Basic Study of Improvement of Disaster Journalism for Community Activities

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26882054
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Research Field: Social systems engineering/Safety system
• Research Institution: Kansai University
• Principal Investigator: KONDO SEIJI 関西大学, 社会安全学部, 准教授 (60734069)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-08-29 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: 災害情報 / 災害報道 / リアリティ / マスメディア / ローカルメディア / 東日本大震災 / 南海トラフ巨大地震 / アクションリサーチ

Outline of Final Research Achievements

As Japan faces the risk of catastrophic disaster such as Nankai Trough Earthquake, this study aimed at reconsidering disaster journalism for promoting the community-based DRR (disaster risk reduction) management. Therefore, the role of mass media was revalued as not only an information transmitter but also a partner of community activities for DRR management.
As a result of two-years action research in Shin-yo district of Kobe city, this study showed a kind of local and micro media (e.g. school public address system of an elementary school, an original calendar made by the collaborating between the residents and university students, and so on) could raise people’s awareness of disaster prevention and could have some potentiality of qualitative reforms of disaster journalism for the better.

Free Research Field

災害情報論