Best practice approaches for reporting disasters

Abstract

Much of the research about disasters has focused on the poor and unethical practices of journalists reporting on disasters, but relatively little has been written about best practice approaches to news media coverage of such events. This article uses two sources of data, interviews with senior emergency managers in eight countries and the body of research on news media coverage of disasters, to develop a best practice schema for journalists reporting disasters in two phases – before they occur and as they unfold. There is relatively little research on best practice approaches to reporting disasters; therefore, we also include the literature about news media coverage of disasters as this enabled identification of key problems with reportage of disasters. We conclude this article with suggestions about how this schema might be further refined and note some additional areas for research that might be pursued as a result of the best practice approach.

Keywords

Best practice journalism disasters journalism journalism ethics news media

Introduction

The problematic nature of news coverage of disasters has attracted considerable attention. Few researchers have approached this topic from the perspective of how journalists might best contribute to communication before and during disasters. Journalists have a critical role in communicating about disasters in their various phases (Cohen et al., 2006; Cretikos et al., 2008; Ewart and Dekker, 2013; Keys, 1993; Littlefield and Quenette, 2007; Musacchio and Piangiamore, 2016) and the approach they take to covering disasters can make a difference to the outcomes for those affected (Ewart and Dekker, 2013). This article contributes to the literature through the development of a best practice principles and approaches checklist for journalists reporting on disasters. In this article, our primary focus is on journalists as disseminators of information in disasters and as sites of coordination with local officials and those providing relief to people affected by disasters. In addition, we are interested in the role of journalists in revealing the problems that can occur when preparations for disasters or responses to these events go wrong.

In developing the checklist, we drew data from two sources: the international literature about news media coverage of disasters and interviews with senior emergency managers in eight countries: Australia, Germany, Sweden, Canada, the United States, Norway, Iceland and the United Kingdom. Our participants’ perspectives of best and worst practice are examined in relation to reporting approaches to disasters. Their views are combined with a distillation of key research in the field of disaster reportage to produce a guiding list of key principles and approaches for best practice in relation to reporting disasters before and while they occur. Ewart and Pearson (2015) used a similar approach in developing an initial best practice schema for journalists reporting stories about Muslims. The checklist provides key questions journalists should ask themselves when covering disasters because existing codes of ethics within news organisations and among professional industry bodies provide limited direction. Not all journalists will follow our best practice principles but it may assist those who want to report disasters in ways that ensure the best outcomes for affected communities. Importantly, it may improve the often tense relationship between the media and disaster managers (McLean and Power, 2014). We conclude with suggestions about refining our best practice principles with the assistance of journalists and additional areas for research.

Background

Much has been written about the media’s role in informing the public about disasters and about journalistic practices that emerge during these events (Cohen et al., 2006; Cretikos et al., 2008; Keys, 1993; Littlefield and Quenette, 2007). This research has largely focused on problematic and unethical news media coverage of disasters. This includes the effects of pack journalism (Breen and Matusitz, 2008), the treatment of disasters as spectacle and entertainment (Gotham, 2007), impacts on those affected (Bilboe, 1998) and the problems caused using unofficial sources (Murphy et al., 2004). Few studies have focused on how journalists have contributed constructively to disasters reportage and we explore those that make the most significant contribution to our principles and approaches. The literature review is organised around the same headings as our best practice principles.

Role of journalists in disasters

While scholars disagree on many points in relation to the contributions of news media to communication about disasters, they agree that journalists have a critical role in information provision before and after a disaster (see, for example, Cohen et al., 2006; Cretikos et al., 2008; Keys, 1993; McLean and Power, 2014; Veil, 2012). Scanlon explained, ‘the media can play a critical role before, during and after such incidents’ (n.p.). Importantly, Burkhart (1991) identified that the role of journalists and the news media changes in the different phases of a disaster. Other researchers have also explored this issue, with Veil (2012) identifying that in the initial stages of a disaster, journalists helped to inform emergency managers of events beyond the disaster scene, highlighting responses from those at a distance. Veil summarised the roles of journalists in reporting disasters as

resource manager (assisting in eliciting volunteers and donations for the response and recovery efforts), public safety official (providing warnings to limit risk associated with the crisis), public advocate (drawing attention to underrepresented populations and issues), emotional support system (creating a sense of community during the crisis), and as a catalyst in increasing the salience of emergency management in the policy arena (drawing attention to budget and policy issues that need to be addressed. (p. 291)

Journalism also perceive they have a role in disasters as a ‘watchdog’ on government (Ali, 2013; Berkowitz, 2009; Smith and Roberts, 2003). That role is often closely connected to the search to lay blame in the wake of a disaster (Littlefield and Quenette, 2007; McMullan and McClung, 2006). There are two markedly different findings within the body of research about the impact of journalists’ contact with those affected by disasters or their families. The first is that journalists invade the privacy of those affected and in turn cause further grief. The second is that journalists can help survivors of disasters and the families of those who died (Shearer, 1991). Local, national and international media will emphasise different aspects of the best practice checklist when reporting disasters because there are distinctions in the roles of local journalists and those journalists observing and reporting on the disaster from a distance. Local news coverage is about information provision to serve local communities (Cretikos et al., 2008; Hindman and Coyle, 1999; Kanayama, 2007; Matthews, 2017; Moody, 2009; Piotrowski and Armstrong, 1998). Local news media participate in recovery efforts (Miles and Morse, 2007; Rausch, 2014; Takekawa, 2014). Importantly, Miles and Morse (2007) identify there are differences in local and national news media reporting of disaster recovery processes. National press assesses the extent of a disaster and government responses, which could appear as support for government efforts (McCarthy, 2014) or criticism of them and holding them to account (Samuels, 2013). Galtung and Ruge (1965) identified four factors that affect the way stories are reported by foreign news with cultural proximity being an important factor affecting the extent of coverage.

