The Fukushima nuclear disaster was one of 2011's and the decade's most significant events. With over 19,000 lives lost it ranks up in natural disasters, but the changes this event has brought in global attitudes toward nuclear power will reverberate for decades. Another likely victim of this disaster was the trust that the Japanese citizen seemed to inherently have in their government and institutions--like Tepco, the Tokyo energy company responsible for Fukushima.
This article in the Los Angeles Times makes a strong case for this decline in trust and provides reasons for it. According to the writer, the calm reassurances by the government and Tepco about the status of the reactor after the devastating tsunami were found to be completely wrong and broadcast by the hitherto little known online news show "Our Planet TV." Viewership on this website skyrocketed and trust in mainstream media which carried the government and Tepco's reassuring announcements without disagreement or skepticism. So much for David vs. Goliath. The implications for Japan's culture and future could be even more significant than that of the disaster itself. As we have seen in the US, loss of trust in media (down around 20% now) and major institutions (Congress, big business) are at near record low levels, with profound implications for politicians and anyone else trying to maintain public trust in the cesspool of outrage and animosity we call our public discourse.
Ironically, I talked to others who had direct connections in Japan at the time and was told that the US media who were proclaiming a nuclear apocalypse were the ones mistrusted by the citizens.
To misquote Rodney King: Why can't we all just tell the truth?!
The issue of credibility is at the heart of crisis and emergency communication. I've talked about this endlessly but it is nothing new--goes back to at least Aristotle who taught that "ethos," the appeal to the credibility of the source is the most compelling form of argument. Everyone who has lost credibility (Tony Hayward, Anthony Weiner, Rupert Murdoch come to mind as a few quick examples) will no doubt testify to its importance even as they complain about how hard it is too hang on to it in today's media environment. (The irony of Mr. Murdoch on this list is not lost on me.)
With that in mind I want to share this insightful and important prediction on Nieman Lab from Robert Hernandez of USC's Annenberg School of Communications. His message: credibility is the future of news. As the subtitle says, paraphrased: it doesn't matter if you work out of a skyscraper or your garage, if you can be counted on to tell the truth then you will be trusted. I'll give you my scarce time and attention. I'll quote you, retweet you, refer others to you.
One of the key principles of crisis and emergency communication going forward is that you are the broadcaster. You are the journalist. You are the processor and packager of news for those most interested when you are at the center of it. I believe this shift in thinking is slowly taking hold, particularly as communicators embrace social media with its networked reach into millions--including the media. That means at the top of your list of things to do for 2012 should be: maintain credibility. Never lose it. That elusive thing called public trust hangs on credibility as nothing else.
