Extreme Weather: Politics and Public Communication

Abstract

This chapter explores three primary topics: the politics, public communication, and public education initiatives related to extreme weather events in the United States. The chapter begins with an overview of the interconnectedness of government agencies in addressing extreme weather circumstances, followed by the role extreme weather calamities can play in politics and political campaigns. Following this, the evolving role of social media as a tool for government agencies to communicate with the citizenry is described. The chapter closes with a description of various mass communication theories and descriptions of how the theories apply to extreme weather events.

Appendices

Appendix A: Extreme Weather Classroom Exercise

• 1. This chapter discussed the role of social media in pubic communication. Review some of the Twitter accounts listed in Appendices B and C. Which Twitter accounts do the best job at communicating clearly and effectively with the citizenry? Which accounts are most engaging? Which agencies’ accounts are updated regularly? Which ones respond quickly and frequently to citizen inquiries? Consider examining the best agencies’ Facebook and Instagram pages as well.

• 2. The beginning if this chapter discusses how New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s responded to Hurricane Sandy. Two years prior, in 2010, Christie was criticized for staying on vacation in Florida while a major snowstorm struck New Jersey. The state’s lieutenant governor was also on vacation at the time. Christie defended himself by stating that the State of New Jersey would have responded the same way, regardless of Christie’s location, and that he did not want to break a promise to his son to visit Walt Disney World (Weinberg 2015). Assuming it is true that Christie’s location made little difference in the state’s response, do you believe it was wise for him to stay out of New Jersey instead of engage his community? Why?

• 3. Pick a recent extreme weather event and research it. Do you believe the various government agencies involved did an effective job at handling the crisis and communicating with the public? Do you have suggestions for increased government efficiency and effectiveness?

• 4. Assume you are governor of your state and an extreme weather crisis is upon you. Public transportation will be affected, roads will be closed, and many people will panic. Describe your administration’s social media strategy during this ordeal. What would you communicate and how often? Describe your radio and television engagement strategies.

• 5. Provide contemporary examples of the Knowledge Gap and Uses and Gratification Theories, other than the Hurricane Katrina example discussed, as they relate to extreme weather.

Appendix B: U.S. Federal Agency Twitter Followers (2015) and Percent Change from 2014 to 2015

