Media studies of New Orleans’ Black community after Hurricane Katrina
Citation: Tyree TC, Hill MA. Hurricane Katrina 10-years later: A qualitative meta-analysis of communications and media studies of New Orleans’ Black community. International Journal of Emergency Management. 2016:12(3);304-27.
Language: Abstract and full text available in EN.
Free to view: No.
Funding sources: Nothing noted.
What is this? In this systematic review, the authors searched for quantitative and qualitative studies about the media coverage of African Americans affected by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. They found 31 peer-reviewed articles.
What was found: News coverage perpetuated many of the persistent, problematic practices within US media related to the framing and presentation of African-American people. This reinforced negative international media coverage of other disasters caused by natural hazards and played a damaging role in the subsequent governmental response to New Orleans and its people after the storm.
Implications: The authors of the review stated that because black individuals consumed the negative media coverage, they did not heed media and government warnings before the storm. However, a causal relationship could not be assumed, as a large disconnect between the hurricane community and the federal government was already present. Unbiased coverage by the media and other stakeholders that is socially and culturally respectful is needed to support the most vulnerable people in communities during disasters caused by natural hazards.
Other considerations: The authors of the review discuss their findings in the context of race, gender, place of residence, social capital, and socioeconomic status.
This summary was written by Beirut Ibrahim, checked by Jawaria Karim and finalized by William Summerskilll.