News Organizations and Information Gathering During a Natural Disaster: Lessons from Hurricane Katrina Academic Article

abstract

• News organizations are uniquely situated to gather and transmit information during times of natural disaster, which can help citizens and policymakers understand the scope, causes, and consequences of the unfolding disaster. Yet, news organizations are also subject to institutional biases that may lead to distorted presentations of reality and that perpetuate misinformation, stereotypes, and misunderstanding. In this article, we utilize examples from Hurricane Katrina to critically examine the role of the television news media during natural disasters. We contend that the institutional characteristics of news organizations are invaluable in the reporting of breaking news and developments on the ground but hinder their ability to gather contextually rich information on the causes and consequences of natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina.

authors

• Goidel, Robert

published proceedings

• Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management

author list (cited authors)

• Miller, A., & Goidel, R.

citation count

• 47

complete list of authors

• Miller, Andrea||Goidel, Robert

publication date

• December 2009

publisher

• Wiley  Publisher

published in

• Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management  Journal

keywords

• 35 Commerce, Management, Tourism And Services
• 3507 Strategy, Management And Organisational Behaviour
• 44 Human Society
• 4407 Policy And Administration
• 4408 Political Science
• Climate-related Exposures And Conditions

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

• 10.1111/j.1468-5973.2009.00586.x

start page

• 266

end page

• 273

volume

• 17

issue

• 4

URL

• http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-5973.2009.00586.x