Media en rampen

Rampen zijn groot nieuws en blijven vaak nog maandenlang de voorpagina’s beheersen. Hoe ziet de berichtgeving eruit in de verschillende fasen na een ramp? Welke ontwikkelingen in de journalistiek en het medialandschap spelen daarbij een rol? Wat zijn de gevolgen van de berichtgeving voor de getroffenen en voor de manier waarop de samenleving met de ramp omgaat?


Download dit artikel in het Themanummer Rampen en Calamiteiten van Psychologie & Gezondheid 2008 36/3

Media and disasters

Disasters have always been breaking news, but in the current competitive media landscape the media have an interest in expanding the disaster into a news spectacle, spanning several weeks afterwards. After the immediate on the spot reporting, the media will concentrate on two major stories: human interest and the question of guilt and political responsibilities. The focus on the personal and emotional stories is the result of a major shift of perspective in journalism in which the experiences of the citizens have become equally important as the view of the official sources. The ‘blaming’ news flow can be linked to changes in the perception on risk and disaster, for which the government is held responsible at any time. The interaction between media, public and government in the aftermath of the disaster may create a process in which a specific risk, connected to the disaster, is amplified over and over again. This forces the government to take drastic action that may not be in proportion with the actual risk. Exposure to all these post-impact news waves sometimes contributes to stress-related health problems among survivors and rescue workers.