News media and the (de)construction of risk

How Flemish newspapers select and cover international disasters

Bibliographic Data

ID12928274
AuthorsStijn Joye (0000-0002-9509-6505, Ghent University Hospital, corresponding author)
Year2010
Volume2
Issue2
Pages253-266
Publication date2010-11-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueCatalan Journal of Communication & Cultural Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1757-1898 • E-ISSN: 1757-1901
PublisherIntellect (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1386/cjcs.2.2.253_1
OpenAlexW2027050679
LanguageEN
Citations received12
References cited41

News media play an important role in giving publicity and meaning to global suffering, as it is mainly through media reports that the world perceives international risk situations. This article focuses on natural and technological disasters as part of the contemporary risk society and their (de)construction by Flemish news media. Applying quantitative content analysis, the study reveals that 70.8 per cent of all disasters occurring between 1986 and 2006 are neglected by the newspapers, for the large part disasters in less developed countries. Regarding news coverage, proximity appears to be the guiding principle. Disasters developing in western or high-income countries are well covered while distant crises in the peripheral south are struggling to get attention, unless they affect a huge number of (western) people. In general, this article supports the claim that disasters and other instances of risk are essentially media constructs: they exist only when covered by the media

Flemish · Geography · Meaning (existential · Media coverage · Media studies · Natural disaster · News media · Newspaper · Political science · Publicity · Sociology · Disaster Management and Resilience · History · Law · Psychology · Public Relations and Crisis Communication · Risk Perception and Management

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