Journalistic challenges in television coverage of disasters: lessons from the February 27, 2010, earthquake in Chile

Abstract

In situations of high distress in which social reality and news routines are deeply altered, journalism common practices are challenged by the exceptional circumstances and by the informative needs of the population. This paper faces these challenges through the analysis on how journalists, editors y directors from the four most important television stations in Chile reacted during the coverage of the February 27, 2010 earthquake in that country, one of the biggest in human history. Through in depth interviews analysis, and their systematization, the research proposes a classification of the challenges that journalism faces in coverage of natural disasters in four groups (emotional and psychological effects, logistical difficulties, restricted access to information, and ethical dilemmas) that divides them in specific factors and their respective intervening elements.

Keywords

• journalism
• catastrophe
• earthquake
• challenges
• television