Hurricane Florence caused catastrophic damage to North and South Carolina in September 2018 as a result of heavy flooding. In Wilmington, North Carolina, local news reporters noticed that people were entering and leaving a flooded Family Dollar discount store with goods. They approached the survivors, asking them why they were “looting” the store. The video footage was then published under the headline, “WATCH: Looters Raid Family Dollar, Police Now Trying to Make Arrests.” Police later used screenshots from the video footage to identify people to pursue for arrest. What narrative is this type of media coverage producing? How does this type of media coverage intersect with and deepen other forms of injustice?
Post-disaster narratives that criminalize survivors compound and perpetuate racial and economic injustice. The media coverage described here did little to contextualize the lives of people depicted in the story. Narratives centered on disaster “looting” are inextricably linked to ideas about race and class. This type of media coverage has unfolded repeatedly in the aftermath of disasters. What other examples of disaster news coverage come to mind? How do they compare with the media coverage we’ve discussed here?
Following Hurricane Katrina, stories of looting were over-reported, with most people simply looking for essentials on which to survive. The narrative of looting fueled the formation of quasi-military groups composed of White residents and police residents, and led to racially motivated violence resulting in the death of an unarmed Black man, Henry Glover, as well as the deaths of two others. How can journalists cover disasters in ways that are more ethical and humane? What role can they play in showing how disasters are linked to environmental racism?
Media outlets more cognizant of environmental injustice have covered the ways in which historical zoning policies and structural inequities have forced people of color and low-income communities into flood-prone areas. NC Newsline used census data combined with the EPA’s environmental justice screening tool to show the convergence between race, income, and vulnerability to climate change. A NY Times article begins with a personal story of a public housing resident and then delves into the historical, racial and social dynamics that produce disproportionate vulnerabilities to disasters. What kind of media coverage are we talking about here? What more might journalists do in covering disasters?
