!

Media Theory Research Paper

Dennis Q Miguel
Rutgers University
Fall 2013

!2
With the advancements in technology and new media within the last two decades, many
aspects of daily life have been altered for the better and, at times, for the worse. One such positive aspect is that of new medias impact on emergency procedures, management, and planning.
From catastrophic natural disasters to tragic shootings in public spaces, new media has quickly
developed its technology to be a viable source of information for citizens. In the age of social
networks, new media and social movements have impacted emergency management and planning through organization as evidenced more specifically before, during, and after the 2012 Superstorm Sandy event.
Nearly twenty years ago, according to Curtis (2013) of the University of North Carolina
of Pembrokes Mass Communication Department, social media as it is known today was just developing into a viable source for disseminating information to the masses. Curtiss (2013) research reflects in 1994, Beverly Hills Internet (BHI) started Geocities, which allowed users to
create their own website (1). This marked the beginning of social media. Up until the last five
years, social media ranked high as a source for news and information with Facebook leading
those forums. Lindsay (2010), an analyst in American National Government, discussed how social media can be used to disseminate information and how FEMA and other emergency management organizations utilize it. Here, she highlights the usefulness of social media in situational
awareness, two-way communication, organization of donations and volunteerism, reconnection,
and rumor control. Social media have been used to disseminate a wide range of public safety
information before, during, and after various incidents. Prior to an incident (or in the absence of
an incident), many emergency management organizations provide citizens with preparedness and
readiness information through social media. Social media are also used for community outreach

!3
and customer service purposes by soliciting feedback on public safety-related topics (3). The
role that social media has played in emergency and disaster situations has been invaluable especially in all aspects of organization.
Additionally, Lindsay (2010) discusses the systematic use of social media which would
entail issuing warnings; receiving requests for assistance from victims of disasters; and using uploaded photos to assess damages. He states: Researchers studying the use of Twitter during the
March 2011 Japanese earthquake and tsunami found that individuals with Twitter accounts
tweeted for assistance when they could not use a phone (5). Much of the aid received during
that crisis could not involve the use of phones for obvious reasons. In this crisis, help was given
where it was needed through concise tweets.
This sort of mapping and geolocating would not be possible without the advancements in
Internet and mobile technology. In his 2011 TED Talk regarding his work with the mapping of
the Haitian earthquakes, Meier (2011), a recognized developer in the application of new technologies for crisis early warning, humanitarian response and resilience (Meier, 2013), cited the
great work accomplished through the use of Twitter and its ability to get immediate help to those
who needed it when they needed it through mapping and geolocating. In line with Lindsay
(2010), what started out as a desire to merely help the helpless in Haiti in the aftermath of the
quakes, Meier (2011) was able to build a map through the location of those in need of supplies
until a recovery effort was set in place.
Yates and Parquette (2011), both of the University of Maryland, College of Information
Studies, discuss the U.S. response to the 2010 Haitian Earthquake. In an effort to aid Haiti along
with the United Nations and surrounding countries, the U.S. turned to social media technologies

!4
such as wikis - used to build textual and visual websites - and collaborative workspaces - used to
overcome space and time issues. The two research how the new media was used; what influences
were made on knowledge sharing and decision-making; and how that knowledge was maintained. Similar to the assertions of Lindsay (2010) and Meier (2011), the duo conclude in their
research of the Haitian study that When properly employed, the benefits of social media support
are faster decisions cycles and more complete knowledge resources. Whether or not these lessons
can be duplicated in other crises or emergencies is an open question, as each circumstance offers
unique challenges (7). Yates & Parquette (2011) praise social medias contribution on an organizational level, but fail to elaborate on its reliability in the aftermath of the actual emergency.
A group from the University of Buffalo researched the use of new media as an addition to
already established emergency announcing avenues. Ignato, Svetieva, Ortega, and Vishwanath
(2013) of the University of Buffalo take the usefulness of social media as a tool during emergency situations as they discuss the case of Northwestern University when an alert was sent to
students warning them of a gunman on campus. They cite the diffusion effect that takes place
with those "early knowers" versus "late knowers" and how "early knowers" were more likely to
share the information. Ignato, et al. (2013) introduce the theory of diffusion: Diffusion focuses
on the process through which innovations (ideas, thoughts, techniques, and information) are
adopted and integrated into society (270). They apply this theory to the distribution of emergency information at universities, but cite three key factors: Without conceptualization of the
vehicles see to spread information, subsequent investigation into its effectiveness becomes severely hampered. Second, researchers must understand where the information is coming from
and who it is being communicated to . . . Third, the believability, or credibility of the information

