Crisis Leadership and Hurricane Katrina: The Portrayal of Authority by the Media in Natural Disasters

Littlefield, Robert S.; Quenette, Andrea M.

doi:10.1080/00909880601065664

Cited by 159 publications

(115 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…Most actions were focused on life protection, rather than well-being and fostering adaptation. Literature highlights that emergency situations involve life risks, general disorientation, and confusion, and suggests that actions should be focused on people's protection and mitigating the feelings of insecurity to lessen the impact of the crisis (Littlefield & Quenette, 2007). Post-developmental displacement and resettlement, on the other hand, should involve planning, community participation, and detailed analysis of factors affecting the process (Cernea, 1997(Cernea, , 1988(Cernea, b, 1999(Cernea, , 2000World Bank, 2001, revised 2011.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Resources and adaptation following involuntary resettlement in the Bytom-Karb community

Pietkiewicz¹,

Wójcik²,

Popiołek³

et al. 2015

Polish Psychological Bulletin

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Studies show that involuntary displacement often creates various threats for the community and individuals. To reduce these risks, Environmental and Social Impact Assessment, Health Impact Assessment, and Social Assessment are recommended. Whereas assessments focus mostly on the community level and studies describe cases of large population displacements, there is a lack of empirical evidence about how individuals cope with involuntary displacement and what factors contribute or hinder their successful adaptation in the target location. This study uses semi-structured interviews with 21 people about their experience of resettlement due to a mine collapse in Bytom, Poland, that led to involuntary displacement of 560 people. Data was analyzed according to the constructivist grounded theory principles. Results show that this case illustrates a mixture of post-disaster and development-induced displacement. Various factors and resources that affected coping strategies were analyzed, including: material and legal status, health and age, communication skills, and relocation experience. Our findings suggest that, when circumstances allow, an individual resources assessment should also be conducted to counteract impoverishment and further marginalization of the disprivileged and vulnerable individuals.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Resources and adaptation following involuntary resettlement in the Bytom-Karb community

Pietkiewicz¹,

Wójcik²,

Popiołek³

et al. 2015

Polish Psychological Bulletin

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“…First, the use of text as data had limitations. While texts have been shown to provide more factual details and knowledge than other types of electronic media, provide greater balance between expressive and informative elements of news than broadcasting, reach more of the public than might a television broadcast at any given time, provide a more logistic picture of the events that transpired, as well as compliment other news broadcasts the public may be watching (Littlefield & Quenette, 2007), using texts as data meant that no direct contact was made with members of the affected communities. This limitation could be overcome in future studies by interviewing individuals within marginalized communities to gain their understanding and inclination toward messages of renewal.…”

Section: Practical Implications and Future Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

History, Healing, and Hope: Reconceptualizing Crisis Renewal

Reierson¹,

Littlefield

2012

RES

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This study of two severely-affected, historically-marginalized communities expands current understanding of the crisis renewal theory by revealing the complexity of being prospective in the aftermath of a school shooting and following the devastation of a major hurricane. For the American Indians on the Red Lake Reservation in Minnesota and the African Americans in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans, history and group antecedents defined the crisis and complicated the sense-making process. This study proposes a model to reflect the established crisis renewal theory ( Figure 1); followed by a community model of renewal (Figure 2) as an alternative perspective.

