| Anthropogenic climate change is likely to put ever larger populations at risk for loss of life or injury due to crises and disasters. It therefore becomes imperative for leaders at all levels to both understand the importance of and to become adept at handling communication directed at those publics most likely to be affected. Since Hurricane Katrina was the worst natural disaster to hit the US in many years, it is important to better understand the communication of four key leaders involved in the crisis. The public messages of these four leaders were analyzed to ascertain whether or not those leaders understood how to frame effective and appropriate messages using the concepts of signification, legitimation, domination, and knowledgeability from Giddens' structuration theory, combined with Fairhurst's rules for reality construction. These messages were examined with regard to how they defined the context for the people of New Orleans, whether they responsibly addressed choices available to the different populations, and whether they clearly delineated the outcomes leaders wanted. Because the breeched levees constituted an escalating crisis situation, communication was studied to determine how leaders addressed the changing exigencies caused by the massive flooding. Speeches given by four public leaders, Mayor C. Ray Nagin, Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco, FEMA Director Michael Brown, and President George W. Bush, were studied to determine the differences in messages and messaging according to the varied levels of government service. The results of this research indicate that leaders at all levels missed communication opportunities that might have resulted in less loss of life and reduced levels of suffering for the people of New Orleans. This study highlights the need for proper training and strategic communication support for leaders in crisis and disaster communication. |
