of interest

There are no conflicts of interest.

 
  References Top

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Siavash S, Gholamreza Gudarzi. (Introduction). Media and Crisis Management: Prediction, Prevention and Preparedness. Tehran: Imam Sadegh University [AS]; 2010. p. S4-80.  Back to cited text no. 1
    
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3.
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4.
Taherian M. In the Lead Role of the Media, Settle and Crisis Management. Media Crisis Management [2]: Media Research Group, No. 38. 0.157 to 192 ps. Source Site; 2009. Available from: http://www.noormags.ir/view/fa/articlepage/905252.  Back to cited text no. 4
    
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7.
Habibzade Maleki A, Javadian R. Media strategies to manage the crisis. Development Quarterly 2010;V:103-23.  Back to cited text no. 7
    
8.
An SK, Gower KK. How do the news media frame crises? A content analysis of crisis news coverage. Public Relat Rev Sci Direct 2009;35:107-12.  Back to cited text no. 8
    
9.
Rezvani HR. Organizational crisis management. Database management articles. Tadbir Mag 2006;18:170. Available from: http://system.parsiblog.com/Posts/675.  Back to cited text no. 9
    
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Zadeh HR. Review of the Theoretical Foundations of Crisis Management. Database Management Articles; 2010. Available from: http://system.parsiblog.com/Posts/856/.   Back to cited text no. 10
    
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Coombs W. Information and compassion in crisis responses: A test of their effects. J Public Relat Res 1999;11:125.  Back to cited text no. 11
    
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13.
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14.
Robert K. Management. 7th ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.; 1998. p. 618.  Back to cited text no. 14
    
15.
Siamak RP, Nahazi GH. The national media's role in crisis management strategies for natural disaster. Strateg Def Stud2011;89:S44-114.  Back to cited text no. 15
    
16.
Vahid AM. Media and Crisis Management. Available from: http://mediasophy.blogfa.com/post-10.aspx.  Back to cited text no. 16
    
17.
Pour Ezzat AA, Arian Q. reflecting on the role of media in society hidden observation and crisis management, management ethnicities. Commun Res2008;15:29-46.  Back to cited text no. 17
    
18.
Pour Ezzat AA, Arian Q. The application of several layers of cells in the national media for crisis management planning in social systems. Commun Res2008;15:163-78.  Back to cited text no. 18
    
19.
Muhammad M. Review existing theories about the role of media in crisis management with emphasis on theory Alvin Toffler. Commun Res 2008;15:111-99.  Back to cited text no. 19
    
20.
Hassan K, Zahir A. The professional ethics of journalists and media in crisis management [earthquake]. Commun Res 2008;15:47-68.  Back to cited text no. 20
    
21.
Taher RA, Salavatian S. The role of mass media in the pre-crisis management. J Manage Sci 1389;V: S111-89.  Back to cited text no. 21
    
22.
Al-Sadat RN. Media threats and crisis management. Commun Res2008;15:113-139.  Back to cited text no. 22
    
23.
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25.
Pourheydari GH, Burhanuddin VB. Textbook of Crisis Management. Tehran: Iranian Avij Cooperation with Iran Crisis Management Association; 2012. p. 471-86.  Back to cited text no. 25
    
26.
Rezvani HR. The integration of disaster management strategies. Tadbir Mag 2007;18:23-8.  Back to cited text no. 26
    
27.
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28.
Public Relations and Crisis Management. Monthly Electricity Industry. Available from: .  Back to cited text no. 28
    
29.
Sahraei F. A Pamphlet of Communications Media in Public Relations, the Central Health Administration [NPMC]; 2013. Available from: http://www.takrim.tbzmed.ac.ir.   Back to cited text no. 29
    
30.
Arbatani TR. The role of media in the development of, crisis management of the crisis into opportunity. J Commun Stud 2008;15:141-62.  Back to cited text no. 30
    



 
 
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