With the rise of cable news channels in the early 1980s the concept of a 24 hours a day, 7 days a week news cycle was born. No longer did news wait until the next publication time or news show. If it was important, critical, or breaking, it was aired. This has continued to be the news cycle model and has been heavily taught in emergency public information courses as an important awareness when dealing with the traditional media.
Unfortunately, with the rise of social media systems like Twitter and Facebook, the 24/7 concept is no longer valid. It's too slow. It still implies that news happens by the hour. The shape and feel of an emergent story like a disaster or emergency can change significantly in an hour. We are now working in the window of minutes or even seconds. Perhaps we should be teaching the 60 seconds a minute, 60 minutes an hour (or 60/60 news cycle) to up and coming emergency managers and public information officers?
Although this type of shift may not be catchy and certainly will be challenged, it is not only a more accurate description of the actual process, but is an effective reminder that media management and relations must move much faster and leverage all media forms (traditional and social alike) to ensure clear and consistent information is disseminated to those impacted.
