MEDIA FOR SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Third Annual Mini-Course & Competition
March 29-31, 2012
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THE COLLABORATIVE CHALLENGE:
DEVELOPING A MEDIA STRATEGY FOR
NATURAL DISASTER LOCAL COVERAGE
The biggest natural disaster of all time, ever recorded, is generally considered the Central China floods
of 1931. It is certainly considered the deadliest of the 20 th Century. It is estimated that deaths were as
high as 3 to 4 million. The threat of another such catastrophic event is actually close to taking place in
this challenge scenario . . .
You work at a local media company in your country that owns a television station, radio station,
internet site and an active online social network. And, the majority of your audience uses a mobile
device (mobile phone or tablet).
On Thursday night, March 29th, you receive an unexpected tweet from one of your close friends, who
happens to be the news anchor at your TV station. He indicates that something is going on about 50
miles from where you are, where he and his wife are away for the weekend. He is hearing rumors that
unusually heavy rains that have steadily fallen for the past week are causing a major threat to the
stability of the area’s largest dam, located where he and his wife are.
Later that night, you hear some chatter on Facebook from friends who live close to the site of the
dam. Your friend, the news anchor, sends you a video message (through e-mail, skype, facetime or
some other application).
Saturday morning, the dam breaks in that location, which threatens to cause massive flooding,
devastation, environmental hazards and death.
Your boss sends you a text that there is a meeting Saturday afternoon. Your team is tasked with
coming up with a plan on how to communicate news and information via the company’s media
properties. He asks you to be prepared to discuss the company’s responsibilities, type of information it
should deliver, role in disaster mitigation, leverage of relationships with “strategic” organizations and
the impact on its business.
Your boss reminds you that your company is covering the largest sports event of the year on Sunday,
which is the biggest annual revenue opportunity for the company, and is expected to draw the largest
audience – ever – generating the highest ratings and largest participation through social media.
Combining your knowledge and awareness of media in your country and natural disasters around the
world, along with what you have learned in the mini-course from media people, meteorology experts,
climate change presenters, natural disaster journalists and disaster mitigation organizations, you and
your colleagues must develop a strategy for your company to present to management Saturday
afternoon.
At that meeting, you will discuss these issues:
1.
What is our company’s responsibility?
2.
What should we be reporting?
3.
Do we make money or serve the interest of our audiences or both?
4.
How do we use each of our media outlets most effectively and efficiently?
5.
How do we balance reporting of the sensational events vs. the human element?
6.
How do we interface with disaster mitigation organizations?
7.
Any other issues you and your team want to discuss.
On Saturday, your team will meet, for nearly 4 hours, to develop the strategy and plans, knowing that
you are in a race against the clock.
You need to present the strategy, orally, at the company (entire class) meeting Saturday afternoon, at
which time you will hear feedback from Management. Please bring with you one visual tool to support
your presentation – PowerPoint, Prezi, Keynote or Video. You are limited to exactly 5 minutes to make
a concise, substantive case for your strategy.
Following that presentation, with the feedback you have received, you will have an additional week
following the company meeting to present your final presentation, visually. That visual presentation
must stand on its own, and be e-mailed to those designated by the following Saturday. The final
presentation must be submitted by e-mail to Professor Mara Alper and Andy Orgel by 6:00 pm,
Saturday, April 7th.
Your Final Presentation will be judged by a panel of faculty, staff and industry experts. You will be
evaluated on content, style, completeness and creative thinking, using a rubric to be developed.
The top presentations, as judged, will then be evaluated by Bob Iger ’72, President & CEO, The Walt
Disney Company; Landon Van Soest ’04, Film Producer/Director; and Jay Newman, President & General
Manager, WJZ-TV, Baltimore. They will share their feedback and reactions.
FROM THE SYLLABUS:
The Challenge:
On Saturday, March 31 from 10:00 AM - 5:30 PM in the Park Auditorium, students will
work in their assigned groups on the challenge. Alumni mentors will assist the groups
in developing strategies and practicing an effective “pitch” based off of the challenge
description detailed below:
The biggest natural disaster of all time, ever recorded, is generally considered the
Central China floods of 1931. It is certainly considered the deadliest of the 20 th Century.
It is estimated that deaths were as high as 3 to 4 million. The threat of another such
catastrophic event is actually close to taking place . . .
You work at a media company that owns a television station, radio station, Internet site
and an active social network in your community.
On Thursday night, March 29th, you receive an unexpected tweet from one of your close
friends, who happens to be the news anchor at your TV station. He indicates that
something is going on about 50 miles from where you are, where he and his wife are
away for the weekend. He is hearing rumors that the heavy rains that have steadily
fallen for the past week are causing a major threat to the stability of the area’s largest
dam, located where he and his wife are.
Later that night, you hear some chatter on Facebook from friends who live close to the
site of the dam.
Friday afternoon, the dam breaks in that location, which threatens to cause massive
flooding, devastation, environmental hazards and death.