Pre-disaster planning

There is a small body of research about the potential role of media in pre-disaster planning. Key tips include that journalists should form productive relationships with emergency management organisations before disasters (Hogan, 2015, personal communication; McLean and Power, 2014; Vultee and Wilkins, 2004), that newsrooms be disaster resourced with plans (Kisang, 2014; Vultee and Wilkins, 2004) and that news media add to public communication. In relation to this latter point, there is significant disagreement among scholars as to the role of disaster journalism and whether it should provide information (Mayes, 2000) or whether it should focus on facilitating the expression of emotions of those affected and thus politically empowering them (Pantti and Wahl-Jorgensen, 2007).

Journalists should ensure that their audiences are familiar with warning terminology used by disaster management organisations and that warnings are from official sources (Vultee and Wilkins, 2004). Vultee and Wilkins (2004) recommend that stories could cover community disaster preparation. Musacchio and Piangiamore (2016) suggest that this can be achieved through a focus on risk prevention, using scientists as sources. However, they found that these topics followed a disaster rather than before the event.

The important roles reporters have in debunking rumours and in fact-checking social media as a disaster unfolds have also been highlighted (Bruno, 2011; Lowery, 2017)

Lee (2014) interviewed journalists after the Sewol Ferry Disaster, in 2014 in South Korea, and compiled a series of tips about reporting disasters, which have been integrated into the principles and approaches checklist (Table 1). These included that reporters should be trained in reporting disasters before such events occur. Codes of ethics are also relevant to effective disaster reporting. Ewart’s (2002) study of how reporters covered the aftermath of bush fires in a small Australian town suggested that journalists needed to be familiar with their newsroom’s codes of ethics.

Table 1.

Principles and approaches checklist.