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“…Although a number of scholars have examined the institutional and cultural responses to Hurricane Katrina (Brabham, 2006; CDC Mold Work Group, 2005;Faux & Kim, 2006;Tiessen, 2006), little research has attended to mediated health information about the 2005 Atlantic hurricanes (Littlefield & Quenette, 2007), or the risks communicated about the region affected by the disasters (Fry, 2006;Vanderford, Nastoff, Telfer, & Bonzo, 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Prior research also suggests that often media rely on government sources of authority for such interpretations (Littlefield & Quenette, 2007;Walters & Hornig, 1993;Koplan, 2003;Wray & Jupka, 2004). For example, Walters and Hornig's (1993) study of news coverage of Hurricane Hugo and the Loma Prieta earthquake showed that news coverage focused primarily on the actions of government agencies and personnel (as opposed to individual citizen's efforts).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The study examines the following research questions: RQ1a: What topics were discussed in newspapers' post-Katrina hurricane coverage? RQ1b: In what ways did news stories describe the impact of the hurricane on the local community and the nation?RQ2: In what ways did newspapers describe the "health effects or risks of Katrina"?Prior research also suggests that often media rely on government sources of authority for such interpretations (Littlefield & Quenette, 2007;Walters & Hornig, 1993;Koplan, 2003;Wray & Jupka, 2004). For example, Walters and Hornig's (1993) study of news coverage of Hurricane Hugo and the Loma Prieta earthquake showed that news coverage focused primarily on the actions of government agencies and personnel (as opposed to individual citizen's efforts).…”

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confidence: 99%

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The Minimization of Public Health Risks in Newspapers after Hurricane Katrina

Cohen

Vijaykumar

Wray

et al. 2008

Communication Research Reports

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During natural disasters, mass media facilitate the timely provision of accurate information about health risks to the public. This study informs our understanding of such public health discourse utilizing content-analysis of 235 newspaper articles in four major metropolitan newspapers published in the five weeks after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf coast in August 2005. These data reveal a small and diminishing number of articles included public health information over time, detailed the hurricane impact on affected communities, and used reliable health sources. The implications for future research from a public health and media relations perspective are discussed. KeywordsHurricane Katrina; newspapers; risk communication; content analysis Communication research is poised to evaluate how news media communicated health messages in the aftermath of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. Although a number of scholars have examined the institutional and cultural responses to Hurricane Katrina (Brabham, 2006; CDC Mold Work Group, 2005;Faux & Kim, 2006;Tiessen, 2006), little research has attended to mediated health information about the 2005 Atlantic hurricanes (Littlefield & Quenette, 2007), or the risks communicated about the region affected by the disasters (Fry, 2006;Vanderford, Nastoff, Telfer, & Bonzo, 2007).How newspapers told the story of the public health threats faced by people in Louisiana and the surrounding gulf region is important to consider. Although many media critics scorned early inaccuracies in reporting during the Katrina crisis (Cole, 2005;Cullen, 2005;Wilkie, 2005), little empirical evidence has been offered regarding the nature and extent of reporting over time (Fry, 2006). Despite the well-documented tragedy of Hurricane Katrina and the difficulty public health officials had in disseminating -and media had in obtaining -accurate and timely public health information during the emergency (Vanderford, et al., 2007), there has been no systematic analysis of media reporting on the health risks posed by Katrina and its aftermath. The role of media in providing the public with timely disaster information and health information in time of crisis has been studied extensively. Agenda setting and framing researchers have demonstrated the influence of print media on public opinion in a variety of contexts (Kitzinger & Reilly, 1997;McCombs, 1997;McCombs & Shaw, 1972;Rogers et al., 1997). Communication scholarship demonstrates that media attention after dramatic events functions "to publicize initial interpretations of the event, repeating and enhancing the impact of these interpretations" (Seeger, Sellnow, & Ulmer, 2003, p. 122). Given media's gate-keeping and priority-setting functions, public knowledge is also constrained by the messages made available to the public by media (Cook et al., 1983;McCombs & Shaw, 1972).Studying how media publicize public tragedy is a significant area for communication research. Although media scholars have separately studied news coverage of public health issues (Bloo...

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Crisis Leadership and Hurricane Katrina: The Portrayal of Authority by the Media in Natural Disasters

Cited by 159 publications

References 9 publications

Resources and adaptation following involuntary resettlement in the Bytom-Karb community

Resources and adaptation following involuntary resettlement in the Bytom-Karb community

History, Healing, and Hope: Reconceptualizing Crisis Renewal

The Minimization of Public Health Risks in Newspapers after Hurricane Katrina

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