Citation

Valencio N, Valencio A. Disasters 2018; 42(3): 407-431.

Affiliation

Institute of Complex Systems and Mathematical Biology, University of Aberdeen, United Kingdom.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/disa.12255

PMID

29057496

Abstract

A disaster referred to by the press as the 'UK flooding crisis' occurred between December 2015 and January 2016. This study employed three different levels of analysis to identify a multidimensional perspective adopted in the disaster reporting of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). These levels revealed details about the social actors and their interactions. The set of news exposed diverse viewpoints on the crisis, from loss and damage to distinct affected subgroups to the various social engagement actions of aid and the multiplicity of technical response measures. The conclusions highlight considerable social amplitude in the BBC's coverage; however, owing to the reductionist approach of this media communicator, the field of action involving different social actors was not very clear in the content of the news, particularly with regard to cohesion, conflict/obstruction, and concernthe concept of crisis in its essence. In addition, the paper suggests new questions for future reports.

© 2017 The Author(s). Disasters © Overseas Development Institute, 2017.

Language: en

Keywords

BBC; United Kingdom; crisis; disaster reporting; floods; mass media