In the New Orleans disaster, a strange kind of war has broken out between accurate information (mostly interactive digital) and propaganda (mostly broadcast analog). In the past, the "official story" would dominate the shaping of public opinion, because differing accounts could not surface. Over the last few days we have seen outraged on-the-scene journalists directly contradict the official story of "everything is under control and going well." We have also seen Internet information on the detailed whereabouts of thousands of people who remain unrescued and invisble to the official relief effort. This disaster may not be a tipping point for the Bush regime, but it probably will be for media organizations. Here are some likely consequences:
- Future disaster recovery efforts will be radically reorganized to utilized direct reports of survivor locations and status to direct relief efforts.
- Reconstituting destroyed communications must be elevated to the highest priority, because the loss of widespread personal communications (cell phones, internet connections, land lines) greatly impairs life-saving efforts.
- Widesprea air-drops of emergency communications devices, such as pre-programmed cell phones and satellite phones should be an integral part of first response efforts.
- News organizations should be equipped with position locating equipment and should have direct access to the emergency relief communications network.
- Aid dispatching protocols and facilities must be configured to handle a much larger flow of detailed disaster site information, so that resources are applied optimally.
I doubt that the Bushitis-crippled Federal agencies will make these changes, but news media and local governments probably will. When the next disaster comes, I hope that more people survive because we have learned to use heretofore neglected information resources.