The Mass Media In Disasters In The United States

This paper summarizes the major findings from about 15 years of research on local mass media operations during the emergency time period of both natural and technological disasters. Much of this study in the United States has been carried on at the Disaster Research Center (DRC), although increasingly other work is appearing (see Quarantelli, 1989). While the observations reported below are drawn from all the relevant DRC studies, greatest attention is paid to the conclusions from the most recent of the research undertaken; most of the statistics provided are from that study (see Wenger and Quarantelli, 1990)