scholarly journals Shifting the Blame: Storm and Wildfire Dramatic Images in American News Media

2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 113
Author(s):  
Aris Munandar ◽  
Amin Basuki
Keyword(s):  
Natural Disasters ◽  
Natural Disaster ◽  
News Media ◽  
Word List ◽  
Human Suffering ◽  
Impact Action ◽  
Media Frames ◽  
The Media ◽  
Discourse Studies ◽  
Current Impact

Some media frames might be likely to seek to evoke a certain sentiment, and that natural disaster coverage by the media focuses on the current impact of disasters. In their coverage, American news media use polar sentiment words to create bleeding images of natural disasters, potentially counter-productive to the wisdom of dealing with the natural disaster. Identifying the sentiment words that lead to a misperception of natural disasters can help journalists adopt the wisdom that natural disasters are not a human enemy. The corpus-assisted discourse studies (CADS) reported in this article investigates the American media's issues for dramatic reporting and the polar sentiment words utilized in the framing. The corpus is built from 100 news articles reporting wildfires and storms by ten major online American news media published from January 1, 2018, through December 31, 2020. It uses AntConc to generate word-list and word-link from which it identifies the dominant issues. Subsequently, it compares the AntConc word-list with A List of Sentiment Words to reveal the tones and dramatic imaging. The findings show that the dominant issues in storm reporting are description, impact, and prediction, while wildfire reporting are cause, impact, action, and prediction. The negative polar words produce dramatic images of storm as a violent beast and wildfire as a vengeful invader. Such description is provocative to blaming natural disasters as a cause of human suffering rather than improving our behaviors to reduce the suffering. Thus, it is counter-productive to acquiring wisdom for dealing with natural disasters.

Framing media populism: The political role of news media editorials in Duterte’s Philippines

Journalism ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 146488492095950
Author(s):  
Jefferson Lyndon D Ragragio
Keyword(s):  
News Media ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
The Political ◽  
Fourth Estate ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Media Frames ◽  
Political Role ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Government

Editorials are a political force used by news media to fulfil its watchdog function in fragile democracies like the Philippines. However, they also serve as a platform to invite a more positive reading of strongman administration. Against the backdrop of media populism, the article will problematize how the Fourth Estate articulates its political stance by examining the tensions and complexities in editorials. It will highlight the ways the media deals with subjects and stories surrounding Rodrigo Duterte. Through an analysis of editorials of four leading dominant news outlets (Bulletin, Inquirer, Rappler, and Star), three meta-thematic categories of media frames are uncovered. First, character degradation frames delineate how the media denounces the ties of Duterte with other political actors, particularly the Marcoses and China’s Xi. Second, pro-establishment frames echo the optimistic mantra of the government amid crisis. And third, non-editorial frames exhibit the failure of media to publish watchdog-inspired editorials. Each of these categories has underlying frames that are indicative of the democratic potential, or lack thereof, of news media.

‘An Image of Hope in a Week of Despair’: Representations of Sam the Koala in the Australian Mainstream News Media

2014 ◽  
Vol 151 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clemence Due ◽  
Kirrilly Thompson ◽  
Danielle Every
Keyword(s):  
Natural Disasters ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
News Media ◽  
Disaster Relief ◽  
Media Representations ◽  
Single Animal ◽  
International Attention ◽  
The Media ◽  
Animal Image

Natural disasters are events with far-reaching humanitarian implications that frequently receive international attention through the use of an image that comes to represent the disaster in question. The most successful images often comprise ‘identifiable’ and therefore human victims. What is more unusual is for a single animal image to become representative of an entire disaster. This was the case with the 2009 Victorian bushfires in Australia, when the image of a firefighter offering a koala a drink gained international fame. Given that this image of ‘Sam’ the koala does not conform to traditional disaster imagery, we undertook a thematic analysis of mainstream news media representations of Sam in order to identify how she was represented by the media. In this article, we discuss these themes in relation to the ‘identifiable victim’, together with the implications of Sam's success in terms of disaster-relief campaigns.

scholarly journals “I Will Show You My Faith by My Works”: Addressing the Nexus between Philosophical Theodicy and Human Suffering and Loss in Contexts of ‘Natural’ Disaster

