Emerging trends in emergency public communication

Emerging trends in emergency public communication

Emerging trends in emergency public communication (#106)

Phil Campbell ¹

NSW State Emergency Service, Wollongong, NSW, Australia

In the past decade there has been a revolution in the way in which emergency services have communicated with the public through mass media. In particular, the digital revolution has enabled emergency services to engage with communities as never before, with a move to information collaboration in disasters between emergency services and the community rather than historic uni-directional command and control methodologies.

The paper will look at two key trends currently underway in communicating with communities via traditional and digital media, including social media.

The first is the increasing trend by Government towards developing multi-hazard and multi-agency online portals to make it easier for the public to access vital safety, preparedness, operational and recovery information in an emergency. Such portals also provide a ‘single point of truth’ for information distributed to the media. The second is the seemingly contradictory trend towards engaging with communities using targeted, locally specific or demographically specific information via a range of collaborative communication channels.

The paper will look at the charactaristics of these trends, what they mean for emergency services and where technology and research might be taking us into the future.

Authors contributing to this presentation.

Campbell, P

Phil Campbell is the Manager Corporate Communications for the New South Wales State Emergency Service (NSW SES) where he leads a small, integrated team in media, public relations, social media and web, and internal communications. Phil joined the NSW SES in 2002 after a career as a teacher, community educator and conference director. At the NSW SES he has worked to raise the profile of the Service and improve the processes by which the Service communicates with and engages with the community around and during disasters such as floods and storms. For his contributions to media and communication, Phil has received a Commissioner’s Commendation and Citation, and in 2010 was elected a Fellow of the Australian peak research body in disaster communication, Emergency Media and Public Affairs. Phil is also the current Chair of the Australian Council of State Emergency Services Communications Group. In addition to working on communications campaigns to better engage communities prior to disasters and help build community resilience, Phil has coordinated operational media for some of the most significant natural disasters to affect Australia in recent decades, notably the extensive flooding of 2011-12. Phil also assisted with media after the Black Saturday fires of 2009. Phil holds a Master of Science (Honours) in Geography, a Bachelor of Arts (Honours), a Diploma of Education and Advanced Certificate (with Distinction) in Human Resources.

Emerging trends in emergency public communication (#106)

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Campbell, P

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