Key questions for reporters and editors	References
Pre-disaster planning
Is your newsroom disaster ready? Do you have a plan for covering disasters and what to do if your newsroom or reporters are affected by a disaster?	Vultee and Wilkins (2004)
Are you aware that local journalists and local news media have an advantage over non-local journalists? How can you capitalise on that advantage?	Andrews and Caren (2010) Perez-Lugo (2004)
What resources has your newsroom allocated to the coverage? Resources are required, particularly in the recovery phase.	Vultee and Wilkins (2004)
Are you aware that natural disaster news reports hold ‘large public appeal’, and the way they are reported can influence social and governmental perceptions and responses?	Pasquare and Pozzetti (2007) Musacchio and Piangiamore (2016)
Can you use the disaster to educate publics about the likelihood of disasters, planning and preparation activities that individuals can undertake and to explore what mitigation efforts have been put into place?	Dart Center (the Center suggests this approach to reporting mass murders)
Are you aware useful approaches to covering disasters focus on ‘disseminating accurate, consistent, timely, and easy-to-understand information’?	Homeland Security Act (2002: 134) Musacchio and Piangiamore (2016)
Is your pre-disaster coverage focused on what has been done to reduce risk associated with the type of disaster that is about to occur?	Musacchio and Piangiamore (2016)
Is your focus in covering disaster warnings on the weight of opinion about the possibilities of a disaster rather than reporting on opposing positions/ideas about it?	Vultee and Wilkins (2004)
Have you avoided assumptions about audiences’ familiarity with disaster warning terminology? Explaining these differences can clarify them and improve the likelihood of action	Vultee and Wilkins (2004)
Have you used warnings issued by, and sourced from, official sources? They have more credibility with the public.	Mileti (1975: 49)
Do understand the cultural, social, political and economic settings that inform and characterise the disaster you are reporting?	He and Tiefenbacher (2008)
Does your newsroom have guidelines for reporting disasters?	Kisang (2014)
Are you familiar with those guidelines and do they cover ethical issues?	Ewart (2002)
Have you had training in disaster reporting?	Lee (2014)
Are you planning to cover the emerging disaster as an opportunity to help publics prepare for, cope with and recover from disasters?	Littlefield and Quenette (2007)
Do you know that stories about how communities prepare for disasters can be useful?	Vultee and Wilkins (2004)
Does coverage focus on the way disasters are managed? For example, stories about disaster preparation, reflections on findings of inquiries into disasters and their recommendations are considered helpful.	Vultee and Wilkins (2004)
Have you approached emergency management authorities to establish cooperative relationships with them before a disaster occurs?	Hogan (2015, personal communication) Cameron (2014, personal communication) Vultee and Wilkins (2004)
Have you asked for a seat at the disaster management centre’s command table?	McLean and Power (2014) Johannesdottir (2015, personal communication)
Will your approach help or hinder those charged with managing the disasters, affected publics and the survival and recovery process?	McLean and Power (2014) Johannesdottir (2015, personal communication)
Have you reviewed scientific information or technical documents about disasters and considered their contribution to reportage?	Pasquare and Pozzetti (2007)
Do you have consistent approaches to reporting rumours during the various phases of disasters? If you don’t debunk them you risk adding to their credibility.	Vultee and Wilkins (2004)
Interviewing and writing
Do you avoid exclusive reliance on institutional informants?	Pasquare and Pozzetti (2007)
Do you use scientific, academic sources, emergency managers for technical information and advice and those affected by the disaster for insights experts can’t provide?	Pasquare and Pozzetti (2007)
Have you considered source motives and fact checked their story?	Salwen (1995)
Are you aware that politicians are useful sources for leadership statements, while emergency managers can provide information about tactical and operational responses?	Saeverud (2014, personal communication) Chard (2015, personal communication)
Do you attribute all information, so that audiences can critically evaluate its authenticity and authority?	Vultee and Wilkins (2004)
Have you looked beyond official sources for explanations as to why disasters occur? Have you considered the role of private and non-government sectors?	Vultee and Wilkins (2004)
Have you followed established protocols for accessing information from emergency management organisations?	Hogan (2015, personal communication)
Have you avoided pressuring sources for immediate answers as to causes, which are often complex and only emerge over time?	Wade (2014, personal communication)
Are you presenting victims’ voices objectively and equally?	Lee (2014)
Can you present longer interviews to demonstrate that the voices of those involved in disasters are being heard, even if they can only be shown online?	Lee (2014)
Are you being sensitive to the trauma of those individuals and communities being interviewed?	Lee (2014) Brataas (2014, personal communication)
Are you avoiding triggering further emotional trauma in those affected by disasters and news media audience? Emotion can be conveyed from a distance.	Lee, (2014)
Can you organise a pool system for footage and interviews if there are a lot of journalists on the scene, to lessen the impact of questioning on those dealing with trauma?	Lee (2014) SEM 1 (2013, personal communication)
Have you balanced information provision to the public, with public safety and the needs of those affected by the disaster?	Leadbeatter (2013, personal communication)
Is your focus on correcting factual errors or exposing the existence of disparities in information? The latter focus can further distress affected communities.	Cameron (2014, personal communication) Featherstone (2015, personal communication)
Have you balanced requests for access to disaster sites with issues such as emergency management resource availability? Have you taken the emergency management organisation’s advice about availability and timing of access? Are you sure you are not hindering the response effort?	Johannesdottir (2015, personal communication) Vultee and Wilkins (2004) Saeverud (2015, personal communication)
Have you considered your safety and that of others in requesting access to a disaster site?	Clark (2013, personal communication)
In the face of distrust or anger towards news media, have you tried to connect with people on a human level and offer an apology for your mis-reporting?	Lee (2014)
In cases where members of the public might be at risk if coming to the disaster site, have you warned them away?	Ingvarsson (2015, personal communication)
Have you balanced your demands for information with the rights of those affected by the disaster?	Backholm and Björkqvist, 2012
Have you avoided human-related metaphors when comparing disasters or describing them?	Pasquare and Pozzetti (2007)
Does reporting avoid treating the disasters as entertainment or spectacle?	Gotham (2007)
Are you approaching the disaster through a lens that avoids amplifying political conflict?	Pasquare and Pozzetti (2007)
Have you checked the veracity of stories about heroes, villains in disasters? Do you understand they can be politically motivated?	Tsu (2008)
Have you framed the story through risk? Natural disaster reporting is best understood through the framing of ‘risk’, wherein the expectations of how the risks involved with a disaster will inform the story.	Petersen (2014)
Have you clearly distinguished hazard from risk? Hazards cannot be reduced but risk can be and the public need to understand this because it will make them aware of how natural hazards can become disasters. A lack of understanding of the differences can impede disaster reduction.	Musacchio and Piangiamore (2016)
Does the frame through which you are reporting the story fit the facts?	Ewart (2002)
Have you avoided presenting yourself as part of the drama of the disaster? For example, portraying yourself as heroic (e.g. working with a broken foot in order to get the story together).	Robinson (2009)
Have you considered how your reporting is portraying various ethnic and cultural groups? Have you considered how differential treatment of white and non-white residents in some disasters has ‘played into a larger process of stigmatisation that focused public attention on residents themselves as the cause of the problems they were forced to endure’.	Gotham (2007: 91)
Have you avoided victimisation of those affected by a disaster?	Vultee and Wilkins (2004) Gotham (2007)
Does your story provide a context for the events surrounding the disaster? Some people may not be aware of them, especially if it has unfolded over weeks or months.	McMullan and McClung (2006)
Does your story avoid offering simple explanations for complex events?	Mortiz (2009)
Have you verified statistics, particularly in the early phases of a disaster? If you can’t verify numbers have you made that clear in your story?	Ewart (2002)
Are you ensuring that the 24/7 news cycle is not placing undue pressure on emergency management organisations?	Besse (2015, personal communication)
Does your story contain significant detail? Stories containing more information shift the readers’ perceptions of blame towards a broader understanding of structural causes. Better informed readers are in turn more likely to support intervention measures to address the underlying problems and causes of disasters.	Tiegreen and Newman (2008)
Does your story provide information about how those not affected by the disaster can assist? News media coverage of disasters can present opportunities for mobilisation of community members not affected by the disaster to assist those who are affected.	Ewart and Dekker (2013); Vultee and Wilkins (2004)
Have you checked the accuracy of reports about sporadic panic during disasters? The research indicates the accuracy of such reports is highly unlikely.	Vultee and Wilkins (2004)
Editing and production
Have you selected the appropriate images for your story?	Kahle et al. (2007)
Is your story a correct reflection of the severity of the disaster? This is particularly relevant for television journalists in the early phases of a disaster because of the reliance on images to tell the story.	Vultee and Wilkins (2004)
Do the images selected respect the privacy of those affected by and involved in disasters?	Vultee and Wilkins (2004) Leadbeatter (2013, personal communication)
Have you verified information taken from social media sites and ensured information you use about management of the disaster is from the official social media sites of emergency organisations?	Chard (2015, personal communication)
Do you listen to your listeners, readers, viewers and those affected by disasters? Respect their advice about the impacts of reportage.	Mortiz (2009)

Journalists have an important educational role during disasters, which has been emphasised by the Dart Center for Journalism & Trauma in relation to reporting approaches to mass murders. The Homeland Security Act (Congress, 2002) builds on this by identifying that the most useful approaches to covering disasters focus on ‘disseminating accurate, consistent, timely, and easy-to-understand information’ (p. 134).

