News reports during crises cover a wide range of topics, from expressing empathy and understanding for the affected to highlighting actions being taken. These stories should avoid sensationalism to avoid triggering fear or panic and should clearly explain the cause of the crisis.
Whether it’s a plane crash or mass flooding, there’s no shortage of tragic human stories that deserve to be told. But if reporters aren’t careful, they may end up inflicting more harm than good. By promoting sensationalism and exploiting victims, these reports can mislead and confuse audiences, further fueling distrust.
It’s also important for journalists to maintain emotional resilience as they tackle this difficult work, juggling many ethical considerations and technological pressures. They’re the unsung heroes keeping society informed in times of crisis, and it takes bravery both physically and mentally to face such tragedies day-in, day-out.
An issue that often emerges in crisis news reporting is the attribution of successful outcomes as a’miracle’, which can rob the people directly involved of their credit for their actions and the outcome. For example, after the successful evacuation of a Japanese airline in 2022, media reports framed it as a miracle, when in reality, it was primarily down to the passengers and crew’s quick response. This trend of attributing successes to a miraculous outcome is one that needs to be redressed, and should be avoided.