!5
as it traverses the emergency network must be understood so that better, more efficient communication can be developed in the future to help mitigate lost time and resources (268). From the
controlled dissemination of information during a crisis, there are many factors that come into
play that may in fact hinder the process. The researchers continue to provide suggestions for the
streamlining of communication of such information to the university at large and conclude that
creating a multi-modal emergency message which can effectively disseminate through traditional media (TV, email, etc.) and new media (social networks like Twitter, and Facebook) which
utilizes multiple devices (both personal phones and computers as well as public access machines)
is best for creating an environment of awareness throughout a critical incident (281).
Australian scientists and engineers Yin, Lampert, Cameron, Robinson, and Power define
situation awareness as the perception of elements, their meaning, and their status in the future. In
their research, they were able to extract information from Twitter messages that were generated
and produced during disasters and crises effectively enhancing emergency situation awareness.
This growing use of social media during crises offers new information sources from which the
right authorities can enhance emergency situation awareness. Survivors in the impacted areas can
report on-the-ground information about what theyre seeing, hearing, and experiencing during
natural disasters. People from surrounding areas can provide nearly real-time observations about
disaster scenes, such as aerial images and photos (52). Again, their work is similar to that of
Mintz (2009) in mapping and geolocation of the Haitian earthquakes. Yin, et al. (2012), though,
cite the downfall to some new media in efforts to inform during crisis: Social media brings new
challenges about how to sift relevant information from the sheer volume of data being broadcast
over time. User- generated content is intrinsically noisy and embodies language uses that are

!6
markedly different from conventional documents, which makes traditional natural language processing techniques inapplicable (54). Often, misinformation is disseminated and the credibility
factor - that Ignato et al. (2013) see as one of three main issues when distributing information
during emergency situations on a university campus - is compromised.
The public sphere of Twitter lately has become more and more relied upon for real-time
news updates. In some cases, it is the only means of communication when mainstream media
cannot gain access. Take, for example, the Garden State Plaza Mall gunman. According to
Donohue (2013), news crews were not permitted to gain access into the mall until the crime
scene was secure, but many of those citizens stuck within the mall took to Twitter, Facebook,
and, in some cases, Instagram to give updates illustrating the power of bi-directional agenda setting. In her article, Donohue (2013) cites, in some cases, a minute-to-minute account of the
breaking story from the Twitter accounts of normal citizens trapped inside the Bergen County
mall. Here, it is clear, that Twitter is a public sphere where citizens came together to react and
respond to the event.
Similarly in 2012, Superstorm Sandy hit the tri-state area, devastating the New Jersey
Shore as well as Hoboken, the NYC-area and Staten Island. Before, during, and after the storm,
social media played an important role in communication and organization. Because news organizations could not enter the areas most affected by the storm, a high percentage of the information
received from the devastated areas came from the citizens themselves tweeting emotionally moving photos and detailed descriptions of the devastation and flooding. Cohen (2013), blogger and
freelance writer, dedicated her educational and professional career to organizational and political
communication. In a blog about Hurricane Sandy in 2012, Cohen (2013) discusses the Virtual

!7
Social Media Working Group (VSMWG) and their efforts to link social media with efforts for
safety precautions. Because of Hurricane Irene in August 2011, New York City maintained numerous channels, including Facebook pages, Flickr, Google+, Tumblr, Twitter (in both English
and Spanish) and YouTube serving three million members across the country. Twitter was crucial
not only in the preparation of the storms arrival, but also in New York and New Jerseys response to and recovery from the storm. In some cases it was the only means of communication
for locations of charging stations for electronic devices, bars and restaurants that were offering
food that did not need to be cooked, and when FEMA was arriving to help. In 2010, the U.S. Department of Homeland Securitys Science and Technology Directorate established the VSMWG
to provide guidance for and gather best practices in emergency preparation response and planning in examining social media use before, during and after emergencies and crises. In 2013, it
was put to the test. The black X represents potential application based on a 2012 VSMWG study
and the red X represents the actual use during the superstorm. (see Appendix B.) It can be concluded that social media was utilized for information sharing, awareness and volunteer management, but unexpectedly for rumor control, the gathering of donations and reconnection.
New media's role in emergency preparedness is highlighted in a Rutgers Magazine article
by Miller (2013), freelance writer and author as well as Rutgers University-Camden alumna. She
describes the work of Justin Auciello who is the founder of the Jersey Shore Hurricane News
Facebook page. In the wake of Superstorm Sandy in late October 2012, his Facebook page became a resource to over 200,000 information and news regarding the hurricane. His page also
allowed users to submit storm-related updates, with Auciello serving as the gatekeeper of the
news. Here, people could report what happened as it pertains to their own network. Auciellos