In the pre-disaster planning stage, local journalists and news media have advantageous knowledge of the history of disasters in the area and potential insights into the geographical, social and cultural factors that will influence how the disaster unfolds (Andrews and Caren, 2010; He and Tiefenbacher, 2008).

Interviewing and writing

The practices of journalists during disasters have sometimes been problematic (Ewart, 2002; Murphy et al., 2004). The considerable demand by audiences for new information can lead to journalists seeking information from unofficial sources. These views are often sought because they meet the key news values of disasters, human interest, proximity, unusualness and timeliness, along with projections into future impacts of similar disasters. Sometimes reporters take unofficial and incorrect information to beat their competitors (Pasquare and Pozetti, 2007). Others display a preference for institutional informants as exclusive sources, rather than extending the range of sources to include those affected by events (Pasquare and Pozzetti, 2007). There is evidence of change in this regard; for example, Musacchio and Piangiamore (2016) identified that while those affected by a disaster had a limited presence in print news stories published shortly after the event, that improved markedly after the initial coverage of the event. In a departure from previous research findings, they found that stories in their study were most frequently framed through a science lens providing more in-depth information to readers.

The research revealed the key themes news media rely on include frames that simplify events, that rely on entertainment or conflict and that fail to provide a context for the disaster. A problem associated with news media framing of disasters was that stories often provided simplified explanations for very complex events (Mortiz, 2009). News coverage can also lead to errors and inconsistencies (Gawenda and Muller, 2009). This could limit the ability of various groups involved in disasters to learn from and mitigate disasters. In a study of risk and the politics of disaster in news media coverage in the 2010 Haiti earthquake and Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Petersen (2014) found stark contrasts in how news media framed stories. Petersen argued that natural disaster reporting is best understood through the framing of ‘risk’, wherein the expectations of how the risks involved with a disaster will be managed inform the story. Petersen concluded that the expectations journalists have about risk when covering disasters are structured by social capital and inequality, providing a vehicle for stereotypes and victimising rhetoric that appears in some news accounts. In analysing approaches to news coverage of disasters in the United States and Haiti, Petersen (2014) identified a ‘highly political argument about the “proper” racial and geopolitical distribution of adversity’, but she identified that the political element ‘was in a sense hidden by the logic of risk, which provides an abstract and seemingly neutral, technical ground for the coverage (as mere description or reportage)’ (p. 52). For example, the extreme poverty of Haiti was a major focus for news reporters and was used as a predictive factor in estimating the difficulty of recovery. The failure of the State to respond to Hurricane Katrina was unexpected, making it difficult for journalists to articulate the story. Tiegreen and Newman (2008) identified that many disaster stories do not contain enough context or statistical information or wrongly present facts and figures. McMullan and McClung (2006) make an important point in that stories need to provide a context for the events that occur during disasters, especially if they unfold over weeks or months.

News sources used in disaster stories can have a significant influence on the way a story is told and remembered. Pasquare and Pozzetti (2007) advise reporters to avoid exclusive reliance on institutional informants and to include comments from a broader range of authoritative sources such as academic sources, emergency managers and those affected by the disaster. Salwen (1995) emphasised that journalists should consider the motives of sources who contact them and fact-check their information. However, as Vultee and Wilkins (2004) remind us, many members of the emergency management community view the media ‘with some suspicion’. This is due to the difficulties involved in conveying technical information surrounding a disaster to the public, and the distortions and inaccuracies that flow from this if journalists do not choose credible sources. Vultee and Wilkins (2004) suggest these problems can occur because of the dominance of television in the early stages of reporting, where the repeated use of images and sound bites taken from initial responders does not accurately reflect the changing nature of an event. Vultee and Wilkins (2004) conclude that journalists should attribute all information so that audiences can critically evaluate it.

Ethics emerged as a key issue in the reporting of disasters, with a number of sub-themes arising around reporting practices and approaches to correcting errors. Robinson (2009) identified a problem in some reporters tendency to present themselves as part of the disaster – portraying themselves as heroic or authoritative. Backholm and Björkqvist (2012) said journalists should balance their demands for information with the rights of those affected by the disaster. Lee (2014) suggested that news media organise a pool system for footage and interviews if there were a lot of journalists on the scene, to lessen the impact of questioning on those dealing with trauma.

Editing and production

Researchers have paid relatively little attention to the editing and production processes associated with disasters coverage. In a comparative study of the reporting of bridge collapses in the United States and China, He and Tiefenbacher (2008) found that the accuracy of reports was frequently questioned. The editing and production processes, regardless of the news medium, need to include fact-checking processes to ensure accuracy and to limit potential harm. Lee (2014) suggested that the voices of those caught up in disasters should be presented objectively and equally and reporting should avoid triggering further emotional trauma in those affected. The choice of images can sometimes misrepresent those caught in a disaster, and this can have ramifications for recovery (Kahle et al., 2007). Similarly, Vultee and Wilkins (2004) stressed that journalists should ensure stories accurately reflect the scale of the disaster.

Methods

This article drew data from an international project title ‘political communication in disasters and emergencies’ led by the two authors. That project focuses on the involvement of politicians in communication in the various stages of disasters. Interviews with senior emergency managers in eight countries included discussions of best and worst practice in reporting disasters because in their roles they engage with news media as do their staff. All interviewees were from countries that had at or near the time of our interviews recently experienced major natural disasters. Interview themes that focused specifically on news media coverage of and journalist practices in disasters and the findings from the international body of research were distilled into suggestions for best practice principles and approaches to reporting such events.

