The Media and Disasters: Pan Am 103

By Joan Deppa, Dona Hayes, Maria Russell

Book Overview

First published in 1993, The Media and Disasters looks behind the key scenes in the drama unfolding in the aftermath of the Pan Am 103 explosion: Lockerbie, visited by an estimated 1000 journalists in the month following the disaster; New York's Kennedy Airport, where families learned in the presence of the media that their loved ones had perished; Syracuse University, plunged into mourning the loss of 35 students from the school's study abroad programme; and homes on both sides of the Atlantic, grief-stricken as news reached relatives of the passengers and crew.

The authors, professors of communication at Syracuse University with years of media experience, began looking at the effects of such coverage because of what they experienced when the media came to cover the grieving on their campus. What they learned in the U.S. and the U.K. will interest those concerned about media coverage of crisis events, as well as those who communicate about them: journalists, survivors, public information officers, public relations practitioners, emergency support personnel, business and political leaders.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1032459719
• ISBN13: 9781032459714
• Release Date: March 2025
• Publisher: Routledge
• Length: 360 Pages

Customer Reviews

A Must Read for Everyone

We all know how the media reported the shocking and horrifying terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Until that day, the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 was the worst act of terrorism against the United States. This book, I think, is a must read because we want to know how the media reported the worst act of pre-9/11 terrorist violence against the United States, especially looking at horrifying images, like a woman collapsing at JFK and screaming after learning that her daughter was on the plane.

Needs a second look

This book is very important for everyone to read, regardless of whether or not you are in the media. I have read the other reviews of Joan Deppa's book, and let me say that when I first opened it up, that's what I thought. But, I also have a different perspective: having known people who studied abroad when I was in college, it was important to learn that no matter how good something seems, your life can change in seconds by people you have never known. There were students on PAN AM 103 who never made it home for Christmas that year. They never made it home for the New Year, and that is only part of the story.It may be somewhat romanticized for some. For others, it may be nothing more than a brief look at how the media has changed. For others, it gives insight as to how media coverage changed, and when the invasion of our personal lives and "live" television reports started. As well, as when that brief live shot delay came into effect. If anything, this book may gloss over a few areas, but please do not blame Deppa. Many people have glossed over areas of tragedies, and she is no different. If you think this book just glosses, and romanticizes the bombing, the loss, the grief and the media coverage, then maybe you should wipe the sleep out of your eyes, take a deep breath and re-read the book. It covers a lot more than you think, and a lot of it only sinks in after a second or a third reading. It is especially important for anyone who reads the book to realize that people in the media make mistakes - Mistakes like running a list of victims before notifying families, asking the useless question of "How does it feel to have lost your child?" to a grieving parent. People in the media are human. They care, some of them more deeply than others, but like everyone else, they have a job to do. Deppa is no different. In this instance, her job was to tell one story of the events that happened around December 21, 1988.