From Local Heroes to National Symbols: A Comparative Analysis of Local Media’s Roles in Disaster Response

“Don’t be afraid, we’re all here.” Chengdu Broadcasting Host Jing Sun, braving aftershocks, rushed into the studio after the Wenchuan earthquake, with her colleagues launching a 232-hour continuous live broadcast. Due to the longstanding perception of disaster news as a taboo, this case represents an unprecedented spontaneous information broadcast initiated by a local radio station. Similarly, Genie Chance, a radio reporter at local radio station KENI, who’d hustled to the police station to report within minutes of the Alaska earthquake, and she became a symbolic center for the community. How do local media seize opportunities to produce information, promote community solidarity, and gain legitimacy? How these individual charismas serve as catalysts in the local sphere, facilitating the transformation of powerful symbolic processes into institutional responses? What differences does this reflect between the media systems and disaster management systems of China and the United States?

Informed by relevant literature on disaster management and media systems, we conducted a textual analysis of media reports and policy documents from both China and the United States. We found that disasters create a unique opportunity for the emergence of charismatic individuals. This study examines the ritualistic and ceremonial nature of media representations of disasters, contrasting them with practical and informational functions. The informational role of the media elevates them to a sacred status, positioning it as a bearer of community identity. In China, this charisma is typically subsumed into the collective, and Jing Sun being transformed into exemplary models or cadres that embody the state’s charismatic authority. In contrast, the United States places greater emphasis on the individual heroism, prioritizing personal autonomy. The findings highlight the local ritual processes through which the media generates both information and solidarity during disasters.