Distillation of literature

The literature that focused on best and worst practices for journalists covering disasters was reviewed. The key findings and suggestions that related directly to journalistic practices involved in preparing for and reporting on disasters were condensed into a table and further refined as a series of best practice approaches for journalists.

Interviews

Data for this article were drawn from a series of interviews undertaken with 15 senior emergency managers in eight countries. Snowball sampling was used (Doreian and Woodard, 1992) as it was the best approach available given the elite status of interviewees. These interviews explored in detail the participants’ views about managing responses to and communication about disasters. Open-ended questions and a conversational approach to the interviews (Schwandt, 1994) allowed interviewees to raise their own issues and elicited significant detail from the interviews. Both authors have worked in professional roles in crisis and disaster management, which informed the development of the guiding themes for the interviews. An interpretive approach to the interviews (Andrade, 2009; Schwandt, 1994) enabled a more nuanced, in-depth understanding of the lived world of interviewees. It meant they could raise issues that were not raised by the interviewers. Interviews averaged 1 hour and participants were offered the option of being anonymous.

The following people were interviewed:

Kjell Brataas, Senior Advisor, DSB, Norway.

Ian Cameron, Media Advisor to the UK National Steering Committee for Warning & Informing the Public (NSCWIP).

Anthony Clark, Group Manager, Corporate Communications, New South Wales Rural Fire Service, Australia.

Anne Leadbeatter, community development officer, the Murrindindi Shire, Victoria, Australia.

Commissioner Ole Bredrup Saeverud, Tromso Police District, Norway.

Bob Wade, Emergency Planning Society, United Kingdom.

James Featherstone, General Manager, LA City Emergency Management Department.

Jim Montgomery, Program Manager, Security and Emergency Management, Ottawa City, Canada.

Anonymous, Senior Emergency Manager, Australia (referred to as SEM 1).

Detective Inspector, Porir Ingvarsson, Reykjavik Metropolitan Police, Iceland.

Guorun Johannesdottir, Project Manager, Rikislogreglustjorinn, The National Commissioner of the Icelandic Police Environmental Science Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management, Iceland.

Henrik Olinder, Senior Expert Crisis Communication, Development Section, Emergency Management Development Department, Sweden.

Mike Chard, Director, Boulder Office of Emergency Management, Colorado, USA.

Christopher Besse, Preparedness Coordinator, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Emergency Management Agency, USA.

Kristin Hogan (Schildwachter), City and County of San Francisco, Department of Emergency Management, Government Affairs Manager, USA.

One of our interviewees, Anne Leadbeatter, was included in the data set although she was not a senior emergency manager. However, she was a community development officer in an area impacted by bush fires in Australia in 2009. She took on a significant role in leading community recovery and thus had considerable contact with journalists. Inductive coding was used to analyse the data so that the themes came to light without being constrained by pre-set themes or codes (Joffe and Yardley, 2004). Data relating directly to the practices of journalists were added to the data from the literature review, resulting in a rich series of principles and approaches.

Combining the data

Once we distilled, classified and categorised the literature and interview data, we sorted the data sets, identifying five common categories: pre-disaster planning, interviewing and writing, editing and production, post-disaster follow-up and self-care. Findings are presented in Table 1, the Best Practice Principles and Approaches. The data were re-read and re-coded several times to ensure a comprehensive and appropriately categorised set of principles and approaches.

Best practice principles and approaches

Consistencies and parallels emerged in the data sets, including that journalists can play a key role in communicating with various communities affected by disasters. The role journalists could play in assisting various publics to prepare for and cope with disasters emerged as critical. The data highlighted the importance of accurate and timely information that can help publics prepare for and survive disasters. The findings are presented as key questions that journalists should ask themselves when reporting on disasters.

Interviews

In this section of the article, we provide some examples from our interviews that illustrate the five key categories that emerged from the international literature. Key points were selected for exploration because space constraints prevent us from detailing interviewees’ comments at length on every one of the points included in our best practice checklist.

Pre-disaster planning

Relatively little if any research focuses on approaches news organisations take to planning for coverage of disasters. Vultee and Wilkins (2004) emphasise the importance of news media organisations having a plan for covering disasters, but also a plan in case the newsroom or journalists became involved in the disaster. Our interviewees had a range of suggestions for news media dealing with the pre-disaster planning phase, primarily ensuring that journalists establish cooperative relationships with emergency management organisations prior to disasters. Hogan (2015, personal communication) suggested that a crucial aspect of disaster planning for emergency organisations was the inclusion of journalists in exercises and preparation activities. Hogan said that it could be difficult to interest reporters in such events. Therefore, her organisation created interest among news media during non-disaster times by focussing on the potential risks associated with significant disasters. She explained,

So we have this opportunity because there’s heightened awareness or interest in the topic that we can integrate preparedness messaging into and give them [news media] instructions on how they can be part of our response. (Hogan, 2015, personal communication)

In Iceland, good relationships with news media outlets were ensured through the provision of a dedicated space for the country’s national broadcaster (The Icelandic National Broadcasting Service) in the national disaster command centre. Johannesdottir (2015, personal communication) explained that this ensured strong ties between the news organisation and emergency management and assisted with accurate reportage of the events. In Australia, a radio reporter was embedded in a disaster control centre during Cyclone Yasi in North Queensland in 2011, yielding similarly successful results (Ewart and McLean, 2014).

