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Type: Conference Paper
Author(s): C. Smith
Coordinator(s): James K. Brown; Robert W. Mutch; Charles W. Spoon; Ronald H. Wakimoto
Publication Date: 1995

Examination of 320 stories about wildfire published since 1988 suggests that journalists did not learn from the mistakes they made reporting the Yellowstone fires. The conventions of journalism, which value drama over explanation, suggest that wildfires and other natural catastrophes will often be reported in apocalyptic terms rather than as the predictable outcomes of natural force. Studies of how journalists reported five major stories suggest five factors that determine how wildfires are reported: (1) source enterprise, (2) cultural resonance, (3) issue salience, (4) newness, and (5) the degree to which the setting is rural or urban. Because of these criteria, news organizations sometimes do a poor job of providing the kinds of information needed by news consumers to reach intelligent conclusions about how public lands should be managed.

Citation: Smith, C. 1995. Fire issues and communication by the media, in Brown, J. K., Mutch, R. W., Spoon, C. W., and Wakimoto, R. H., Proceedings: symposium on fire in wilderness and park management. Missoula, MT. USDA Forest Service, Internountain Research Station,Ogden, UT. p. 65-69,General Technical Report INT-GTR-320.

Cataloging Information

Topics:
Regions:
Alaska    California    Eastern    Great Basin    Hawaii    Northern Rockies    Northwest    Rocky Mountain    Southern    Southwest    National
Keywords:
  • education
  • fire case histories
  • fire management
  • fire size
  • land management
  • public information
  • wildfires
Tall Timbers Record Number: 23965Location Status: In-fileCall Number: A13.88:INT-320Abstract Status: Fair use, Okay, Reproduced by permission
Record Last Modified:
Record Maintained By: FRAMES Staff (https://www.frames.gov/contact)
FRAMES Record Number: 47937

This bibliographic record was either created or modified by Tall Timbers and is provided without charge to promote research and education in Fire Ecology. The E.V. Komarek Fire Ecology Database is the intellectual property of Tall Timbers.