!8
role as gatekeeper was vital in that he gathered information and published those only pertinent to
the cause of informing and organizing.
What is most interesting is the ability of social media to be the source of information
when traditional news media is unavailable as in the case with Hurricane Sandy. Millers (2013)
efforts most definitely were part of the wider efforts to get help to those who desperately needed
it during this time last year. Drake (2013), Senior Editor at the Pew Research Center, documents
that over the 5-day period of October 28-November 1, 2012 over 20 million tweets regarding
Superstorm Sandy were sent. His research reflects 34% of all Twitter discourse was news and
information with the second largest of the research totaling 25% being photos and videos (Appendix A). He also cites that despite the efficiency of Twitter to get information out to the general
public and to those directly affected by the storm, inaccuracies remained with the dissemination
of information. In his TED Talk on citizen journalism, Lewis (2011) addresses the need to do research, often difficult with the rate at which Twitter disseminates information to the public - true
or not.
The research presented in this paper focuses on praising new media as a platform for the
distribution of information during emergency and crisis situations as well as the impact it has on
society. While much of the research points to the organizational abilities of social media to make
an impactful difference, there was little research featured that would otherwise show it as the
main news source for information aside from the finding from the Pew Research Center (2013).
(See Appendix A).

!9
APPENDIX A
Types of Hurricane Sandy Conversations on Twitter.

!10
APPENDIX B

Virtual Social Media Working Group (VSMWG) chart representing the 2012 projected use of
social media outlets in emergency situations and actual use in 2013 during Hurricane Sandy.
Black X: projected use
Red X: Actual use

!11
References
Cohen, S. E. (2013, March 7). Sandy marked a shift for social media use in disasters. Www.emergencymgmt.com. Retrieved November 4, 2013, from http://www.emergencymgmt.com/disaster/Sandy-Social-Media-Use-in-Disasters.html
Curtis, A. (2013). The brief history of social media [Web log post]. Retrieved November 20,
2013, from http://www.uncp.edu/home/acurtis/NewMedia/SocialMedia/SocialMediaHistory.html
Drake, B. (2013, October 28). Twitter served as a lifeline of information during Hurricane
Sandy. Www.PewResearch.org. Retrieved November 4, 2013, from http://
www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/10/28/twitter-served-as-a-lifeline-of-information-during-hurricane-sandy/
Drake, B. (2013, October 28). Appendix of Twitter served as a lifeline of information
during Hurricane Sandy. Washington, DC: Pew Research Center.
Donohue, L. (2013, November 4). Gunman Opens Fire at New Jersey Mall Before Killing Himself. Www.gawker.com. Retrieved November 26, 2013, from http://gawker.com/witnesses-tell-idasiegal4ny-at-garden-state-plaza-mall-1458547835
Homeland Security Science and Technology. (2013). Lessons learned: Social media and Hurricane Sandy [Brochure]. Author. Retrieved November 20, 2013, from http://www.naseo.org/Data/Sites/1/documents/committees/energysecurity/documents/dhs_vsmwg_lessons_learned_social_media_and_hurricane_sandy_formatted_june_2013_final.pdf
Ignato, M. J., Svetieva, E., Vishwanath, A., & Ortega, C. R. (2013). Diffusion of emergency information during a crisis within a university. Homeland Security &*
Emergency Management, 10(1), 267-287. doi: 10.1515/jhsem-2012-0082
Lewis, P. (2011|, May 14). Crowd sourcing the news. Www. TEDTalks.com. Retrieved from
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/paul_lewis_crowdsourcing_the_news.html
Lindsay, B. R. (2010). Social media and disasters: Current uses, future options and policy
considerations. Journal of Current Issues in Media & Telecommunications, 2(4),
287-297. Retrieved November 4, 2013, from http://ehis.ebscohost.com.proxy.libraries.rutgers.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=a9f6ca71-adff-4e96aa6f-8214cc4f61bd%40sessionmgr15&vid=5&hid=104

!12
Meier, Patrick. (2013). iRevolution: From innovation to revolution. Retrieved from http://irevolution.net
Miller, J. (2013). Gale force. Rutgers Magazine, Fall 2013, 17. Retrieved November 4, 2013,
from http://magazine.rutgers.edu/departments/fall-2013/on-the-banks/gale-force
TEDxTalks (2011, September 22). Changing the World, One Map at a Time. Retrieved November 20, 2013, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVCC2CB281M
Yin, J., Lampert, A., Cameron, M., Robinson, B., & Power, R. (2012). Using social media
to enhance emergency situation awareness. Intelligent Systems, IEEE, 27(6),
52-59. doi: 10.1109/MIS.2012.6
Yates, D., & Paquette, S. (2011). Emergency knowledge management and social media
technologies: A case study of the 2010 Haitian earthquake. International Journal
of Information Management, 31, 6-13. doi: 10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2010.10.001