For Cameron in the United Kingdom (2014, personal communication), disaster planning should be part of the remit of news media and not just disaster response agencies. This included how disparities in information provision by emergency officials would be handled by news media organisations. This could prevent some of the difficulties that occurred in coverage of the initial disaster phase. He gave an example of where a disagreement between emergency managers during a press conference at a disaster site became the focus of news coverage:

… one of the things that journalists will do at a press conference is look to see whether or not the panel [of speakers] are united. They’ll look for differences and they’ll exploit those differences if there’s a gap in the response between the two people. And I think that’s where you need clear lines of demarcation. I think that’s vital in any press conference. (Cameron, 2014, personal communication)

Our interviewees unanimously agreed that journalists should develop relationships with emergency managers before disasters occur. While such cooperation was important, they identified that journalistic interviewing tactics could have significant impacts on the management and communication of disasters.

Interviewing and writing

Research highlights the importance of sourcing information from reliable, informed sources during disasters (Pasquare and Pozzetti, 2007). It also suggests that journalists should provide space for those caught up in a disaster to tell their stories (Lee, 2014). Our interviewees discussed how journalists could constructively contribute to disaster reportage through best practice interviewing approaches. This included ensuring the right sources were used for the right situation, with emergency managers best placed to provide operational and tactical information, while politicians could provide leadership statements. Saeverud in Norway (2013, personal communication) emphasised the importance of journalists using official sources for information about operational responses because unofficial sources could cause significant confusion for the public. Chard in the United States (2015, personal communication) agreed with Saeverud adding that journalists should be aware of the latest developments to ensure accurate information provision. He also said that the appropriate sources were sometimes busy responding to a disaster and may not be available immediately. Wade in the United Kingdom (2014, personal communication) agreed with Chard, saying reporters’ demands for immediate answers could preclude responsible reportage. He explained some sources felt pressured to give immediate answers to journalists and that could cause problems.

While this suggestion might not meet the ongoing need of news media for fresh news, journalists could ask how practical such measures are and explore that question with other sources. Equally important was that reporters should ensure that their actions did not further traumatise those involved in disaster events. Brataas from Norway (2014, personal communication) explained that in major disasters, emergency management organisations worked carefully to ensure that those affected by a disaster and their relatives were kept away from the news media until they wanted to engage with journalists. In the United States, emergency managers said that journalists should follow emergency protocols for accessing information, as Hogan (2015, personal communication) pointed out failure to do so could cause problems for disasters responses. In Iceland (Ingvarsson, 2015, personal communication), journalists were essential in warning members of the public to keep away from the scene. Ingvarsson explained that this was important because disasters often attracted onlookers.

For Leadbeatter in Australia (2013, personal communication), disaster management was about balancing news media provision of information to the public with public safety and the needs of those affected. A balance was needed between allowing journalists into a disaster site and allowing those affected by a disaster back into the site. She explained,

This idea that we lock the media out [of disaster sites] and stuff, I think it’s hugely problematic. I know it’s tense, media gets in, people [affected] aren’t allowed in, I’d be questioning why the people [affected] aren’t there, if the media are, I think that’s reasonable. But what the issue is here is that the media are allowed in and the people [who live in the area] aren’t. If that’s the problem, then fix that. (Leadbeatter, 2013, personal communication)

While much of the research focuses on the problematic nature of journalists’ practices during disasters, interviewees highlighted that issues could arise when reporters were in the process of writing stories.

Disasters are increasingly treated by some news media as entertainment or spectacle causing significant issues for those managing responses and individuals caught in the events (Gotham, 2007). Interviewees noted that the 24/7 news cycle and demand for immediate information provision could place undue pressure on emergency managers. For Besse in the United States (2015, personal communication) that pressure combined with the demands from the public via social media sites for information about an emerging disaster added to the complexities of communication. He explained how his agency had handled this during the Boston Marathon bombing where city officials were busy responding to the explosions. His organisation stepped in to fill an information void by posting a Tweet ‘to the effect of ‘Reports of explosion at the marathon finish line. Public safety officials on scene. Please avoid the area’’.

Our interviewees’ best practice suggestions to gathering, interviewing and writing stories included considering the needs of those affected by disasters and understanding the pressures that emergency managers face in providing information. The interviewees also recognised that once a story left a reporter’s hands, other factors such as editing and production came into play and best practice approaches were needed in that respect.

Editing and production

Three key issues emerged about the processes and practices of those responsible for editing, production and social media monitoring. They included ensuring the images used were representative of the extent of the disaster, problems caused by competition between various news media capitalising on the events and the need for journalists to verify information taken from social media sites. Clark in Australia (2013, personal communication) explained that there were tensions between the needs of disaster-affected communities and those of the news media. He elaborated,

In the response phase you need to tread very lightly, very carefully, because … and putting the community’s needs into the mix can sometimes be a little difficult. What the people on the ground are actually wanting is information, not just photos in the local papers, for instance. It’s a very simplistic way of looking at it but that’s a reality of it. Sometimes it’s just too soon and working in communications you’ve got a pretty good idea of when something is a bad idea. (Clark, 2013, personal communication)

This reflects the research that identifies conflicts between communities affected by disasters and news media can arise quickly (Bilboe, 1998). However, time pressures and other factors sometimes means journalists do not tread as lightly with those affected as they should. The need for journalists to verify information obtained from non-official social media sites was emphasised by Chard in the United States (2015 personal communication). He said that while emergency management organisations often had their own social media sites, one useful approach journalists could take to using social media was to provide their audiences with links to official sites.

Conclusion

Journalists play a crucial role in disaster communication, by providing information and warnings before and during such events. Their approach to the coverage of disasters can have profound impacts for those affected. Appropriate practices in reporting disasters can have significant impacts on the outcomes for managing responses and in prevention attitudes to disasters. Best practice approaches to reporting disasters should decrease the likelihood of errors in stories and limit the impacts on those involved. Our best practice checklist may be too extensive for easy access by news workers and it could be further refined through consultation with journalists. Projects in which guidelines for best practice in reporting suicide and mental health have been developed reveal that journalists feel ownership of the ‘process and product’ if they are involved in developing them (Pirkis et al., 2006: 85).

