Visual Agenda-Setting, Emotion, and the BP Oil Disaster

Abstract

This study seeks to identify the most memorable visual imagery of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill by comparing a content analysis of television images and a survey of the most-remembered images. The study compared visuals from weeks 1 and 6 of the disaster to a survey conducted a year later that asked respondents to freely recall the most memorable images of the disaster. The comparison showed respondents did indeed choose as the most memorable images the visuals coded with greatest frequency in the content analysis. However, the emotions evoked by the oil-soaked animals elevated that set of images to the most memorable—chosen by almost half of respondents. This set of images was number one with the respondents yet number eight in frequency in the content analysis. This study shows a visual agenda-setting effect heightened by emotion.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Andrea Miller

Dr. Andrea Miller is an associate professor and associate dean for undergraduate studies in the Manship School of Mass Communication at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. She teaches courses in crisis communication, broadcast, and multimedia journalism. Prior to joining the Manship School's faculty in 2003, Miller received her PhD from the University of Missouri–Columbia School of Journalism. Additionally, Miller was an award-winning television news producer for a decade. While serving a station in Dallas, Miller developed an interest in breaking news and crisis coverage that has now translated into an academic research stream. Miller has published articles on television news and crisis coverage in Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, Media Psychology, Visual Communication Quarterly, and the Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management. Miller's first book, Oil and Water, addresses all aspects of the media experiences of the dual disasters to hit the Gulf Coast—Hurricane Katrina and the BP oil disaster. Co-authored by Dr. Shearon Roberts and Dr. Victoria LaPoe, the book was published by the University Press of Mississippi in April 2014. Miller is also co-editor, with Dr. Amy Reynolds, of the book News Revolution or Evolution?, published by Peter Lang Publishing, which explores the future of the newspaper industry using the New Orleans Times-Picayune as a microcosm of the industry in August 2014. Miller lives in Geismar, Louisiana, with her husband and two children. E-mail: [email protected]

Victoria LaPoe

Dr. Victoria LaPoe is an assistant professor and the overall broadcasting and film sequence coordinator for Western Kentucky University's School of Journalism & Broadcasting. Victoria is also the Editor in American Indian Studies for the National Media Diversity Forum. LaPoe has been published in academic journals such as Communication Research and Electronic News. She is co-author of the book released in April 2014: Oil and Water: Media Lessons from Hurricane Katrina and the Deepwater Horizon Disaster. Oil and Water explores the visuals and narratives associated with both disasters. LaPoe has an additional book under contract entitled American Indian Media: The Past, the Present, and the Promise of Digital, in which she evaluates how digital media are changing the rich cultural act of storytelling within Native communities. The norms and routines of the non-Native press often leave consumers with a stereotypical view of American Indians. This book contains interviews with more than 40 Native journalists around the country to understand how digital media possibly advances the distribution of storytelling within the American Indian community. LaPoe is an award-winning journalist who worked in television news for more than 13 years. She was a client strategist for two of the top television consultation firms for over six years; here she developed coverage and strategy plans for over 100 stations in the U.S. as well as networks in England, Ireland, France, Greece, Italy, and Spain. Dr. LaPoe teaches courses in on-air and digital reporting and producing, diversity and ethnic media, as well as research methods. She lives in Bowling Green, Kentucky, with her husband and son. E-mail: [email protected]