Summary and Highlights:

Information flow issues fall into two categories:

1. the technical capacity to communicate among first responders (fire fighters, police officers, and others) from federal, state, and local agencies;


• Disaster planning must address internal communication requirements.
• Capacity and integration of communications systems are critical to a successful response.
• Terrorist attacks teach lessons. Sharing those lessons is a critical component of homeland security.
• The difficulty of conveying and sharing information among responders increases with the physical size of the response area.


2. providing information to the public.


• Defining which entities will provide what information to the public is as important as determining content.
• There is no "news cycle." Global interest creates demand 24 hours daily.
• The desire for complete openness must be balanced by safety and security concerns.
• Incident managers should provide media with the maximum access consistent with safety, security and the need to maximize privacy for victims.
• Counterterrorism communications strategies should seek to deter future terrorism.