	Agency	# of Twitter followers	% Change over last year	Accounts
1	The White House	3,470,421	32	@whitehouse, @jesseclee44, @lascasablanca, @macon44, @presssec, @WHLive
2	NASA	2,836,812	110	@NASA
3	Centers for Disease Control and Prevention	2,015,693	18	@CDCActEarly, @CDC_BioSense, @CDC_Cancer, @cdc_ehealth, @CDCEMERGENCY, @CDCflu, @CDCgov, @CDCGreenHealthy, @cdchep, @CDCMMWR, @CDCSTD, @CDCTobaccofree
4	Health and Human Services Department	1,465,949	59	@healthcaregov, @phegov, @AIDSgov, @flugov, @foodsafetyesp, @foodsafetygov, @girlshealth, @healthfinder, @hhsgov, @ikngov, @ONC_HealthIT, @opa1, @womenshealth
5	Smithsonian Institution	732,838	48	@smithsonian, @SmithsonianJobs
6	State Department	595,692	91	@ConnectStateGov, @dipnote, @StateDept, @travelgov, @USEmbassyBern, @USEmbassyCyprus, @usembassy_nz, @vsfsAtState
7	Agriculture Department	847,574	633	@MyPlate, @peoplesgarden, @RuralTour, @ScienceAtUSDA, @USDA, @USDAFoodSafe_es, @USDAFoodSafety, @USDAForeignAg, @usdafsa, @USDAnutrition, @biopreferred, @USDA_APHIS, @USDA_ERS, @usdagov,, @USDAFoodSafe_es, @USDAFoodSafet
8	Federal Communications Commission	500,873	15	@FCC
9	Justice Department	489,779	19	@TheJusticeDept
10	Peace Corps	477,685	19	@PeaceCorps
11	Food and Drug Administration	464,488	71	@FDAanimalhealth, @fdacber, @FDAcdrhIndustry, @FDADeviceInfo, @fda_drug_info, @FDAMedWatch, @FDArecalls, @FDATobacco, @FDAWomen, @US_FDA
12	FBI	412,842	82	@FBIPressOffice, @NewYorkFBI
13	National Institutes of Health	384,107	68	@NCIExhibits, @NIEHS, @NIHClinicalCntr, @NIHconsensus, @NIHforFunding, @NIHforHealth, @NIHforJobs, @nihlib, @NIH_LRP, @nih_nhlbi, @NIH_ODS, @NIHPtRecruit, @NIHSciEd, @NIHWALS, @ORDR, @WomensHealthNIH
14	Environmental Protection Agency	306,311	78	@AIRNow, @energystarbldgs, @energystarhomes, @epaairmarkets, @EPAburnwise, @EPAcleanuptech, @epacolumbia, @epaespanol, @epagov, @EPAgreenbldg, @epaiaplus, @EPAjobs, @epalive, @epanewengland, @epanews, @eparesearch, @EPAsmartgrowth, @epawater, @EPAwatersen
15	Office of Science and Technology Policy	299,938	28	@whitehouseostp
16	Geological Survey	297,602	69	@nationalatlas, @USGS, @USGSAquaticLife, @usgs_click, @usgs_co, @USGSenergy, @USGS_Ethics, @USGS_Idaho, @usgs_kentucky, @usgs_lcat, @USGSLive, @USGSNeb, @usgsnhd, @_usgsnsmp, @USGS_OR, @USGSPodcasts, @USGS_SpecEider, @usgsstore, @USGSted, @USGSTNMRes
17	National Science Foundation	280,540	70	@NSF
18	Education Department	266,811	110	@arneduncan, @ED_Outreach, @edpartners, @EDPressSec, @FreeResources, @OfficeofEdTech, @teachgov, @usedgov
19	National Institute of Mental Health	249,845	100	@NIMHgov
20	USA.gov	235,629	70	@GobiernoUSA, @GoUSAgov, @USAgov
21	Federal Emergency Management Agency	221,545	78	@craigatfema, @fema, @femaregion1, @femaregion10, @femaregion2, @femaregion3 @femaregion4, @femaregion5, @femaregion6, @femaregion7, @femaregion8, @femaregion9, @usfire
22	Securities and Exchange Commission	212,103	5	@sec_investor_ed, @SEC_Jobs, @SEC_News
23	U.S. Agency for International Development	195,357	65	@usaid, @RajShah
24	U.S. Army	173,345	90	@usarmy
25	Defense Department	218,066	81	@DeptofDefense, @DoDSpokesman, @AFPW_Articles, @ArmedwScience, @DoDLiveMil, @thejointstaff
26	Homeland Security Department	151,948	n/a	@dhsgov, @DHSJournal, @dhsscitech, @NTASAlerts, @ReadydotGov
27	U.S. Marine Corps	133,062	143	@usmc
28	United States Holocaust Memorial Museum	124,178	101	@holocaustmuseum
29	U.S. Navy	118,653	295	@navynews, @usnavy
30	U.S. Air Force	116,324	101	@afpaa, @airforcenews, @usafpressdesk, @usairforce
31	National Cancer Institute	97,479	100	@ncibulletin, @NCIcaBIG, @NCICancerCtrl, @NCIExhibits, @NCIHINTS, @ncimcmedia, @ncimedia @nciprevention, @NCIsbir, @NCISymptomMgmt, @NCITechTransfer, @NCItrialsatNIH, @NCItsm3, @smokefreegov, @smokefreewomen, @thenci
32	National Weather Service	96,965	115	@usnwsgov, @NHC_Atlantic
33	Office of the Vice President	82,700	148	@VP
34	Energy Department	74,611	126	@ENERGY, @solar_decathlon
35	National Library of Medicine	71,728	169	@aidsinfo, @medlineplus4you, @ncbi, @ncbi_pubmed, @NLMGlobalHealth, @nlm_harrypotter @NLM_LHC, @nlm_newsroom, @NLM_SIS, @WomensHealthNIH
36	National Park Service	71,664	83	@GoParks, @NatlParkService, @NPSVIPNetwork
37	Fish and Wildlife Service	65,746	109	@USFWSPacSWest, @usfws_wsfr, @usfwshq, @usfwsinternatl, @usfwsmidwest, @usfwsmtnprairie, @usfwsnortheast, @usfwspacific, @usfwsrefuges, @usfwssoutheast
38	U.S. Coast Guard	59,271	66	@Amver, @BoatingCampaign, @cgchealy, @cges, @Flotilla1105, @Flotilla4, @forcecompao, @GloucesterAUX64, @iCommandantUSCG, @uscgaux, @USCGAUXD8CR, @USCG_AWW, @uscoastguard
39	Voice of America	57,137	171	@voa_news
40	National Ocean Service	51,180	69	@usoceangov
41	Navy Seals	50,749	136	@us_navyseals
42	Veterans Affairs Department	49,545	110	@DeptVetAffairs
43	Labor Department	47,764	93	@usdol
44	U.S. Embassy Bangkok	42,871	39	@USEmbassyBKK
45	National Archives and Records Administration	41,679	143	@archivesnews, @dferriero, @discovercivwar, @DocsTeach, @FedRegister, @NARA_RecMgmt, @TodaysDocument, @usnatarchives
46	Secret Service	40,930	45	@SecretService
47	Transportation Department	38,063	66	@RayLaHood
48	Federal Reserve Bank of New York	34,102	137	@libertystecon, @NYFed_data, @NYFed_news
49	Interior Department	33,345	117	@Interior, @usinteriorjobs
50	Small Business Administration	32,674	139	@sbagov

