FEMA Perspective - Constructed Discourses: A Follow-Up to Oroville and Its Media Coverage

In 2016, FEMA cooperated with Outreach Process Partners, LLC (OPP) to determine what factors govern how the media covers dam-related events. That study, following the South Carolina floods, analyzed two categories of events, large flooding events and single dam incidents/failures, to determine what caused an increase in media coverage. More specifically, it questioned if media coverage on dams was different for a single dam incident/failure event versus a large flooding event that includes dam-related incidents. It also examined other factors surrounding the dam (dam’s purpose, socio-economic setting, government involvement, and perceptions of societal risk). Seeking to answer these questions, the study found that:

- Large flooding events saw a spike in media coverage during an event, but coverage fell significantly post-event.
- Single dam failures saw sustained coverage for a longer period – often fueled by extenuating circumstances like life loss, litigation, and government liability. When the public sector is involved in the operations or ownership of a dam that is involved in an incident, media coverage increases.
- Sentiment surrounding media coverage generally remains “neutral” amongst top-tier dam safety programs rather than negative. The classification “top-tiered” was based on the number of dams per Full Time Equivalent (FTE) professionals and the budget committed per dam.
- Societal risk is factored in. When an incident is spurred on by natural events, such as flooding caused by severe raining, less attention is placed on the topic of infrastructure. However, when dams fail, they are treated as indicators of declining infrastructure standards which ignites discussions surrounding latent dangers to society (NDSP, 1).

While considering the Oroville Dam incident in February 2017, FEMA NDSP and OPP, LLC found it necessary to follow up on their original study and uncover whether the conclusions discussed above held true for Oroville. It should be noted that, while the Oroville spillway failure was not a dam failure from an engineering perspective, it was a dam failure within the public’s perspective.

This case study seeks to unveil whether there are factors that determine the pattern and nature of media coverage (including tone, timeframe, and geographic extent) for a dam safety-related event.