Posted: June 26th, 2015

Researching and finding information showing media coverage of a disaster situation

Use the American Psychological Association (APA) style to write a case study of 3-5 pages about an event of your choice (NOT the Crandall Canyon Mine story). Identify an issue in crisis communication related to your event using the procedure and format described here. Describe the problem (or issue) and offer alternative solutions and recommendations. You can find more information online and search LexisNexis database for stories about the disaster. Include a minimum of 5 references with appropriate in-text citations.

Case Study Procedure and Format Guidelines
Analyzing the case should take the following steps:
1. Researching and finding information showing media coverage of a disaster situation
2. Defining the issue(s)
3. Analyzing the case data
4. Generating alternatives
5. Selecting decision criteria
6. Analyzing and evaluating alternatives
7. Selecting the preferred alternative
8. Developing an action/implementation plan
Issues/Problem statement
Begin by defining the issue and developing a problem statement. The following questions may guide your thinking:
1. What appears to be the problem(s) here?
2. How do I know there is a problem? (This questions helps you differentiate between the symptoms of the problem and the problem itself.)
3. What are the issues specific to the case and those that go beyond the case itself? (The immediate issues are ones that arise from the case itself; larger, more long-term issues may relate to how the media covers disasters and how officials react and respond to the information coming out of emergency situations.)
4. Differentiate between the importance and urgency of the issues you have identified.
Analyzing the data
Following the development of a problem statement analyze the case data. Consider the following questions as you begin your analysis:
1. Why or how did these issues (or problems) occur? What is the cause and effect of the issues? Consider (a) resources, (b) people, and (c) processes when answering these questions.
2. Who is affected most by the situation? Who are the stakeholders and what is the impact of the situation and any decisions on them?
3. What are the constraints and opportunities related to this situation? For example, the lack of resources could be a restraint and the resilience of people could provide opportunities.
4. What are the facts in the situation? Some facts will be relevant and need to be considered in developing alternatives and making recommendations while others are less important.
Your final case study paper should follow this format:
1. Title page
2. Executive summary
3. Description of the case (Tell a story in enough detail so that the readers could do their own analyses).
4. Problem (Issue) statement
5. Data analysis
6. Key Decision Criteria
7. Alternatives analysis
8. Recommendations
9. Action and Implementation Plan
10. Exhibits within an appendix