1. Note FCW Staff (2012b). Retrieved from FCW Staff 2012a

Appendix C: Twitter Handles for Major Public Agencies

	Agency	# of Twitter followers	% Change over last year	Accounts
1	The White House	3,470,421	32	@whitehouse, @jesseclee44, @lascasablanca, @macon44, @presssec, @WHLive
2	NASA	2,836,812	110	@NASA
3	Centers for Disease Control and Prevention	2,015,693	18	@CDCActEarly, @CDC_BioSense, @CDC_Cancer, @cdc_ehealth, @CDCEMERGENCY, @CDCflu, @CDCgov, @CDCGreenHealthy, @cdchep, @CDCMMWR, @CDCSTD, @CDCTobaccofree
4	Health and Human Services Department	1,465,949	59	@healthcaregov, @phegov, @AIDSgov, @flugov, @foodsafetyesp, @foodsafetygov, @girlshealth, @healthfinder, @hhsgov, @ikngov, @ONC_HealthIT, @opa1, @womenshealth
5	Smithsonian Institution	732,838	48	@smithsonian, @SmithsonianJobs
6	State Department	595,692	91	@ConnectStateGov, @dipnote, @StateDept, @travelgov, @USEmbassyBern, @USEmbassyCyprus, @usembassy_nz, @vsfsAtState
7	Agriculture Department	847,574	633	@MyPlate, @peoplesgarden, @RuralTour, @ScienceAtUSDA, @USDA, @USDAFoodSafe_es, @USDAFoodSafety, @USDAForeignAg, @usdafsa, @USDAnutrition, @biopreferred, @USDA_APHIS, @USDA_ERS, @usdagov,, @USDAFoodSafe_es, @USDAFoodSafet
8	Federal Communications Commission	500,873	15	@FCC
9	Justice Department	489,779	19	@TheJusticeDept
10	Peace Corps	477,685	19	@PeaceCorps
11	Food and Drug Administration	464,488	71	@FDAanimalhealth, @fdacber, @FDAcdrhIndustry, @FDADeviceInfo, @fda_drug_info, @FDAMedWatch, @FDArecalls, @FDATobacco, @FDAWomen, @US_FDA
12	FBI	412,842	82	@FBIPressOffice, @NewYorkFBI
13	National Institutes of Health	384,107	68	@NCIExhibits, @NIEHS, @NIHClinicalCntr, @NIHconsensus, @NIHforFunding, @NIHforHealth, @NIHforJobs, @nihlib, @NIH_LRP, @nih_nhlbi, @NIH_ODS, @NIHPtRecruit, @NIHSciEd, @NIHWALS, @ORDR, @WomensHealthNIH
14	Environmental Protection Agency	306,311	78	@AIRNow, @energystarbldgs, @energystarhomes, @epaairmarkets, @EPAburnwise, @EPAcleanuptech, @epacolumbia, @epaespanol, @epagov, @EPAgreenbldg, @epaiaplus, @EPAjobs, @epalive, @epanewengland, @epanews, @eparesearch, @EPAsmartgrowth, @epawater, @EPAwatersen
15	Office of Science and Technology Policy	299,938	28	@whitehouseostp
16	Geological Survey	297,602	69	@nationalatlas, @USGS, @USGSAquaticLife, @usgs_click, @usgs_co, @USGSenergy, @USGS_Ethics, @USGS_Idaho, @usgs_kentucky, @usgs_lcat, @USGSLive, @USGSNeb, @usgsnhd, @_usgsnsmp, @USGS_OR, @USGSPodcasts, @USGS_SpecEider, @usgsstore, @USGSted, @USGSTNMRes
17	National Science Foundation	280,540	70	@NSF
18	Education Department	266,811	110	@arneduncan, @ED_Outreach, @edpartners, @EDPressSec, @FreeResources, @OfficeofEdTech, @teachgov, @usedgov
19	National Institute of Mental Health	249,845	100	@NIMHgov
20	USA.gov	235,629	70	@GobiernoUSA, @GoUSAgov, @USAgov
