Matthew versus The State of Louisiana: News Coverage of Flood Events in 2016 within the Context of Hurricane Katrina

In 2016, two major flood events made national news: one affecting the East Coast of the United States, and the other affecting Louisiana. At issue is whether the news coverage was equivalent at the national versus regional or local level for both events. This study examines the news and social media coverage of both events. More specifically, news items related to the events will be collected and analyzed for both number and nature of representations. Items will be coded for valence regarding the severity of the event, the timeliness of the reporting of the event, the human-interest aspects of the event, and the descriptions of the individuals involved. Also examined will be the valence of the commentary about the events in non-traditional, social media outlets. Analysis of news items will be conducted according to the precepts of Agenda Setting Theory and Framing Theory. Additional analysis will examine how these two events compared to the events surrounding Hurricane Katrina.