The Role of the Media and Media Hypes in the Aftermath of Disasters

Abstract

Health consequences after disasters cannot be studied without focusing on the role of the mass media. In modern society, the significance of the media in everyday life has increased dramatically, turning the world into a global village. We searched three databases and, in this paper, review the current literature on the role of the media in the context of disasters and their aftermath. In addition, we explore theoretical frameworks on the risk amplification process that takes place after disasters and the way in which so-called media hypes frame new risk issues. In the last part of this paper, we present the case of a 1992 plane crash that occurred in Amsterdam (the 'Bijlmermeer plane crash' ), as an example of how media hypes can trigger a proces years later, in which a growing number of people attributed their health problems to the disaster. (aut.ref.)