Not all journalists and media organisations will want to adhere to our best practice guidelines for reporting disasters. Our checklist is aimed at supporting those who recognise the need for change. Poor news coverage of disasters may actually increase the negative consequences for those involved. It would be useful to gain journalists’ perspectives on the best practice checklist, and that will be another phase of our research. Future research on journalistic approaches to reporting disasters might focus on identifying good practice as that has received relatively little attention.

Footnotes

Funding

The author(s) received no external financial support for the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.

Author biographies

Jacqui Ewart is a Former Journalist and Professor of Journalism and Media at Griffith University, Australia. She researches disasters communication and news media representations of Muslims. Jacqui is a former journalist and now the co-leader of a project examining political communication in disasters and crises internationally and has published the results of this project in international journals. She is the co-author and author of several books about news media coverage of Muslims.

Hamish McLean is a Senior Lecturer in crisis and disaster communication at Griffith University, Australia. He has 30 years’ professional experience in emergency management, media and public affairs and has published widely on his research interests in political communication in disasters.

References

Ali

(2013) Media, myths and realities in natural disasters. European Journal of Business and Social Science 2(1): 125–133.

Andrade

(2009) Interpretive research aiming at theory building: Adopting and adapting the case study design. The Qualitative Report 14(1): 42–60.

Andrews

Caren

(2010) Making the news: Movement organizations, media attention and the public agenda. American Sociological Review 75(6): 841–866.

Backholm

Björkqvist

(2012) Journalists’ emotional reactions after working with the Jokela school shooting incident. Media, War & Conflict 5(2): 175–190.

Berkowitz

(2009) Reporters and their sources. In: Wahl-Jorgensen

Hanitzsch

(eds) The Handbook of Journalist Studies. New York: Routledge, pp. 102–115.

Bilboe

(1998) The Thredbo landslide: Was it only media ethics that came tumbling down? Australian Journalism Review 20(2): 80–110.

Breen

Matusitz

(2008) Communicating the negative aspects of pack journalism to media reporters. Global Media Journal 7(12): 1–10.

Bruno

(2011) Tweet first, verify later? How real-time information is changing the coverage of worldwide events. Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. Available at: http://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/publication/tweet-first-verify-later

Burkhart

(1991) Journalists as bureaucrats: Perceptions of ‘social responsibility’ media roles in local emergency planning. International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters 9(1): 75–87.

10.

Cohen

Hughes

White

(2006) Bushfires and the media. Reporting bushfires. What motivates the media? Report no. 3. Melbourne, VIC, Australia: Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre.

11.

Congress

(2002) Homeland security act of 2002. Public Law 107. Available at: https://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/hr_5005_enr.pdf

12.

Cretikos

Eastwood

Dalton

, et al. (2008) Household disaster preparedness and information sources: Rapid cluster survey after a storm in New South Wales, Australia. BMC Public Health. Epub ahead of print 4 June. DOI: 10.1186/1471-2458-8-195.

13.

Doreian

Woodard

(1992) Fixed list versus snowball selection of social networks. Social Science Research 21(2): 216–233.

14.

Ewart

(2002) Prudence not prurience: A framework for journalists reporting disasters. In Proceedings of the 23rd Annual conference of the Australia and New Zealand communication association (ANZCA 2002). Available at: http://www.bond.edu.au/hss/communication/ANZCA/papers/JEwartPaper.pdf

15.

Ewart

Dekker

(2013) Radio someone still loves you: Talkback radio and community emergence during disasters. Continuum: Journal of Media & Cultural Studies 3: 365–381.

16.

Ewart

McLean

(2014) Ducking for cover in the ‘Blame Game’: News framing of the findings of two reports into the 2010–11 Queensland floods. Disasters 39(1): 166–184.

17.

Ewart

Pearson

(2015) Dangerous journalism when misreported: Developing an Australian framework for best practice reporting of stories involving Islam and Muslim people. Paper presented to the 2015 journalism education and research association of Australia annual conference, Bathurst, NSW, Australia, 30 November–2 December.

18.

Galtung

Ruge

(1965) The structure of foreign news: The presentation of the Congo, Cuba and Cyprus crises in four Norwegian newspapers. Journal of Peace Research 2(1): 64–90.

19.

Gawenda

Muller

(2009) The Black Saturday Bushfires: How the Media Covered Australia’s Worst Peace-time Disaster. Melbourne, VIC, Australia: Centre for Advanced Journalism University of Melbourne.

20.

Gotham

(2007) Critical theory and Katrina. City 11(1): 81–99.

21.

Tiefenbacher

(2008) Political and cultural contrasts in reporting about disasters: Comparing United States and Chinese newspaper portrayals of bridge collapses. Geojournal 73: 133–147.

22.

Hindman

Coyle

(1999) Audience orientations to local radio coverage of a natural disaster. Journal of Radio Studies 6(1): 8–26.

23.

Joffe

Yardley

(2004) Content and thematic analysis. In Mark

Yardley

(eds), Research Methods of Clinical and Health Psychology, London: Sage, pp. 56–68.

24.

Kanayama

(2007) Community ties and revitalization: The Role of community radio in Japan. Keio Communication Review 29(3): 5–24.

25.

Keys

(1993) Uneasy bedfellows: Emergency managers and the media. The Macedon Digest 8(2): 12–14.

26.

Kahle

Whiteside

(2007) ‘Another disaster: an examination of portrayals of race in Hurricane Katrina coverage’, Visual Communication Quarterly 14(2): 75–89.

27.

Kisang

(2014) Reporting terrorism among Kenyan media: Should journalists be cautious? Journal of Media and Communication Studies 5(5): 78–84.

