Forecast communication through the newspaper Part 2: perceptions of uncertainty

Harris, Andrew

doi:10.1007/s00445-015-0902-6

Cited by 18 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 162 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Business and industry often respond to negative frames, or take advantage of positive frames, through appropriately designed, timed and placed adverts (Harris 2015b). The same occurred in the cases examined here.…”

Section: Scientific Advertisingmentioning

confidence: 74%

Newspaper reporting of the April 2007 eruption of Piton de la Fournaise, part 2: framing the hazard

Harris¹,

Villeneuve²

2018

J Appl. Volcanol.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

An analysis of the front pages of 120 consecutive editions of the local newspaper for the island of La Réunion (France), "Le Journal de L'Ile de La Réunion", published before, during and after the April 2007 eruption of Piton de la Fournaise reveals that its front page is an ideal vehicle for maximizing information delivery and recall during a volcanic eruption. Supported by flash tests, and by cross-checking with a content analysis of information given within the newspaper, we find that the front page is an effective gauge for the hazard frame which, for the case examined here, involved six volcanic hazards (pit-crater collapse, lava flows, gas, air fall, ocean entry lava flow and bench collapse), as well as the issue of evacuation. We found that crater collapse and lava flow hazards were framed using their natural colors and clear imagery of the phenomenon, tied to context-setting explanations within the newspaper. However, for lava flows in particular there was an element of spectacle and promotion of sightseeing, with photographs always featuring sightseers invariably taking photographs. After the end of the eruption reporting became almost entirely focused on tourists and sightseeing. Gas and ash fall hazard were framed using images and words of the victims, so that it became worrying and frightening, and associated with panic. As a result, the volcano itself became portrayed as a monster, and the situation for the impacted population became "apocalyptic" and "hellish". This probably contributed to the evacuation measures being described as confused and pointless, with the morale of the impacted population suffering accordingly. The ocean entry and bench collapse had no frame at all, and became associated with the dead, exotic fish that were collected; this hazard thus being framed as an interesting curiosity rather than a volcanic hazard. The front page-tracking model followed here could guide future educative measures during volcanic crises by quickly identifying, on the basis of front page analysis, hazards that are appropriately conveyed versus those that are poorly portrayed. Responses to rectify a poor frame can include reactive scientific advertising, a route that is used commonly by businesses seeking to boost sales by taking timely advantage of a developing newspaper frame, and distribution of appropriately designed and timed press releases.

show abstract

Section: Scientific Advertisingmentioning

confidence: 74%

Newspaper reporting of the April 2007 eruption of Piton de la Fournaise, part 2: framing the hazard

Harris¹,

Villeneuve²

2018

J Appl. Volcanol.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Impressively, all predictive statements reported regarding the activity or response carried common-language uncertainty caveats as outlined by Harris (2015b), and the writing style was factual. Reports lacked exaggeration, omission or bias, and included correct definitions and sober advice (e.g., Table 1).…”

Section: The Journalistsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Newspaper reporting of the April 2007 eruption of Piton de la Fournaise part 1: useful information or tabloid sensationalism?

