"Automated Phone System Warns San Diego" - New York Times

Alerting and informing people is a big part of the traditional responsibility of the media. Can the media do an even better job of informing people in a situation such as this? Is there a complementary role? If so, what is it? These sorts of communications initiatives cannot be thought of as simply "what the government is doing". In the minds of the people who need accurate information, the premium is on that accuracy and its currency. That sounds to me like what responsible media organizations ought to be best at doing. How have they done in Southern California with this emergency?