1476 Hurricane Mythology and the Media

This researcher must get discouraged. Henry W. Fischer III investigated how the media covered Hurricane Gilbert(1989) and Hurricane Georges (1998), 10 years apart, and found pretty much the same thing:

"Why does belief in the disaster mythology continue to plague us? Regardless of research findings (for example, see Fischer, 1998) many still believe panic flight, martial law, psychological dependence, looting and other forms of deviant behavior, price gouging, disaster shock, contagion, and the mass sheltering of a majority of the would-be victims are all symptomatic of a community's disaster response. Mass media has been found to be a prime reason for the continued perpetuation of the disaster mythology among laypersons and emergency personnel. A quick response grant supported work by this researcher ten years ago resulting in a case study of how the media presented the world with a picture of the community response to Hurricane Gilbert. While most national and local, print and broadcast reporters were found to subscribe to the disaster mythology, their reporting was observed to vary nevertheless. Why? The Gilbert study findings suggested that the local print and broadcast media were more likely to share in the altruistic role of the victim, resulting in a desire to help their communities successfully respond to and recover from the hurricane. As a result, the local media tended to essentially turned news management over to local officials-reporting what local officials stated with respect to community needs and response. If the local officials were accurate, the reporting was accurate. On the other hand, national reporters were found to be guided by a different norm; they appeared to seek to provide their audience (who were not co-victims) with a picture or story of what typically occurs in a hurricane. As such, they created a scenario based upon their perception of reality. These reporters maintained control over news management and, as a result, created a story line reinforcing the disaster mythology."

So the looting stories in the media were the President's fault? In 1989?

"Looting is perhaps the behavior most expected by the public and officials. Police departments usually talk about the fear and incidence of looting, the media report stories of its occurrence, and governors call out the National Guard to "protect against" it. Potential victims or survivors often report that they will not leave their homes because they fear looting. They paint signs which read: "DON'T LOOT OR WE'LL SHOOT!" While looting does sometimes occur, concern over it far exceeds the rate at which it actually takes place. Unfortunately, excessive time and resources are often expended on looting which could be better employed in mitigating against and responding to higher priorities."

Anyone want to guess how Prof. Fischer's next study will turn out?