Still wary of the Web? The evolution of state emergency management agency Web sites 2008-2017

David W. Guth, MA

doi:10.5055/jem.2018.0386

Authors

David W. Guth, MA

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5055/jem.2018.0386

Keywords:

Internet, social media, emergency management, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube

Abstract

A 2008 content analysis of state emergency management agency Web sites showed that they tended to be internally focused and needed to be more citizen-focused and journalist friendly. The study was replicated in 2017. Because of changes in technology and agency missions, the content richness indicators were expanded. The study shows an increased acceptance of Internet and social communication. However, it also shows that the full potential of social media in emergency communication has not been reached.

Author Biography

David W. Guth, MA

Associate Professor, William Allen White School of Journalism, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas

References

Guth D: Untapped Potential: Evaluating State Emergency Management Web Sites 2008. Lawrence, KS: University of Kansas Transportation Research Institute, 2008: 6. Available at http://www.dguth.journalism.ku.edu/EMAreport.html. Accessed August 7, 2017.

Department of Homeland Security: DHS Lexicon: Terms and Definitions. Washington, DC: DHS, 2007: 28.

Federal Emergency Management Agency: Acronyms, Abbreviations & Terms: A Capability Assurance Job Aid. Washington, DC: FEMA, 2005: 160. FEMA-524.

Reynolds B, Seeger MW: Crisis and emergency risk communication as an integrated model. J Health Commun. 2005; 10: 43-55.

Haddow G, Bullock J: Introduction to Emergency Management. Oxford, England: Butterworth-Heinemann, 2004.

Perry DC, Taylor M, Doerfel M: Internet-based communication in crisis management. Manag Commun Q. 2003; 17(2): 206-232.

Health RL: Strategic Issues Management. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1997: 285-286. (Cited in Perry DC et al.).

White CM: Social Media, Crisis Communication, and Emergency Management. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 2012: 6.

Hendricks D: Complete history of social media: Then and now. Small Business Trends. May 8, 2013. Available at https://smallbiztrends.com/2013/05/the-complete-history-of-social-mediainfographic.html. Accessed August 8, 2017.

Underwood S: Improving disaster management. Commun ACM. 2010; 53(2): 18-20.

McCormick S: New tools for emergency managers: An assessment of obstacles to use and implementation. Disasters. 2016; 40(2): 216.

Sicard S, Thomas S: Social media changing the way FEMA responds to disasters. National Defense. 2013; 98(718): 17-18.

Holdeman E: FEMA’s David Kaufman addresses emergency management trends. Emergency Management. March 19, 2012. Available at www.govtech.com/em/disaster/FEMAs-David-Kaufman-Emergency-Management-Trends.html. Accessed August 16, 2017.

Spence PR, Lachian KA, Lin X, et al.: Variability in Twitter content across the stages of a natural disaster: Implications for crisis communication. Commun Q. 2015; 63(2): 171-186.

Tsukayama H: Twitter is officially doubling the character limit to 280. The Washington Post, November 7, 2017. Available at www.washingtonpost.com. Accessed February 16, 2018.

Federal Emergency Management Agency: 2017 Hurricane Season FEMA After-Action Report. Federal Emergency Management Agency, 2018. Available at https://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/167249. Accessed October 5, 2018.

Silverman L: Residents, police turn to social media to communicate amid Harvey. All Tech Considered (blog), National Public Radio. August 28, 2017. Available at www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/. Accessed August 8, 2018.

Plotnick L, Hiltz SR: Software innovations to support the use of social media by emergency managers. Int J Hum Comput Interact. 2018; 34(4): 367-381.

Mass notification systems – What are they? Omnilert. Available at www.omilert.com. Accessed August 8, 2018.

Scavo C, Kearney RC, Kilroy RJ Jr: Challenges to federalism: Homeland security and disaster response. Pubius. 2007; 38(1): 81-110.

Murthy D, Gross AJ: Social media processes in disasters: Implications of emergent technology use. Soc Sci Res. 2017; 63: 356-370.

Greenwood S, Perrin A, Duggan M: Social Media Update 2016. Washington, DC: Pew Research Center, 2016. Available at www.pewresearch.org. Accessed August 8, 2017.

Parkeat A: Digital news fact sheet. Washington, DC: Pew Research Center, August 7, 2017. Available at www.journalism.org/fact-sheet/digital-news/. Accessed August 8, 2017.

Mitchell A, Gottfried J, Barthel M, et al.: The Modern News Consumer. Pew Research Center, 2016. Available at www.journalism.org/2016/07/07/pathways-to-news/. Accessed August 8, 2017.

Guth DW: Untapped potential - An Analysis of online newsrooms on state emergency management agency web sites. Public Relations Society of America International Conference, October 2007; Philadelphia, PA.