Emergency media relationship strengthened
A memorandum of understanding between civil defence emergency management authorities and national broadcasters in New Zealand has been strengthened.
The memorandum with radio and television broadcasters is activated during emergencies where there is an immediate risk to personal safety.
“While the government is working to fast-track new technology like cell broadcasting, it’s important to remember that traditional information channels provide a valuable source of information during emergencies,” said Civil Defence Minister Gerry Brownlee.
“During recent events, like the Kaikōura earthquake, the role broadcasters played in keeping people informed was indispensable.”
When activated, the Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management issues a ‘request for broadcast’ involving a statement which is broadcast verbatim at regular intervals until a cancellation is issued.
The memorandum has operated since the early 2000s and is used for significant and fast-moving emergencies that require urgent information or advice to be relayed to the public.
“This agreement represents a continued commitment from our broadcasters to play a valuable role in keeping Kiwis safe and well-informed during an emergency, and I thank them for their participation,” said Brownlee.
Ministry research shows radio remains the most relied-upon source of information during emergencies and is resilient during outages.
Brownlee also emphasised television’s benefits in being able to display news tickers or closed captions for deaf audiences, for which the new agreement has provision.
Another enhancement to the agreement is additional flexibility in the frequency of messages.
“If a tsunami is two hours away, the broadcasts need to be issued frequently. If it’s 15 hours away, we can reduce the frequency of broadcasts in the early stages and ramp it up when we need people to start taking action,” Brownlee said.
The agreement also calls upon broadcasters to use their online channels to spread messages to their followers.
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