28.

Lee

(2014) The Sewol disaster: 10 tips from Korean reporters. Dart Center for Journalism. Available at: dartcenter.org/content/sewol-disaster-10-tips-from-korean-reporters (accessed 27 November 2015).

29.

Littlefield

Quenette

(2007) Crisis leadership and Hurricane Katrina: The portrayal of authority by the media in natural disasters. Journal of Applied Communication Research 35(1): 26–47.

30.

Lowery

(2017) The Emergence and development of news fact-checking sites. Journalism Studies 18(3): 376–394.

31.

McCarthy

(2014) The media, the government and the tripartite disaster of 2011. In: Rausch

(ed.) Japanese Journalism and the Japanese Newspaper: A Supplemental Reader. Amherst, NY: Teneo Press, pp. 179–196.

32.

McLean

Power

(2014) When minutes count: Tension and trust in the relationship between emergency managers and the media. Journalism 15(3): 307–325.

33.

McMullan

McClung

(2006) The media, the politics of truth, and the coverage of corporate violence: The Westray disaster and the public inquiry. Critical Criminology 14: 67–86.

34.

Matthews

(2017) The role of a local newspaper after disaster: An intrinsic case study of Ishinomaki, Japan. Asian Journal of Communication 27(5): 464–479.

35.

Mayes

(2000) Submerging in ‘therapy news’. British Journalism Review 11(4): 30–36.

36.

Miles

Morse

(2007) The role of news media in natural disaster risk and recovery. Ecological Economics 63(2): 365–373.

37.

Mileti

(1975) Human Systems in Extreme Environments. Boulder, CO: University of Colorado Institute of Behavioral Science.

38.

Moody

(2009) Radio’s role during Hurricane Katrina: A case study of WWL radio and the United radio broadcasters of New Orleans. Journal of Radio & Audio Media 16(2): 160–180.

39.

Mortiz

(2009) Four lessons on school shootings. Dart Center for Journalism. Available at: http://dartcenter.org/blog/four-lessons-on-school-shootings (accessed 1 December 2015).

40.

Murphy

Wexler

Davies

, et al. (2004) Managing a multi-jurisdictional case: Identifying the lessons learned from the sniper investigation. A report prepared by the Police Executive Research Forum for the Office of Justice Programs, US Department of Justice. Available at: https://www.bja.gov/publications/SniperRpt.pdf

41.

Musacchio

Piangiamore

(2016) The 2016 Amatrice seismic sequence in the media. Annals of Geophysics 59: 1–7.

42.

Pantti

Wahl-Jorgensen

(2007) On the political possibilities of therapy news: Media responsibility and the limits of objectivity in disaster coverage. Studies in Communication 1: 3–25.

43.

Pasquare

Pozzetti

(2007) Geological hazards, disasters and the media: The Italian case study. Quaternary International 173: 166–171.

44.

Pasquarè

Oppizzi

(2012) How do the media affect public perception of climate change and geohazards? An Italian case study. Global and Planetary Change 90: 152–157.

45.

Perez-Lugo

(2004) Media uses in disaster situations: A new focus on the impact phase. Sociological Inquiry 74(2): 210–225.

46.

Petersen

(2014) Risk and the politics of disaster coverage in Haiti and Katrina. Communication, Culture & Critique 7(1): 37–54.

47.

Piotrowski

Armstrong

(1998) Mass media preferences in disaster: A study of Hurricane Danny. Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal 26(4): 341–345.

48.

Pirkis

Blood

Beautrais

, et al. (2006) Media guidelines on the reporting of suicide. Crisis 27(2): 82–87.

49.

Rausch

(2014) The great East Japan disaster, 2011 and the regional newspaper: Transitions from news to newspaper columns and the creation of public memory. International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters 32(2): 275–296.

50.

Robinson

(2009) ‘If you had been with us’: Mainstream press and citizen journalists jockey for authority over the collective memory of Hurricane Katrina. New Media & Society 11(5): 795–814.

51.

Samuels

(2013) 3.11: Disaster and Change in Japan. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.

52.

Salwen

(1995) News of Hurricane Andrew: The agenda of sources and the sources’ agendas. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly 72(4): 826–840.

53.

Schwandt

(1994) Constructivist, interpretivist approaches to human inquiry. In: Denzin

Lincoln

(eds) Handbook of Qualitative Research. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, pp. 118–137.

54.

Shearer

(1991) Survivors and the Media. Lutton: University of Lutton Press.

55.

Smith

Roberts

(2003) Death for a terrorist: Media coverage of the McVeigh execution as a case study in interorganizational partnering between the public and private sectors. Public Administration Review 63(5): 515–524.

56.

Takekawa

(2014) Local newspapers and the post-earthquake and tsunami reconstruction in Iwate prefecture. In: Rausch

(ed.) Japanese Journalism and the Japanese Newspaper: A Supplemental Reader. Amherst, NY: Teneo Press, pp. 217–240.

57.

Tiegreen

Newman

(2008) How news is ‘framed’. Dart Center for Journalism. Available at: http://dartcenter.org/content/how-news-is-framed (accessed 1 December 2015).

58.

Tsu

TYH

(2008) Making virtues of disaster: ‘Beautiful tales’ from the Kobe flood of 1938. Asian Studies Review 32(2): 197–214.

59.

Veil

(2012) Clearing the air: Journalists and emergency managers discuss disaster response. Journal of Applied Communication Research 40(3): 289–306.

60.

Vultee

Wilkins

(2004) News as a public service: Thinking through coverage of disasters and terrorism. In: White Paper: Disasters and Terrorism. Columbia, MO: Missouri School of Journalism.