Media Coverage of Crises: Better than Reported, Worse than Necessary

b There is now a considerable literature on crisis and disaster and most of it is in agreement on one point: during a crisis or disaster, the media will be carriers of inaccuracies and rumors. Journalists covering such events will be, at best, a problem for those responding to the needs of crisis-stricken communities. In his book, Organized Behavior in Disaster[, Dynes says early media reports of a n unexpected event will tend to exaggerate the extent of the crisis. ye says, “there is a tendency to present the news quickly rather than accurately.”2 Barton agrees. He states “the media will disseminate fragmentary and speculative reports without checking their accuracy.”) And two pioneers in this area of research, Fritz and Mathewson, say media reports in the wake of crisis or disaster will be confused, disorganized, carry conflicting information and contain “gross ambiguities and inaccuracies.“4 This has been confirmed by research done by Scanlon, who has shown occasions