Hurricane Katrina Coverage
Shannon LozonJames Keith
Daniel IngramAustyn FosterPenelope Filyo
Learning from the Past NBC's Take on the Storm •5 minutes and 20 seconds•A Young Katherine Couric •2 Seconds spent on New Orleans•Bourbon Street Survived•Beginning of network of “dodged the bullet” Hurricane coverage in New Orleans.
Hurricane Andrew 1992
CNN's Coverage of Andrew •Over 10 minutes spent covering the extensive damage throughout the state of Louisiana • Again, approximately two seconds spent discussing the city of New Orleans•“New Orleans missed the full magnitude the storm”•CNN had reporters in the field throughout the state, (Morgan City, and Jeanerette, but no one was stationed in the city of New Orleans because it had avoided large-scale damage
New Orleans’ “Hurricane Problem”
New York Times Article 2003•July 4th, 2003•Print media acknowledged the shortcomings that the television stations largely ignored•“The Big Easy is uniquely vulnerable” •“New Orleans is an environmental disaster waiting to happen”•The city and federal government need to act before the time of disaster
“The Big One” •New York Times Editorial •August 11th, 2002•“If the Big One Hits the Big Easy, the Good Times May Be Over Forever
Effective News Coverage
CNN (8/29/05) – Newsnight Interview with Michael Brown – FEMA
director Knowledgeable of situation and person of
authority Gives clear and honest picture for those
not in or from NOLA Addresses what is being done to solve the
problem and FEMA’s future plans
Ineffective News Coverage
NBC Nightly News (8/30/05) – “The Day After” Portion of the clip describes looting
People are portrayed as robbers and victims instead of people in need.
Reporters location makes it appear water is not covering over 80% of the city
Effective Long-Term Coverage
Rescue and Evacuation Immediate Aftermath
Short-term & Long- Term Aftermath
Warawongs, W.T., Wang, W., & Sims, A. (post 2005). U.S. media covering of natural disasters: a framing analysis of Hurricane Katrina and the Tsunami.
Effective Long-Term Coverage
Active Gatherer
Give Information
Validate Information
Set National Agenda
Warawongs, W.T., Wang, W., & Sims, A. (post 2005). U.S. media covering of natural disasters: a framing analysis of Hurricane Katrina and the Tsunami.
Effective Long-Term Coverage NPR (9/8/05)– Data on Survivors Hard to Find, Collect
Reporter Mandalit del Barco is an active information gatherer
Validates information with volunteers at the Astrodome
Addresses why a lack of national database is an issue and how the lack is effecting those involved
Effective Long-Term Coverage
New York Times (9/8/05) - For Survivors, a Frustrating Search Two reporters – Houston and Louisiana Validated information with ‘official sources’ – Red
Cross, State Workers Reported that Louisiana officials met with IBM and
the company has agreed to help the state compile a national database of evacuees
Network World (10/3/05) Katrina shows why a national registry is sorely nee
ded. Setting the national agenda
Ineffective Long-Term Coverage
NBC (9/8/05) – The Wait Andrea Mitchell is reporting via a voice
over from WashingtonNo field reporting
There is a victim motif No new information is given
Ends with a question: “Why the government can’t respond more quickly?”