1. Through the Lens
Visual Framing of the Japan Tsunami in U.S., British, and
Chinese Online Media
Rosellen Downey, Erika Johnson, and Bailey Brewer
University of Missouri
2. Literature
Framing—lack of visual framing research
Textual elements studied more often (Matthes, 2009)
Visual framing and natural disasters
Most on visual framing in war and terrorism
Few on natural disasters (Fahmy et al., 2007)
Human interest and political power
Human interest frames are an emerging area of research
(Peng, 2004; Schwalbe, 2008; Wojdynski, 2009)
Often, political figures studied more than common man (Grabe
& Bucy, 2008)
3. Hypotheses and RQs
RQ1: Does geographic location of the news outlet relate to the
portrayal of natural disasters?
RQ2: Does geographic location of the disaster relate to the portrayal
of the disaster?
RQa: Do roles of human beings in photos differ between NPR, BBC, and
Xinhua online coverage and between Japan and other countries?
RQb: Does the nationality of human beings shown in photos differ between
NPR, BBC, and Xinhua online coverage and between Japan and other
countries?
RQc: Does absence or presence of human beings in photos of flooding
differ between NPR, BBC, and Xinhua online coverage and between
Japan and other countries?
RQd: Does the number of people shown in photos differ between NPR,
BBC, and Xinhua online coverage and between Japan and other
countries?
H1: Geographic proximity will be related to disaster portrayal.
4. Variables
IVs:
IV1: Nation providing coverage
IV2: Nation being covered
DVs:
DV1: Role of people/person in the photo
DV2: Nationality of people/person in photo
DV3: Presence or absence of people in photos
DV4: Number of people in the photo.
5. Sample
N = 242 photos
From NPR (n = 58), BBC (n = 52), and Xinhua (n =
132) websites
March 11-13, 2011 census sample
Search term: “Japan tsunami”
Images only coded once, no repeats
Videos, infographics, and maps not coded
6. Results
Sample – Most frequent in China
China 54.5%
U.S. 24%,
Britain 21.5%
Japan most frequently covered
Most subjects were Japanese
People present in 66% of photos
7. Significant Results
Nation of coverage and role
Nation covered and role
Nation of coverage and nationality
Nation covered and nationality
Nation covered and presence of people
Nation covered and number of people
8. Role
44.4% of civil servants were from other countries
56.6% from Japan
Britain
Few government authorities appearing alone
China
Predominantly civilian coverage
11. Number of People
Few photos featuring single individual
Mostly appeared in small and large groups
12. Discussion
China had most visual coverage
Geographic proximity
Thus, China dominated coverage of civilians, photos of
Japanese subjects, landscape photos
Xinhua’s practice of capturing frames from video news
Focus on coverage of humans, not landscape
But, 1/3 of photos were of landscapes overall
13. References
Fahmy, S., Kelly, J. D., & Yung Soo, K. (2007). What Katrina revealed: A visual analysis of the
hurricane coverage by news wires and U.S. newspapers. Journalism & Mass Communication
Quarterly, 84(3), 546-561.
Grabe, M., & Bucy, E. (2008). The struggle for control: Visual framing, news coverage, and image
handling of presidential candidates, 1992-2004. International Communication Association, 1-42.
Matthes, J. (2009). What’s in a frame? a content analysis of media framing studies in the
world’s leading communication journals, 1990-2005. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly,
86(2), 349-367.
Peng, Z. (2004). Picturing china: A content analysis of photo coverage in the New York Times and Los
Angeles Times. International Communication Association, 1+.
Schwalbe, C. B., Silcock, B., & Keith, S. (2008). Visual framing of the early weeks of the U.S.-led
invasion of Iraq: Applying the master war narrative to electronic and print images. Journal of
Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 52(3), 448-465.
Wojdynski, B. (2009). The interactive newspaper: Online multimedia and the framing of the Iraq War.
Conference Papers -- International Communication Association, 1-37.