Racialized Reporting: Newspaper Coverage of Hurricane Harvey vs. Hurricane Maria

Abstract

There is little that is natural about natural disasters. Storm impact site to relief efforts are rooted in geographical, social, and racial inequalities. News coverage of natural disasters is subject to these same biases. This study aims to tease out the different news frames used in coverage of Hurricane Harvey (Texas) and Hurricane Maria (Puerto Rico). A content analysis of newspaper articles suggests significant differences in framing techniques of each storm. Specifically, Maria was framed more politically than Harvey, and coverage of Harvey included more human interest stories than Maria. Implications on issues of geography and race are discussed.

Keywords:

• Natural disaster
• news framing
• race
• geography
• content analysis

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.