Quake aftermath: Christchurch journalists' collective trauma experience and the implications for ...

281 Pages·2014·1.78 MB·English

July 1, 2014

Quake aftermath: Christchurch journalists' collective
trauma experience and the implications for their
reporting.

A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the
Degree of Ph.D in Journalism
by
Sean Scanlon
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
University of Canterbury
Christchurch
New Zealand
2014
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Abstract:
On February 22, 2011, Christchurch-based journalists were jolted out of their normal
work routine by a large 6.3 magnitude earthquake that killed 185 people, wrecked the
city and forced reporters to reappraise their journalism. This study considers how the
earthquake affected journalists’ relationship to the community, their use of sources and
news selection. A theory of collective trauma is used to explain the changes that
journalists made to their reporting practice. Specifically, Christchurch journalists had a
greater identification and attachment to their audience post-earthquake. Journalists
viewed themselves as part of the earthquake story, which prompted them to view
sources differently, use those sources differently and see advocacy as a keystone of
their news work after the disaster. This study adds to a growing scholarship about
journalists and trauma, but focuses on what the event meant for local reporters’ choice
of sources and news selection rather than measuring rates of psychological distress.
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Acknowledgments
I have many people to thank for helping me complete this study. Being a journalist by
training and not an academic has made the experience an interesting one, which
required the guidance of many more people than I can name. First, thanks to my patient
and wise supervisors Jim Tully and Donald Matheson. I asked for critical feedback and
always appreciated your honest responses and guidance. The journalists who took part
in this study spoke openly and bravely about what the February 2011 earthquake meant
for them professionally and the impact it had on their personal lives. My thanks to all
and apologies for any mistakes that may appear in this study. Thanks to former Press
librarian James Branthwaite who diligently copied and supplied me with PDFs of all
The Press newspaper pages I required for the content analysis in this research. The
Canterbury Community Trust and The Press newspaper kindly supplied me with
scholarships to conduct this research. Without that financial support I could not have
completed this study. Thanks to Sarah-Jane O’Connor for patiently walking me
through some of the statistical work that was required in the results chapter. There have
been many others who have helped me along the way, offering encouragement and
advice when I sought it. Thank you for patiently listening to me drone on. My final
thanks go to my wider family and especially my wife, Lucy, for supporting me
throughout. Four years on since the start of the Canterbury earthquake sequence many
challenges remain for individuals rebuilding homes or businesses and earthquake
recovery leaders trying to deal with the big task of getting a city back on its feet. The
ups and downs of disaster recovery are difficult for journalists to traverse, but the city’s
reporters continue to report the good and bad of the long road back to normality. This
study is dedicated to them.
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Contents
Page
Abstract 1
Acknowledgements 2
List of tables/graphs 6
Introduction 7
Research goals 13
Background 14
Earthquakes and aftershocks 14
Post-disaster bureaucracy 16
Social/economic impact 19

Summary 22
Literature review 23
News selection 26
News framing 36
Source relationships 41
Journalists and disasters 51
Journalists and trauma 63
Collective trauma 71
Summary 80
Methodology 82
Interview process 84
Interview group 89
Case stories 92
Interview analysis 95
Content analysis 100
News story coding 103
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Coding reliability 110
Ethical issues 113

Case stories 116

Author’s experience 117
Olivia Carville 123
Iain McGregor 131
Amanda South 140
Jeff Hampton 147
Journalist A 154
Andrew Holden 160
Summary 170
Interview results 172
Interview data 174
Categories:
Part of story 177
Reporter as advocate 187
Attached to audience 196
Ethics 208
Summary 213
Content analysis results 215
Sources 220
Frame results 226
Frame strength 228
Summary 230
Conclusion 232
Contribution to scholarship 233
Lessons for journalism practice 240
Future research 245
Appendices
Appendix 1: frame coding guide 248
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Appendix 2: source coding 250
Appendix 3: ethics approval 252
Appendix 4: list of interviewees and dates 253
Appendix 5: interview questions 254

