In an era of 24-hour news coverage via television, Web sites and Weblogs, images of hurricanes Katrina and Rita have been almost inescapable.
And Americans can't get enough of the devastating pictures and poignant personal testimonials.
According to TV ratings company Nielsen Media Research, a day after Katrina came ashore, cable-news viewership soared. As compared to a normal Tuesday, Aug. 30 saw Fox News' audience increase 112 percent, CNN's 336 percent and MSNBC's 379 percent.
At Penn's Annenberg School for Communication, professors are asking to what extent such coverage should permeate everyday life.
"It's important to note that [during such emergencies] the press comes under a magnifying glass," said Communication professor Barbie Zelizer, who specializes in journalism. She said that emergency journalism "becomes a standard" for journalism in general.
With that in mind, professor Zelizer called hurricane coverage "uneven," but added that the "reliance on alternative modes of gathering information [weblogs, cell phone images, personal testimonials] is valuable."
It was a "'Gee, we've discovered ourself' moment" for the media, she added, lauding them for "recover[ing their] independent voice" and "gravitating ... toward a more confrontational stance vis a vis the government" instead of standing in lock step with officials as so often happens in an emergency. Nevertheless, she was uncertain if this change would last.
Zelizer said that pictures added a entirely new dimension to the disaster along the Gulf Coast. They expressed something that words at first could not: the race and class factors underlying the tragedy. She added that coverage seemed to improve as time passed and more film showed the true face of the devastation.
Zelizer was especially pleased with the personal tone of much of the coverage, saying that this angle helps more accurately "capture the scope" of the emergency, giving it context, thus forcing Americans to recognize facets of the disaster --- race, for example -- which might be overlooked because of their controversial nature.
For Monroe Price, a visiting professor from the Stanhope Centre for Communication Policy Research in London, "one of the most interesting aspects of this [coverage] is accuracy and the element of fear."
Journalists, Price said, have a choice of "how to frame" their coverage.
A frame, he said, determines the prism through which the audience sees an event. With the competition for ratings increasingly fierce, the news media must tread a "thin line" when using fear to attract and to maintain attention because, Price added, distortions often result.
If the press resorts to undue sensationalism in a disaster, it becomes increasingly difficult for the public to tease out the truth, Price added.
Tuning in - Cable news ratings soared on Tuesday, August 30 -- the day after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. - Fox viewership increased by 112 percent - CNN viewership increased by 336 percent - MSNBC viewership increased by 379 percent