Harris¹,

Villeneuve²

2018

J Appl. Volcanol.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

During March, April and May 2007 the local newspaper for the island of La Réunion, "Le Journal de L'Ile de La Réunion" (JIR), published 427 articles relating to natural hazards, with hazard-related articles occupying a total paper area of 21.94 m 2 and appearing in all but four of the 90 editions of the newspaper. This high level of coverage was due to the passage of two cyclones in March, the largest historical eruption of Piton de la Fournaise in April, and a major rock fall event in May. The high level of coverage may also be due to the fact that JIR is a tabloid that follows tabloid news values. Cyclones, volcanic eruptions and rock falls fit the news values of a tabloid well, especially when the stories involve the power elite, feature stories of human interest, include surprise elements and rescues, and are of high impact, especially to the local population. Disasters also provide spectacular imagery and the opportunity for eye-catching headlines, which is another element of the tabloid format. These key parameters thus all flag stories about natural hazards and, in particular, volcanic eruptions as being newsworthy for a tabloid. Of the page space devoted to natural hazards, 9.24 m 2 (42%) were set aside to reporting of volcanic activity, specifically the April 2007 eruption of Piton de la Fournaise. We completed a content analysis of these reports to understand the quality of information disseminated to the readership and to extract data regarding the impact of the eruption on local communities. We found the information to be of extremely high quality, with lava reporting being the most important issue covered by page area, mostly due to its photogenic nature. If we consider textdominated reports, and exclude photo-montages, then the order of importance in terms of space set aside to reporting of a particular theme becomes: (i) general eruption details; (ii) summit collapse; (iii) lava flows; (iv) evacuation; (v) gas; (vi) ocean-entry; (v) air fall; (vi) vegetation fires (lit by lava contact); and (vii) volcano-seismicity. As the eruption and the nature of the hazard evolved (from lava flow through air-fall and gas, to summit collapse and ocean-entry) so too did the focus of the reporting. Once the eruption had finished, emphasis shifted from the hardships of the impacted community to sightseeing and tourism. We found that the quality of the reporting resulted from the use of journalists who were specialized in their reporting areas and who therefore knew the background and the correct sources to seek out for information. This shows that a well-informed journalist can be (i) a means to disseminate information and educate an impacted population, and (ii) a source of information for the volcanologist regarding societal impacts of, and population responses to, natural hazards.

show abstract

“…He shows how the placement of the information in the frame of the pages, selection of stories, use of sources, selection of data, exaggeration, omissions and preferences for certain sources or pieces of information contribute to the oversimplification of complex arguments and an orientation toward information interpretations forcing inclination or prejudice for, or against, an argument, person or group, putting a particular emphasis on some aspects of the situation. Harris (2015b) explores the influence of this media filter on the perception of uncertainty by the public and argues that a careful study of the media filter can help scientists to communicate in a manner that reduces the chance of message distortion.…”

Section: The Media Play a Key Role In Times Of Disastermentioning

confidence: 99%

Seismic Risk: The Biases of Earthquake Media Coverage

Dévès¹,

Texier²,

Pécout³

et al. 2019

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

<p><strong>Abstract.</strong> The capacity of individuals to cope with threatening situations depends directly on their capacity to anticipate what will come next. The media should play a key role in that respect, but an extensive analysis of earthquake media coverage by the international press reveals systematic biases. Exploring a corpus of 320&#8201;888 news articles published by 32 worldwide newspapers in 2015 in English, Spanish or French, we found that the press covers a very small number of events: 71&#8201;% of the news was dedicated to only 3 earthquakes (among the 1559 of magnitude 5+). A combination of frequency and content analysis reveals a typical framing of the <q>earthquake news</q>. Except for the <q>Nepal quake</q>, the duration of the coverage is usually very short. The news thus tends to focus on short-term issues: the event magnitude, tsunami alerts, human losses, material damage, and rescue operations. Longer-term issues linked to the recovery, restoration, reconstruction, mitigation and prevention are barely addressed. Preventive safety measures are almost never mentioned. The news on impacts show a peculiar appetency for death counts, material damage estimates and sensationalism. News on the response tends to emphasize the role played by the international community in helping the <q>poor and vulnerable</q>. The scientific content of the coverage is often restricted to mentions of the magnitude, with the concept of the seismic intensity being largely ignored. The notion of the <q>seismic crisis</q> also seems unclear, with aftershocks sometimes being treated as isolated events. Secondary hazards are barely mentioned, except in the case of tsunami alerts. Together, these biases contribute to fatalistic judgments that damage cannot be prevented. If scientific messages are to be communicated, they should be broadcast a few hours after an event. Why not taking that opportunity to familiarize people with the real timeline of seismic disasters?</p>

show abstract

Forecast communication through the newspaper Part 2: perceptions of uncertainty

Cited by 18 publications

References 162 publications

Newspaper reporting of the April 2007 eruption of Piton de la Fournaise, part 2: framing the hazard

Newspaper reporting of the April 2007 eruption of Piton de la Fournaise, part 2: framing the hazard

Newspaper reporting of the April 2007 eruption of Piton de la Fournaise part 1: useful information or tabloid sensationalism?

Seismic Risk: The Biases of Earthquake Media Coverage

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About