That all participants in Viking 08 have a common picture of the situation is important in ensuring that everyone is able to do their work and carry out their tasks in an optimum way. Moreover, in order to get everyone working together, and so enhancing the effectiveness of the exercise, the Media Gaming “actors” provide participants with a continuous flow of news and information both through fictional newspapers and on TV.
“The difference between an exercise and a real situation is that all events and incidents are now compressed so that they happen over a very short period of time. A sequence of events which would take months or even years in reality can perhaps take place over just two or three days. This degree of intensity requires that all concerned share the same picture of the situation at all times so that they can cooperate, work together and so drive the exercise forward,” says Lasse Nilsson, TV producer and editor, Media Gaming.
More effective exercising
On each day of the exercise, Media Gaming transmits two TV programmes as well as sending out digitally a number of newspapers from various sources and for different purposes. Those coming to take part in the exercise are sometime only scantily briefed on the scenario and what is going on, so Media Gaming’s newspapers and TV programmes enable them to get up to speed quickly with the scenario and the current situation. In addition these inputs automatically give the participants an overall picture of the exercise and its content which in turn gives them a whole new sphere of information to act on.
The media – also an opportunity
Another important role for Media Gaming during the exercise is to highlight the role of the media in a conflict while also helping to train participants in meeting and working constructively with the media.
“By exposing participants to interview situations, we help to teach them that media contacts bring both risks and opportunities. While having to be careful in what they say, they should at the same time see the media as a channel for bringing their message to the various target groups. Following an interview situation the participants receive constructive feedback and useful tips that they can take away with them,” says Robin Govik, Media Gaming.
Maintaining impetus
The newspapers and TV programmes produced by Media Gaming are concise and to the point and are together based on a continuous series of “injects” which are issued by the gaming controllers over the course of the exercise. All this material is designed to generate staff work and to maintain the impetus of events and hence the dynamic of the exercise itself.