“Of Gods and Men”: Selected Print Media Coverage of Natural Disasters and Industrial Failures in Three Westminster Countries

Abstract

This article examines selected print media coverage of a domestic natural disaster and domestic industrial failure in each of three Westminster countries: Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. It studies this coverage from several perspectives: the volume of coverage; the rate at which the articles were published; the tone of the headlines; and a content analysis of the perceived performance of key public and private institutions during and following the events. Its initial findings reveal that the natural disasters received more coverage than the industrial failures in each of the newspapers considered. There was also no significant difference in the publication rate across event type or newspaper. In each case, government was assessed at least as frequently and negatively as nongovernment actors, particularly during and following industrial failures. The manner in which government and non-government actors were assessed following these events suggests that, contrary to government claims that owners and operators of critical infrastructure (CI) are responsible for its successful operation, government in fact is "in the frame" as frequently as the industry owners and operators are. In addition, the negative assessments of governments following industrial failures in particular may prompt over-reaction by policy makers to industrial failures and under-reaction to natural disasters. This inconsistency is indeed ironic because the latter occur more often and cost more, both financially and socially. We reviewed 340 newspaper articles from three different newspapers: The Australian's coverage of the Canberra bushfires and the Waterfall train accident, The Globe and Mail's (Canada) coverage of Hurricane Juan and the de la Concorde overpass collapse, and The Daily Telegraph's (United Kingdom) coverage of the 2007 floods and the Potters Bar train wreck. Our sample size is small; our ability to compare across newspapers and countries limited. Further research is warranted.

Pre‐existing condition: Taking media coverage into account when preparing for H1N1

“…The volume of H1N1 media coverage was from 3 to 10 times greater than the volume of media coverage of other low probability/high consequence events (see, for example, Quigley and Quigley 2013;Quigley and Mills 2014). For this paper, we focus exclusively on how H1N1 media coverage in Canada compared to H1N1 coverage in other countries.…”

Legal Aspects of Risk Management in Australia

“…(Quigley and Quigley 2013;McFarlane et al 2011). As Whittaker and Mercer (2004) have observed "A common feature in the aftermath of all major bushfire events in Australia invariably has been the apportioning of blame".…”

How do women face the emergency following a disaster? A PRISMA 2020 systematic review

“…Male actions, both those relating to the family and the wider community as well as those undertaken under the auspices of organisations involved in the emergency, which are often highly masculinised-such as the military, civil protection services and firefighters-are extremely visible. In the social imaginary, men figure as the principal protagonists in rescue actions, something which is reinforced by the treatment they receive in the media (Cox et al 2008;Quigley and Quigley 2013;Zarqa 2014). It is for this reason that the current article aims to systematically analyse the scientific literature which focuses on the active role played by women during an emergency.…”