21	Federal Emergency Management Agency	221,545	78	@craigatfema, @fema, @femaregion1, @femaregion10, @femaregion2, @femaregion3 @femaregion4, @femaregion5, @femaregion6, @femaregion7, @femaregion8, @femaregion9, @usfire
22	Securities and Exchange Commission	212,103	5	@sec_investor_ed, @SEC_Jobs, @SEC_News
23	U.S. Agency for International Development	195,357	65	@usaid, @RajShah
24	U.S. Army	173,345	90	@usarmy
25	Defense Department	218,066	81	@DeptofDefense, @DoDSpokesman, @AFPW_Articles, @ArmedwScience, @DoDLiveMil, @thejointstaff
26	Homeland Security Department	151,948	n/a	@dhsgov, @DHSJournal, @dhsscitech, @NTASAlerts, @ReadydotGov
27	U.S. Marine Corps	133,062	143	@usmc
28	United States Holocaust Memorial Museum	124,178	101	@holocaustmuseum
29	U.S. Navy	118,653	295	@navynews, @usnavy
30	U.S. Air Force	116,324	101	@afpaa, @airforcenews, @usafpressdesk, @usairforce
31	National Cancer Institute	97,479	100	@ncibulletin, @NCIcaBIG, @NCICancerCtrl, @NCIExhibits, @NCIHINTS, @ncimcmedia, @ncimedia @nciprevention, @NCIsbir, @NCISymptomMgmt, @NCITechTransfer, @NCItrialsatNIH, @NCItsm3, @smokefreegov, @smokefreewomen, @thenci
32	National Weather Service	96,965	115	@usnwsgov, @NHC_Atlantic
33	Office of the Vice President	82,700	148	@VP
34	Energy Department	74,611	126	@ENERGY, @solar_decathlon
35	National Library of Medicine	71,728	169	@aidsinfo, @medlineplus4you, @ncbi, @ncbi_pubmed, @NLMGlobalHealth, @nlm_harrypotter @NLM_LHC, @nlm_newsroom, @NLM_SIS, @WomensHealthNIH
36	National Park Service	71,664	83	@GoParks, @NatlParkService, @NPSVIPNetwork
37	Fish and Wildlife Service	65,746	109	@USFWSPacSWest, @usfws_wsfr, @usfwshq, @usfwsinternatl, @usfwsmidwest, @usfwsmtnprairie, @usfwsnortheast, @usfwspacific, @usfwsrefuges, @usfwssoutheast
38	U.S. Coast Guard	59,271	66	@Amver, @BoatingCampaign, @cgchealy, @cges, @Flotilla1105, @Flotilla4, @forcecompao, @GloucesterAUX64, @iCommandantUSCG, @uscgaux, @USCGAUXD8CR, @USCG_AWW, @uscoastguard
39	Voice of America	57,137	171	@voa_news
40	National Ocean Service	51,180	69	@usoceangov
41	Navy Seals	50,749	136	@us_navyseals
42	Veterans Affairs Department	49,545	110	@DeptVetAffairs
43	Labor Department	47,764	93	@usdol
44	U.S. Embassy Bangkok	42,871	39	@USEmbassyBKK
45	National Archives and Records Administration	41,679	143	@archivesnews, @dferriero, @discovercivwar, @DocsTeach, @FedRegister, @NARA_RecMgmt, @TodaysDocument, @usnatarchives
46	Secret Service	40,930	45	@SecretService
47	Transportation Department	38,063	66	@RayLaHood
48	Federal Reserve Bank of New York	34,102	137	@libertystecon, @NYFed_data, @NYFed_news
49	Interior Department	33,345	117	@Interior, @usinteriorjobs
50	Small Business Administration	32,674	139	@sbagov

1. Retrieved from FCW Staff 2012b