Your boss sends you a text that there is a meeting Saturday morning. Your team is
tasked with coming up with a plan on how to communicate news and information via
the company’s media properties.
Your Mission:
Combining your knowledge and awareness of media in your country and natural
disasters around the world, along with what you have learned in the mini-course from
media people, meteorology experts, climate change presenters, natural disaster
journalists and disaster mitigation organizations, you and your colleagues must develop
a strategy for your company.
Your company is covering the largest sports event of the year on Sunday, which is the
biggest annual revenue opportunity for the company, and is expected to draw the
largest audience – ever.
At that meeting, you will discuss these issues:
8. What is our company’s responsibility?
9. What should we be reporting?
10. Do we make money or serve the interest of our audiences or both?
11. How do we use each of our media outlets most effectively and efficiently?
12. How do we balance reporting of the sensational events vs. the human element?
13. How do we interface with disaster mitigation organizations?
Judging Criteria for the Pitches (20 points possible)
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5 possible points – strategy / research / theory underlying the proposed
project
5 possible points – creativity / originality
5 possible points – incorporation of material / data / ideas from the prior
presentations in this course (please cite references)
5 possible points – the presentation itself – quality of visuals and polish of
the presenter(s)
Submission Requirement:
The role of media in the coverage of climate change, natural disasters and global
warming is a source of constant discussion, analysis, and at times, controversy. Because
critical assessment and objective review of facts are important skills for advanced
learning, the challenge in this course will test and challenge your individual and
collective abilities in these areas.
Based on the guidelines created by the class on Friday, you will develop a 5-minute
presentation to assess the quality and accuracy of media coverage of that specific event.
The presentation can be PowerPoint, Keynote, PREZI, a live role-play, or simply reading
the results of your group’s evaluation. Your presentation should touch on some of these
key points:
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How do you think the coverage can be handled properly/fairly/accurately?
If there parts of the coverage that were are difficult to handle? Why?
Is there a conflict between the selling commercial times vs. a duty to inform
the public? Is it evident in any of the coverage?
What would be the best social media outlets used to inform coverage?
What will be the effect of social media connectivity to the coverage?
Are there potential conflicts between the responsibility of an individual
reporter or photographer/videographer and the corporate responsibility of
the media organization that employs them? If so, explain…
What are some of the ethical perspectives and the financial perspectives
related to the coverage of this disaster? Do they conflict?
Does governmental involvement help or hinder accurate coverage of the
event?
Work as a team to divide up sub-topics and research the coverage of the event
you choose. Look for local, regional, national, and international sources, blogs, NGO
communications channels, governmental releases, and potential social media coverage.
For example:
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Potential causes of the event
Initial response of governmental agencies and NGOs
Short-term needs such as shelter, food, water, sanitation
Longer-term issues such as rebuilding infrastructures, restarting economic
activity
Look for consistencies or inconsistencies in the media coverage vs. facts that can be
documented from multiple sources. As a group, discuss the extent to which you believe
the coverage of your event/story was accurate, fair, thorough, and consistent with good
journalistic principle. Consolidate your opinions into your presentation and develop a
conclusion that you can defend Determine the format for your presentation and
execute. Think about potential questions the expert panel may ask and try to craft your
answers in advance. This is a content-based challenge. Fancy slides with animated
graphics are not needed; thoughtful and diligent analysis is greatly preferred.
Time management is very important in your preparation and your presentation. Set
time limits at the start of your work for each aspect – event selection, research, analysis,
presentation creation – and stick to those time limits. The final presentation cannot
exceed 5 minutes to insure reasonable time for each group to answer questions. The
experts and alumni on hand are there to help you, don’t hesitate to ask questions and
engage them in your analysis.
A selection committee made up of experts in the field of design and technology for
coverage of natural disasters will select finalists from each country.
The selection committee will be looking for the following qualities in the winning
submission:
Innovation: The winning submission must demonstrate an innovative approach to
overcoming challenges and achieving results. The selection committee will be looking
for imaginative, evidence-based solutions such as creative application of education and
training, service delivery tools, and new forms of partnerships or innovative
technologies.
Impact: To what depth will your solution improve media coverage of natural disasters?
How many networks can it reach? The judges will be looking for the long-term impact,
quantity and/or quality, on local, national, and international governments through the
short and long term.
Feasibility: It takes more than a great idea to truly make a difference. Success depends
on the ability to overcome obstacles, secure community buy-in and mobilize resources.
We’re looking for ideas that have been fully thought through from start to finish. Will it
work? Will people use it? The selection committee will be looking for a positive impact
on those involved, including project partners, clients, the local community and other
identified stakeholders or beneficiaries. As applicable, please indicate the population
and region of the world that would benefit from your idea. Selection committee
members will favor those submissions, which show sustainability.
Note: Submissions will NOT be judged on the quality of the video. However, if you also
have a great video idea, or an engaging advocacy tool, be sure to utilize your resources!