Please respond to the following in 150 words or more. 

Emergency management and policy go hand-in-hand. By understanding how policy works, emergency managers can better use the system to their advantage. As discussed in the Academic Emergency Management and Related Courses (AEMRC) for Higher Education Program, Emergency managers can most effectively influence policy changes within a six-month window following a disaster (Lindell, n.d.). For a jurisdiction to have a successful emergency management division, funds for preparedness actions need to be procured. Federal, state, and local budgets are set along with political agendas. Having a good working relationship with appointed and prospectively appointed representatives is beneficial to the department. There are five stages when developing a policy: making an agenda or an outline, formulating a policy with lawful knowledge, developing support for the proposed policy, implementation with funding being a key aspect, and routine evaluation of the policy to determine if it is still needed. (Lindell, n.d.) Networking is a huge part of the job. Being in the public eye as a respectable and credible public servant gives a positive face to emergency management. 

The proposed MOU should be established between emergency management and media partners. This MOU should cover the media’s physical role during an incident as to areas of access they are authorized, standard frequency of briefings, and scheduled contact with operational assets as to not impede on response operations.

The media often shows up in multiple places, asking the same questions. It would be more efficient if there was a designated place for the media to report given a certain situation. Reporters sneak into Emergency Operations Centers (EOC) and report information that is not ready to be disseminated to the public. An EOC could still be in the discovery stage, inaccurate information gathered by the media at this time can ruin credibility for emergency management and the media alike.

Having MOUs in place that outlines the frequency of briefings will cut back on mask dimensions. The media often wants answers before sense-making has been completed. If emergency management does not put out a statement in this time of uncertainty, they can look like they are holding information back. If emergency management speaks to the public before the information is known, this can lead to inaccurate information thus ruining credibility. Just as the Planning P has scheduled briefings for IC departments, so should there be scheduled media briefings according to the timeline. Media partners should be brought into training and exercises to become familiar with the Incident Command System (ICS) and the frequency in which information is gathered then briefed. As discussed in the Disaster-Specific Memorandum of Understanding, disaster-specific MOUs should be established to outline incident-specific protocols (FEMA, n.d.). For instance, an approaching hurricane will be handled differently than a terrorist attack where homeland security is an issue.

When reporters do not have a designated place for them to obtain information, they go looking for answers from operational units. This distraction from the mission is a nuisance for first responders and can lead to further loss of life and property. The media should have freedom of speech, but as to not impede on operational missions. When the mission allows, the PIO can have operational responders available for interview. By trying to get the best shot, reporters can put themselves in harm’s way. On-scene media staging areas should be common practice at incident locations.

References

FEMA. (n.d.). Disaster-Specific Memorandum of Understanding. Retrieved December 17, 2018, from https://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/1416583062704- 86cb8bebe23906b594ce14860d86f8af/DisasterSpecific_MOU_updated_weblinks.pdf

Lindell, M. K., Prater, C. S., & Perry, R. W. (n.d.). Academic Emergency Management and Related Courses (AEMRC) for the Higher Education Program. Retrieved January 02, 2018, from https://training.fema.gov/hiedu/aemrc