Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1
Assistant Professor, Department of Media Management, Islamic Azad University-Science and Research Branch, Tehran, Iran
2
Researcher, Malek ashtar University of Technology, Tehran, Iran.
3
Assist. Prof., Malek ashtar University of Technology, Tehran, Iran.
Abstract
Natural disasters have always been an integral part of human life, and throughout history has been much attempted to manage it. In this regard, the mass media is an important tool that can play different roles at stages of the crisis. The aim of this research is to identify the functions of media in natural disaster management. To understand the theoretical foundations, literature on crisis management and media were reviewed. Then, the conceptual model was conducted according to the theoretical framework. This research is a future study that was carried out using the Delphi method and system of pairwise comparisons. It aims to identify audience needs and media functions. The research model consists of three parts: stages of the crisis, audience needs and media functions. The findings indicate that at the pre-crisis stage, the audiences' needs include preparation, awareness and confidence. At the crisis response stage, they need information, security and solidarity, and at the post-crisis stage, their needs include officials' faithfulness to commitments, raising hope and reinforcement learning. Media functions for these needs include: In the pre-crisis (Training, Warning and Monitoring), the crisis response (Reporting, Gatekeeping and Accompanying) and the post-crisis (Demanding, Interpreting, and Comforting). Analytic network process (ANP) was used to determine the most important functions of the mass media in disaster risk management. The results from this analysis showed that the three functions warning, reporting, and interpreting are more important than other functions.
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