Framing of Youth as a high-risk population in Canadian disaster news media

Framing of Youth as a high-risk population in Canadian disaster news media
critical discourse analysis of the journalistic coverage of five Canadian disasters

the Canadian disaster news media framed youth using fives lenses:

1) the vulnerable status of youth;
2) youth as passive bystanders;
3) adult-centered narratives in media coverage of disasters: children as a burden on adults;
4) youth as active agents – jumping into adulthood; and
5) youth as a ‘legitimizing criteria’ in disaster response.

The results of our study point to a need for a shift in the framing of youth in disasters to highlight their assets and actual/potential roles in disaster risk reduction efforts.

Media can help to shift the narrative around youth by avoiding reductive, one-dimensional representation of youth as vulnerable victims.

Int J DRR 2021   open access
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212420921001400