The current study explored how Hurricane Katrina and consecutive flooding were covered by a mainstream news media organization--the New York Times. The purpose of the study was to see and analyze if the natural disaster of such magnitude as Hurricane Katrina increased the New York Times awareness of potential risks faced by the coastal area of the United States? Can the New York Times play a role of a social change agent helping the public realize risks and be more prepared for them in the future?The researcher conducted frame analysis and 3279 paragraphs were coded in the following categories: disaster aftermath, human interest, political, responsiveness, recovery, risk, science, damage, conflict, blame frame, and other. A chi-square test was used to test the hypotheses.The first hypothesis stated: "In disaster news coverage there will be more non-risk oriented stories rather than risk oriented stories" was accepted. The secondhypothesis stated: "In stories that have risk related information there will be more quotes from officials rather than experts" was rejected.The study of the first research question: "What kinds of risks have been covered in risk framed stories?" demonstrated that reporters tend to cover more dramatic risks rather than mundane ones. The study of the second research question: "Were the sources in stories about Hurricane Katrina being quoted on subjects appropriate to their expertise?" showed that sources used in the stories were quoted according to their expertise. The study of the third question: "What kind of risk awareness (current risks) and risk prevention (hypothetical risks) coverage is there in the New York Times?" revealed that reporters tend to provide more information on current risks (risk awareness) rather than information on how to prevent future risks. / Department of Journalism
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BSU/oai:cardinalscholar.bsu.edu:handle/188360 |
| Date | January 2007 |
| Creators | Rybalko, Svetlana A. |
| Contributors | Popovich, Mark N. |
| Source Sets | Ball State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Format | iv, 74 leaves ; 28 cm. |
| Source | Virtual Press |
| Coverage | n-us--- |
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