Knowing Your Audience
Knowing Your Audience Paper and Communication Release
Cristopher Silva
BCOM275
May 14, 2012
Dr. Leslie Kille
Knowing Your Audience Paper and Communication Release
On the morning of August 6, 2012 the world woke up to the headlines of “Chile mine collapse leaves around 30 trapped” (Soto, 2010). By the time people read the articles, 33 miners had already spent close to 24 hours trapped in gold and copper mine 2,300 feet under the Chilean dessert, and Chilean authorities were scrambling for details regarding the health of the trapped miners. According to The New York Times it took 17 days before the world found out that all 33 miners were still alive.
A chaotic event like this will attract several different audiences with varying intentions in response to the same event. This is why it is essential to quickly establish a command and control center that is responsible for managing the flow of communication and information to and from the disaster scene. This effective management will ensure that the information coming in, and going out, of the scene is accurate, timely, and directed at the right audience. For example, the person in charge of the rescue operation will want accurate updates regarding the availability of equipment requested, weather conditions that may affect his operations, and available assets to assist his crew coming to the scene; while on the other hand the press will want accurate and timely updates regarding the situation coming from the scene.
Not only does the command and control center have a major responsibility to manage the flow of information it also has a responsibility to ensure that steps are taken before and after releasing information to ensure that it is accurate. In other words they manage the “Communication Process” (Cheeseboro, O 'Connor, & Rios, 2010). As command and control center receives information, they must look at the source and be able to verify the validity because many people will be depending on the
Cristopher Silva
BCOM275
May 14, 2012
Dr. Leslie Kille
Knowing Your Audience Paper and Communication Release
On the morning of August 6, 2012 the world woke up to the headlines of “Chile mine collapse leaves around 30 trapped” (Soto, 2010). By the time people read the articles, 33 miners had already spent close to 24 hours trapped in gold and copper mine 2,300 feet under the Chilean dessert, and Chilean authorities were scrambling for details regarding the health of the trapped miners. According to The New York Times it took 17 days before the world found out that all 33 miners were still alive.
A chaotic event like this will attract several different audiences with varying intentions in response to the same event. This is why it is essential to quickly establish a command and control center that is responsible for managing the flow of communication and information to and from the disaster scene. This effective management will ensure that the information coming in, and going out, of the scene is accurate, timely, and directed at the right audience. For example, the person in charge of the rescue operation will want accurate updates regarding the availability of equipment requested, weather conditions that may affect his operations, and available assets to assist his crew coming to the scene; while on the other hand the press will want accurate and timely updates regarding the situation coming from the scene.
Not only does the command and control center have a major responsibility to manage the flow of information it also has a responsibility to ensure that steps are taken before and after releasing information to ensure that it is accurate. In other words they manage the “Communication Process” (Cheeseboro, O 'Connor, & Rios, 2010). As command and control center receives information, they must look at the source and be able to verify the validity because many people will be depending on the
References: Soto, A. (2010, August 6). Chile mine collapse leaves around 30 trapped. Reuters. Retrieved from http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/08/06/us-chile-mine-accident- idUSTRE6750FS20100806 The New York Times. (2011). Chile Mining Accident (2010). Retrieved from http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/c/chile_mining_accident_20 10/index.html?s=oldest& Weik, J. (2010, August 6). Over 30 workers trapped after Chilean copper mine collapse. Metal Bulletin Daily, (224), 65.