Victims, Survivors or Visitors? Coverage of Hurricane Katrina in Communities that Accepted Evacuees (2010)

Undergraduate: Kathleen Doll

Faculty Advisor: Barbara Friedman
Department: Journalism & Mass Communication

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Victims, Survivors or Visitors?

Newspaper coverage of Hurricane Katrina in three communities that accepted evacuees

(Under the direction of Dr. Barbara Friedman)

This research explored the media coverage of those displaced by Hurricane Katrina in The Houston Chronicle, The Birmingham News and The Lake Charles American Press. Examining the theory of framing, a sampling of articles from each newspaper between the dates of August 29 and September 11 was analyzed. The research noted both the dominant frame of the article as that of rescue/relief, challenge or blame and also the portrayal of evacuees as sympathetic, unsympathetic or neutral. Sources were most indicative of portrayal and frame. A disconnect also existed between the frames and portrayals, as many articles were sympathetic to the evacuees while noting negative effects of the hurricane. This study revealed a blaming of the other, as many articles focused blame on distant others while sympathetically portraying the evacuees. This study’s implications speak to journalistic decisions about sources and the need to research the intersection of portrayals and frames further.