Religions ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 213
Author(s):  
Roger Philip Abbott
Keyword(s):  
Natural Disasters ◽  
Natural Disaster ◽  
Natural Hazards ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Human Suffering ◽  
Middle Ground ◽  
Ethnographic Fieldwork ◽  
Catastrophic Earthquake ◽  
The Caribbean

As a practical theologian and researcher in the field of ‘natural’ disasters, as well as being a disaster responder chaplain, I am often confronted by, and have to confront, the nexus between theology/philosophy and “real life” in extremely traumatic contexts. The extreme suffering that is often the consequence of catastrophic natural disasters warrants solutions that can help vulnerable populations recover and adapt to live safely with natural hazards. For many practice-based responders, speculative theological/philosophical reflections around situations that are often human-caused seem predominantly vacuous exercises, potentially diverting attention away from the empiricism of causal human agency. In this article, I explore a middle ground involving a nuanced methodological approach to theodicy that is practical but no less intellectually demanding, that is theological more than philosophical, practical more than theoretical; a middle ground that also takes seriously the human culpability as causal for the human, and some would say the divine, suffering from disasters. I will include in this exploration my ethnographic fieldwork following the catastrophic earthquake to hit the Caribbean nation of Haiti in 2010.

scholarly journals A Dilemma of Language: “Natural Disasters” in Academic Literature

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 283-292 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ksenia Chmutina ◽  
Jason von Meding
Keyword(s):  
Natural Disasters ◽  
Natural Disaster ◽  
International Organizations ◽  
Research Community ◽  
Academic Community ◽  
Human Vulnerability ◽  
Academic Literature ◽  
Disaster Studies ◽  
The Media ◽  
Fit For Purpose

Abstract For decades sections of the academic community have been emphasizing that disasters are not natural. Nevertheless, politicians, the media, various international organizations—and, more surprisingly, many established researchers working in disaster studies—are still widely using the expression “natural disaster.” We systematically analyzed the usage of the expression “natural disaster” by disaster studies researchers in 589 articles in six key academic journals representative of disaster studies research, and found that authors are using the expression in three principal ways: (1) delineating natural and human-induced hazards; (2) using the expression to leverage popularity; and (3) critiquing the expression “natural disaster.” We also identified vulnerability themes that illustrate the context of “natural disaster” usage. The implications of continuing to use this expression, while explicitly researching human vulnerability, are wide-ranging, and we explore what this means for us and our peers. This study particularly aims to stimulate debate within the disaster studies research community and related fields as to whether the term “natural disaster” is really fit for purpose moving forward.

The Mourning After

2011 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 552-559 ◽  
Author(s):  
Larissa Hjorth ◽  
Kyoung-hwa Yonnie Kim
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
New Media ◽  
Natural Disasters ◽  
Crisis Management ◽  
News Media ◽  
Mobile Media ◽  
Tsunami Disaster ◽  
The Media ◽  
Media Practices

In news media of late, much has been touted about the agency of social and mobile media in the events of political uprising or at times of natural disasters and crisis management. While these events did not become events because of social media, the media did affect how we experienced the situation. This leads us to ask, Just how helpful are social mobile media in maintaining relationships in times of crisis management, and how, if at all, do they depart from previous media and methods? Drawing from case studies conducted with participants living in Tokyo at the time of the horrific events surrounding Japan’s earthquake and tsunami disaster of March 11, 2011 (called 3.11), this article reflects on the role of new media in helping, if at all, people manage crisis and grief. The authors argue that while social media provide new channels for affective cultures in the form of mobile intimacy, they also extend on earlier media practices and rituals such as the postcard.

scholarly journals Life, death or drugs: Actor framing power on the news media coverage of health care policy

2020 ◽  
pp. 026732312097872
Author(s):  
Nanna Alida G Fredheim
Keyword(s):  
News Media ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Health Care Policy ◽  
Policy Issue ◽  
Media Framing ◽  
Public Perceptions ◽  
Policy Outcomes ◽  
Media Frames ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Media

The media are central arenas for actors challenging government practice, as those who succeed in publicly defining issues can influence public perceptions and policy outcomes. Taking into account the widespread civic participation in health media coverage, this study explores actor influence on the media framing of a contentious health policy issue, before and after a policy change. By means of media texts analysis, it analyses the relation between actor frames and the dominant media frames on the issue of priority setting of innovative pharmaceuticals. While confirming that actors vary in their ability to influence the media, the findings contend traditional conceptions that representation equates media influence and shed light on factors that affect frame influence.

