The National Weather Service’s recommendations for putting together a hurricane preparedness kit include food, water, blankets, and a first aid kid. We think they left something out: Facebook.
When Hurricane Irene was still an unnamed tropical depression, Justin Auciello created the Jersey Shore Hurricane News Facebook Page as a homegrown, “bottom-up, two-way news outlet”. Having garnered more than 24,000 likes since its inception, Justin takes us through the motivations and methods behind JSHN and discusses how he dealt with sponsorship offers, vetting and managing the influx of news tips from the community, and developing journalistic standards. We also discuss how Twitter compares to Facebook as a platform for disseminating information during a time of crisis and how new media generally fits into people’s understanding of unfolding events.
Thanks, Justin Auciello!
Harry was on Christmas vacation and couldn’t join us on this episode, but don’t worry, he didn’t get coal in his stocking.
Show Notes:
Jersey Shore Hurricane News
Hurricane Preparedness Kit