Article Analysis Essay on "Poor Communication Obscures Emergency Warnings"

Introduction

On the 1st November of 2012, The Guardian ran an article authored by Jacqueline Windh titled "Poor communication obscures emergency warnings." Windh narrates of how a chain of broken communication led the people to evacuate after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck the British Columbia's Canadian Northwest Coast. The author notes that when a message passes through several people, it usually changes through its retelling and that that is how emergency warning systems work. She, however, notes that there already exists a gap between how scientist understands information and how the general public interprets the same information. Tofino village fell victim to this broken chain of command after the mayor, and the local emergency crew alerted activated the tsunami warning signs prompting people in low lying areas to evacuate to higher grounds. This follows after the provincial emergency entities failed to communicate about the tsunami risk even after the government had released information of an imminent tsunami risk. The author cites a similar incidence in Italy where six government scientists were convicted of manslaughter for delaying to communicate the risk of a huge earthquake striking adequately. The author opposes the jailing and instead proposes a change in communication systems.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

The article is objectives in its description of poor communication in emergencies. It has vividly described how the communication broke down and the entity responsible. The article beside the Canadian tsunami event points at the consequences of miscommunication in Italy's occurrence. Overall, the article achieved its aim of informing of how poor communication in emergency impacts emergency warnings.

I was positively moved by the article in that the author identified the source of broken down communication. The author cites the conflict between the government agencies, failure by the provincial emergency planning entities to pass information and the lack of observance of the chain of communication by the mayor, as the main points of emergency break down. The article is informational as it informs on the institutions that are responsible for generating earthquake risk assessment report and news. The information aspect is also evidenced by the author reporting that a 7.7 magnitude earthquake discharges 20 times more energy than that of 7.1 magnitude. The article also illustrates how the chain of communication in an emergency scenario is supposed to trickle down to the public. The article is primarily aimed at the communication strategists in charge of the issue to assess the failure of emergency warning communication. It is also aimed at the public, to inform them of how the warning communication reaches them as well the current status of the system.

The article utilized nouns, verbs, objects, adjectives, and adverbs. The most essential adverbs used include luckily. Nouns used include, communication, information, and risk. Broken and trying were some of the important adjectives used. Example of important verbs used includes, 'receive'. These lexical categories of grammar have been used to convey a specific tone and message. The mention of the government is used to show that the government rather than any entity is at the center of the situation. For example, "Government automatically send information," and "convicted six government scientists." The noun communication is used to in the article to remind the reader what the article is all about. The non-information also serves the main purpose. The noun risk has also been used severally, to show what the communication is handling. The word risk also used to set a heightened tone and alert the reader of the consequence of poor handling of communication. The term has also been used to link the various actors in the articles. The adjective broken has been used to describe the quality of emergency communication. The message passed by its usage in the article is that the emergency system is indeed poor. The adjective, trying, has been used to convey the message that indeed there were some efforts in the whole scenario. 'Trying' has been used to pass a desperate tone. The adverb 'luckily' has been used to show that the outcomes of the Canada event were positive. 'Luckily' has been used with a relieving tone.

The lexical of grammar highlighted have contributed to my impression of the message. The noun communication has fostered my impression that it is an information exchange that is occurring. The word broken gives the impression that the information being exchanged is corrupted. The word trying gives the message before the consequence of broken down information actors in the article had put some efforts to avert the outcome. Mention of the word risk gives the impression that the event mentioned poses dangerous outcomes. However, the term 'luckily' gives the impression that the outcome was positive besides the risks mentioned. From the impression it has created, the article is positive and not biased.

Analysis of discourse is relevant in the field of communication for various reasons. Its relevance is evident in that it provides an understandings of the mechanisms of human communication and verbal relations in society. Analysis of discourse provides communication scholars with a persuasive way to study how individuals present themselves, interact in their relationships, allocate responsibilities and liability, create institutions and enact culture (Tracy, 2005). Critical discourse analysis has helped communication scholars to reframe and tackle the long-standing corrective questions in powerful, convincing ways. The analysis is also relevant in examining the interactional practices of social members.

In this course, I have learned how the analysis of discourse is interconnected with communication. The course will be very helpful in understanding the viewpoint that speakers and authors take in issues they address. The analysis of discourse offers an opportunity in examining the biases that media outlets pass. For example, in conflict situations where state agencies control media, one can easily know the position a newspaper takes by conducting an analysis of discourse. After conducting a critical discourse analysis of several Cameroon newspaper article during budget season, Fornkwa, (2015) concluded that the newspaper discourse on up-to-date and delicate issues like the state budget tended to shift from objective news reporting to ideology-driven discourse. Moreover, if I got a career as a communication analyst on conflict the knowledge gained would be effective at decoding the position of participants in the conflict as well as that of the interested parties. For example, Almeida, (2011) analyzed US news coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was characterized by expression of violence, conflict, and negative emotion. Almeida, (2011) further notes that the news reporting was biased in favor of Israel even though the US government claimed to be a neutral partner.

The essay has conducted an analysis of the discourse of the article by Jacqueline Windh. Moreover, it has explained the relevance of the analysis of discourse in the field of communication. The article has also looked at ways I would apply the knowledge I have gained in this course.

References

Almeida, E. (2011). Palestinian and Israeli Voices in Five Years of U.S. Newspaper Discourse. International Journal of Communication, 5.

Fornkwa, M. (2015). Analysis of newspaper articles on the 2015 state budget of Cameroon in the national press. Yaounde International Symposium on Academic Writing and Mentorship for Juniour Scientists. Retrieved from https://www.tu-chemnitz.de/phil/english/sections/ling/download/CameroonAvH15/16.%20Marcel%20Jaff.pdf

Tracy, K. (2005). Discourse Analysis in Communication. The Handbook of Discourse Analysis, 725-749. doi:10.1002/9780470753460.ch38

Windh, J. (2012, November 1). Poor communication obscures emergency warnings | Jacqueline Windh. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/nov/01/poor-communication-emergency-weather-warnings