Journalism Beyond the Command Post: Local Journalists as Strategic Citizen Stakeholders in Natural Disaster Recovery

Abstract

ABSTRACT On Memorial Day weekend 2015, the Blanco River crested at 42 feet, drowning the town of Wimberley, Texas (USA), resulting in the death of 11 people and damaging more than 300 homes and businesses. Journalists flocked to Wimberley to report the destruction, but as the hype from national news organizations died down, only a few local journalists remained to tell the story of the town’s struggle for recovery. Using case study methods and narrative theory, this study examined local news stories, interviews, and observations of local journalists, and conversations with community members to evaluate how local journalists consider their role as one that contributes to long-term recovery and resilience. Conversations with local journalists revealed a reporting pressure created by geographic proximity to change the focus of stories. An evaluation of the narratives expressed by journalists and how those transfer into newswork provided a deeper understanding of the tensions created when a journalist is also a citizen stakeholder. These implications contribute to the development of the journalist as citizen (JAC) model, and addresses the way local journalists are strategic in the narratives they adopt in the first six months after a natural disaster.