References 255
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List of tables
Table 1: Example of descriptive coding 97
Table 2: Example of interpretive coding 98
Table 3: Intra-coder reliability results 111
Table 4: Inter-coder reliability results 112
Table 5: Interpretive coding percentages 175
Table 6: Total number of stories and photos 216
Table 7: Subject matter per story coded 217
Table 8: Affiliated and unaffiliated source use 221
Table 9: Breakdown of authority source use 224
Table 10: Breakdown of non-authority source use 224
Table 11: Recorder frames for each coding period 227
Figure 1: Coding trends for first five subjects 218
Figure 2: Frame salience trends 229
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Introduction
At 12.51pm on February 22, 2011, life changed for the residents of Christchurch in
little more than 10 seconds of deafening noise and shaking caused by a shallow
magnitude 6.3 earthquake centred just 10 kilometres from the central city. As the
earthquake fanned out across Canterbury at three kilometres per second, registering
some of the highest levels of ground accelerations recorded, 185 people were left dead
and others badly injured. The central city was a dangerous tangle of collapsed
buildings and twisted roads, bent further by a slew of large aftershocks. In the city’s
suburbs, especially in the east, liquefaction bubbled up around ruined homes and
essential services - water and power - were out while phone lines struggled with the
massive boost in traffic from worried people trying to contact loved ones. More than
half the deaths occurred in the six-storey Canterbury Television (CTV) building, which
collapsed and caught fire in the quake. Others were killed by falling debris. The
Government declared a state of national emergency, which stayed in force until April
30, 2011.
Amid the chaos on February 22, as people were pulled from the rubble and the injured
were rushed to help, the city’s journalists were among the first on the scene. Reports
of the earthquake quickly emerged online, radio and television: within minutes I was
contacted by Wellington-based media and asked to comment. At that time
Christchurch-based reporters, photographers and camera operators saw death and
destruction on a scale not seen in their normal news routine and, for many, ever in their
work.
Within minutes of the earthquake reporters faced difficult questions: should they try to
find their families and friends? Rush out to record what was happening? Help the
injured or remain in “reporting mode’’? Natural disasters pose a difficult challenge for
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local journalists who share the disaster’s effects with those on whom they are
reporting. In Christchurch, they have to grapple with the initial news event and its
aftermath for months and years as their own homes maybe damaged and family and
friends affected. Christchurch journalists were confronted by a situation none had
experienced before in their hometown. Although the Canterbury earthquake sequence
had started the year before on September 4 with a magnitude 7.1 earthquake none of
the tremors up until February 22 had caused death, or injury on such a scale. All the
central city newsrooms - including TV3, TVNZ, CTV, Newstalk, Radio New Zealand
and The Press - had to be relocated. Journalists, in many instances, knew the injured
and dead, and faced the uncomfortable situation of life without essential services
alongside the public. Their news coverage was subject to some praise, some criticism
and over time has helped to frame the city’s recovery. This thesis is not about
criticising news practice but rather it considers whether the disaster affected the way in
which journalists went about their work.
In the past decade there has been a growing body of academic work focused on how
journalists respond psychologically to trauma they experience through their work
(Newman, Shapiro and Nelson, 2009, Smith, 2008, Keats and Buchanan, 2009 &
2013). The bulk of academic inquiry on journalists and trauma stems from the
American or British experience and, as will be discussed, is mostly focused on
assessing rates of psychological distress rather than the impact on their work practices
or news selection. A New Zealand perspective on journalists and traumatic disasters
will add to a greater understanding of media responses to such events in different
countries.
The Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma has highlighted the need for more research
to help build an understanding of how journalists respond to trauma, especially
psychologically. However, the cliche of hard-bitten reporters able to shrug off the
events they cover lingers on. It is an idea often promulgated in popular entertainment,
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newsrooms and by the public but does not help us to understand the impact of
traumatic situations on journalists’ work. Masse (2011) found that a culture of
“machismo’’ is still prevalent in newsrooms - reporters earn their reputation by doing
the tough stories. It is this author’s experience, as a working journalist for 15 years in
New Zealand and Australia, that while reporters can write and speak openly about the
suffering of others they are reticent to do so with regard to their own experiences in
front of their peers. However, in times of disaster, for example, the boundaries between
recognised professional practices and personal perspectives can be blurred (Newman et
al, 2009), thereby altering how journalists view and talk about their work.
The reason for this research can, in part, be encapsulated by a comment from
Christchurch-based broadcast journalist Amanda South: “I have lived through what
the people whose doors I’m knocking on have lived through ... I was there and I saw
what happened and they know that, and I know that, and in some way all of us in
Christchurch all share a story that we went through.’’ Succinctly put, Christchurch
journalists were caught in the middle of the story they were covering and this study is
aimed at finding out what impact this had on their journalism practice. Since that day,
as the city has moved from the initial disaster stage of rescue response to slow
recovery, journalists have shared the experiences of their audience. Every time another
aftershock hit Christchurch - of which more than 14,000 were recorded in the three
years after the earthquake - journalists faced the same concerns for their well-being and
homes as other residents; the big difference being they also had to deal with
earthquake-related issues as a major part of their work.
Normally, journalists follow a structure of well-established routines for gathering the
news (Gans, 1979, Tuchman, 1978). From this perspective, at its most extreme,
journalists can be reduced to mere cogs helping to keep the news machine ticking over,
filling up spaces in newspapers or broadcasts before moving on to the next issue.
However, Christchurch journalists who covered the earthquake did not have the luxury