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What matters most in disaster reporting

It might seem glib to use words like “hope” and “resilience” in reporting on natural disasters. But a Monitor journalist’s job is to make those qualities as real to readers as the heartbreak.

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Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff
Monitor reporter Stephanie Hanes chats with Gene Jeffers outside the donated RV in which he lives in Englewood, Florida, Dec. 8, 2024. His house was severely damaged by Hurricanes Helene and Milton.

Reporting about natural disasters can be tricky. At its worst, this sort of journalism can feel voyeuristic, or even exploitative. (We all have that cringeworthy image of the tricked-out correspondent interviewing people about their trauma before filing a quick report and jetting home.)

At its best, though, our work during and after these moments can reveal some big truths about what it is to be human.

This week, our West Coast Bureau Chief Francine Kiefer writes not just about evacuating her home as the Los Angeles fires loomed orange over nearby hills, but also about the care locals showed one another as the blazes grew larger. This meant everything from recommending fire-tracking apps and finding lodging for those fleeing their homes to giving hugs and handmade notes to firefighters.

These stories of generosity and kindness, Francine expects, will continue alongside the devastation. It is a “yes, and” perspective that the Monitor values deeply, a nuance in storytelling that pushes us to keep attention on people and places and policies even after the first flurry of disaster reporting is over.

This is also why I visited and wrote about Englewood, Florida, for this week’s Science and Nature story.

The dominant media storyline is that Florida escaped the worst damage when hurricanes in the fall of 2024 failed to make a direct hit on heavily populated Tampa Bay. But in Englewood, I saw a different reality. The people there, some of whom are still recovering from the devastation caused by Hurricane Ian in 2022, are dealing with extensive property damage from Hurricane Milton. They are also trying – despite a slew of economic and policy forces working against them – to come together in the dire aftermath of the storm.

It might seem glib to use words like “hope” and “resilience” when there is footage of terrifying wildfires or wind-shattered homes. Our job in covering disasters, though, is to make those qualities as real to readers as the heartbreak. Because they are. The hopefulness and resilience of a Gene Jeffers or a Pam Brobst – just two of the people I interviewed – take my breath away. And in a changing environment, those are the qualities that society will need most.

This column first appeared in the Jan. 27 issue of The Christian Science Monitor Weekly. Subscribe today to receive future issues of the Monitor Weekly magazine delivered to your home.

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