Making Myths of Airplane Crashes: How News Media Frame Airplane Crashes

Hayden Coombs, Amanda Dearman, Emily Ronquillo
2016 Zenodo  
On March 8, 2014 Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappeared and has yet to be found, the 239 occupants presumed dead. July 17, 2014 Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashed after being shot down over the Ukraine-Russia border by Russian Militants, killing 298 people. A few months later, on December 28, 2014, Indonesia AirAsia Flight 8501 crashed into the Java Sea due to harsh weather conditions, killing all 162 people on board. Most recently, Germanwings Flight 9525 crashed into the French Alps on
more » ... h 24, 2015 killing all 150 people on board. In this instance, it appears the co-pilot intentionally crashed the airplane. In barely over a year's time, the world has witnessed four horrific instances of the loss of human life. The news media have covered these stories extensively. From updating the public about the search and rescue efforts to investigating who is to blame for the crashes, the news media have fulfilled their role to the public by providing as much information as possible. Yet, in these instances where one of the world's most trusted and taken for granted technologies, the airplane, have been involved, is it possible to simply report the information? Winch (2005) argues "news is understood to be an imperfect view of world events simply because journalism can never be completely objective; it is a human enterprise" (p. 285). In this context, it is impossible for journalists to simply report the events. In a slightly different approach to Winch (2005), it can be argued reporting is not possible because it is not what the consumer audience wants. With the initial disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, it was as if a sick joke was being played on the entire world. How is it possible for a plane to disappear with the technological advances of the day? This is a question the public demanded the news media investigate and answer and with each additional plane crash the news media has taken up the responsibility of framing these stories in a way the public can comprehend. Framing is often used in discussing [...]
doi:10.5281/zenodo.7106723 fatcat:kpioy3hxx5cqxbkeupaf4f6fqe