CCP 11-19-2001 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Communitv ReSDOnSe to the Threat of Terrorism - A Public Entitv Risk Institute Svmvoslwn . Have you provided for relocation of your seat of government if that should become necessaty? Do you have laws in place to give your top officials the authority to invoke marshal law, rationing, price controls, curfews, anti-hoarding and anti-black marketing programs? Public Communication and Media Relations Don't overlook the public relations aspects of the problem, It is importanl for the government to constantly reassure the citizenry that the governmenl is responding appropriately and to inspire confidence in the government's ability to cope wilh the problem, It is often desirable for the elected head of the government to appear before the media with the aura of governmental authority to keep Ihe public informed, You may have a clash with the media in lerrorisl incidents, It is always a challenge to balance the public's right to know against the government's right to withhold information for public safety, As part of your advance planning, you should discuss this dilernma wilh the media in your area because policy makers often face very difficult decisions and may be exposed to severe and often unfair crilicism from the media, which has the effect of eroding the public's confidence in the government. . Some years ago, Ted Koppel moderated a discussion on the relalionship between Ihe American media and international terrorism, Koppel said to his media guests thai finding one of the mosl wanted men in the world who had promised to murder the President of the United States may be a major journalistic coup, "bul when a television network agrees to keep his whereabouts secret, is that journalism or aiding terrorism?'t Tom Brokaw replied thai he thought it was journalism. He said NBC decided to keep secret Mohammed Abu Abbas' whereabouts "because we thought the news value oulweighed" bringing him 10 justice, Brokaw said that Abbas had admitted his role in the hijacking the Achille Lauro ocean liner but had "made some very serious charges against the American people and the American president in the wake ofthe Libyan bombing." (One wonders if Tom Brokaw would feel the same way today if another reporter interviewed the person who had recently sent the anthrax-laden letter to his office but would not reveal that terrorist's identity or whereabouts,) The importanllhing for local government leaders to recognize is thai the media do not always see matters Ihe same way government people do and often the media's desire for a story transcends everything else, Some years ago, a man took over Ihe IBM facility in Montgomery County, Maryland, which resulted in three deaths and injuries to more than 20 people, A news reporter telephoned the IBM building and injected herself into the negotiating process with the . 6 Introduction and Overview