Flooding and the framing of risk in British broadsheets, 1985–2010

Maria Paula Escobar, David Demeritt*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticle (Academic Journal)peer-review

45 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Our analysis of 2707 news stories explores the framing of flooding in Britain over the past quarter century and the displacement of a once dominant understanding of flooding as an agricultural problem of land drainage by the contemporary concern for its urban impacts, particularly to homes and property. We document dramatic changes in the volume and variety of reporting about flooding since 2000 as the risks of flooding have become more salient, the informal ‘Gentlemen’s Agreement’ between government and private insurers has broken down, and flood management subjected to greater public scrutiny. While the historic reliance on private insurance remains largely unchallenged, we show that other aspects of flood hazard management are now topics of active political debate to which the looming threat of climate change adds both urgency and exculpatory excuses for poor performance. We conclude by reflecting on the significance of the case for grand theories of neoliberalisation and governmentality.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)454-471
Number of pages18
JournalPublic Understanding of Science
Volume23
Issue number4
Early online date10 Sept 2012
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 May 2014

Keywords

  • climate change
  • framing risk
  • governmentality
  • insurance
  • media
  • neoliberalisation
  • risk governance

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Flooding and the framing of risk in British broadsheets, 1985–2010'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this