Furthermore the reporting on actual disasters may help to increase the ranking of the disaster management issue on the policy agenda. Difficulties in working with the media We may conclude that the media are important for disaster prevention and management. Yet, as already mentioned, it is often very hard to work with the media. There are a number of different explanations people have whenever the media don't act as they expect. They have no sense of responsibility, they lack of background knowledge, they prefer sensationalism over serious information.
Disaster management is bad-prepared to deal with the media.
There is a lack of resources allocated to public communication, a lack of preparation and a lack of competence. Professional rules of journalists and expectations of disaster managers differ according to different tasks, subcultures and constraints. In doing so they have to adjust to the information needs of the audience. Their style of reporting has to reflect the audiences' preferences which often leads to an entertaining and sensational tone of the coverage. According to their own self-image journalists want to keep a critical eye on those in power.