Media Framing and Agenda Setting (Tone) in News Coverage of Hurricane Harvey: A Content Analysis of the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Houston Chronicle from 2017 to 2018

Abstract

Media organizations can quickly disseminate information from official sources to the general population. Media plays a vital role before, during, and after a hazard incident or natural disaster by broadcasting early warnings, coordinating emergency management strategies, providing timely updates, and offering advice on protective actions. Therefore, it is important to examine how news media use various framing devices such as story selection, placement, length, and quotations from officials and citizens in their crisis news coverage. Our paper investigates print media coverage of Hurricane Harvey utilizing data from three newspapers: the New York Times (online), the Wall Street Journal (online), and the Houston Chronicle. By examining the use of descriptors, quotes, and wording regarding Hurricane Harvey, our research explores how media coverage framed and created a tone for government and private sectors for their roles in response and recovery processes. Findings reveal that the human-interest frame received the most media attention while the morality frame received less attention. Regarding tone, we find that the overall tone for government response was balanced and less negative. However, the media tone varies between three levels of government: the tone for the federal government was more negative, while the tone for the city and state level of government was slightly positive. For private sectors, we found that the for-profit sector coverage had a strong negative tone while the non-profit sector received a strong positive tone. By offering a descriptive analysis of framing and tone, our study reveals how print media portray actors involved in recovery and rebuilding efforts for Hurricane Harvey.