Use of mock media in emergency management exercises: the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program experience

Disasters of any kind attract significant attention from news media, and media play an important role in disaster response. In a US government program for hazardous materials preparedness, risk communication functions were incorporated into planning and are demonstrated during response exercises. To provide the best training and most realistic play, exercise controllers play the role of news media reporters-mock media-during these exercises. They attend news conferences, interview exercise players in the field, and make calls to participants. They produce news stories including television reports, newspaper articles, radio spots, blog entries, and social media messages. This allows exercise players to experience how their actions and statements would be represented in the media, more effectively mimicking the environment of a real event.