Fire, Wind and Water

2013 ◽  
pp. 176-190
Author(s):  
Mark Freeman
Keyword(s):  
Social Networking ◽  
Emergency Management ◽  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Natural Disasters ◽  
Natural Disaster ◽  
Information Transfer ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Geographic Region ◽  
The Media ◽  
Networking Technologies

This case examines the issue of increasing adoption of Social Networking Technologies (SNTs), particularly microblogging, for emergency management practices during natural disasters. It discusses the technologies and how they are an integral part of information transfer for citizens in the geographic region affected by the natural disaster. This case presents the progression of how SNTs have been used during and in the aftermath of natural disasters in Australia between 2009 and 2011; these events are used as ‘organization’ for the paper. Accurate and timely information during natural disasters is essential in providing citizens with details about whether they should stay or leave an area. Traditionally, information was provided through television and radio broadcasts; however, these types of communications were one-way and only allowed for the push of information to citizens. SNTs are being used by the media and emergency organizations to provide information to citizens. These technologies are dynamic in their approach, allowing for knowledge sharing of all parties involved.

Fire, Wind and Water

2011 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 69-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Freeman
Keyword(s):  
Social Networking ◽  
Emergency Management ◽  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Natural Disasters ◽  
Natural Disaster ◽  
Information Transfer ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Geographic Region ◽  
The Media ◽  
Networking Technologies

This case examines the issue of increasing adoption of Social Networking Technologies (SNTs), particularly microblogging, for emergency management practices during natural disasters. It discusses the technologies and how they are an integral part of information transfer for citizens in the geographic region affected by the natural disaster. This case presents the progression of how SNTs have been used during and in the aftermath of natural disasters in Australia between 2009 and 2011; these events are used as ‘organization’ for the paper. Accurate and timely information during natural disasters is essential in providing citizens with details about whether they should stay or leave an area. Traditionally, information was provided through television and radio broadcasts; however, these types of communications were one-way and only allowed for the push of information to citizens. SNTs are being used by the media and emergency organizations to provide information to citizens. These technologies are dynamic in their approach, allowing for knowledge sharing of all parties involved.

scholarly journals The Mystification and Demystification of Shared Information on COVID-19 across Cyber Mediated News Networks: A Sociological Approach to Solutions for Vulnerable Populations

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. p47
Author(s):  
Prof. Dr. Emmanuel K. Ngwainmbi
Keyword(s):  
News Media ◽  
Treatment Standards ◽  
Media Frames ◽  
The Public ◽  
Sociological Approach ◽  
Shared Information ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
The Media ◽  
News Networks ◽  
Governmental Institutions

The Coronavirus (Covid-19) hit the news headlines as a pandemic bound to affect millions of people around the world, and news media took responsibility to warn people, country heads, businesses, and private and non-governmental institutions about the virus. However, stories swirling on social media platforms about the origin and nature of Covid-19 as well as questionable reporting by established news networks have left the public questioning the integrity of the real causes of the virus, how it spreads and whether treatment standards equate the hoopla about the genesis of the “pandemic.” This paper reviews narratives about the mystification and demystification of Covid-19. It departs from the premise that the media frames ways in which people consume and use news. The paper then suggests ways in which policymakers should handle newsflow on Covid-19, how consumers should screen news, and how journalists should report Covid-19 ethically.

When Mother Earth Rises Up

2013 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 271-277 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simona Sacchi ◽  
Paolo Riva ◽  
Marco Brambilla
Keyword(s):  
Free Will ◽  
Natural Disasters ◽  
Natural Disaster ◽  
Mental States ◽  
Disaster Victims ◽  
Willingness To Help ◽  
Mother Earth

Anthropomorphization is the tendency to ascribe humanlike features and mental states, such as free will and consciousness, to nonhuman beings or inanimate agents. Two studies investigated the consequences of the anthropomorphization of nature on people’s willingness to help victims of natural disasters. Study 1 (N = 96) showed that the humanization of nature correlated negatively with willingness to help natural disaster victims. Study 2 (N = 52) tested for causality, showing that the anthropomorphization of nature reduced participants’ intentions to help the victims. Overall, our findings suggest that humanizing nature undermines the tendency to support victims of natural disasters.

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