Kirby Hocking
“Australia is a fire continent in the same sense that Antarctica is an ice continent.”[1] Fire has always been a large part of the Australian landscape and culture. For thousands of years, fire has been an important tool for navigating the land. First Nation Aboriginal Australians carry strong traditions of using fire to control the landscape through firesticks. These deliberately lit fires would burn in different parts of the country all year round. During the early days of colonization and the Black War, British settlers thought that the firesticks the Aboriginals carried were guns and this misidentification led the colonizers to open fire. Aboriginals responded by lighting fires to surround the colonizers; so in more ways than one, fire was a tool for survival. In true British fashion, the new settlers appropriated and adopted the use of firesticks, which they then used as a way to clear land for cattle to graze. Suddenly “[firesticks] became a universal tool, and burning became a universal solvent.”[2] Although, this is no longer the case.
Australian fire policy has drastically changed over time. Known as bushfires, wildfires have always occurred. However, after the original colonization period, the first devastating fires were reported with the Black Tuesday fire of 1851 which set the precedent. Going forward large fire events were considered “holocaust fires” that unleashed a “reign of terror.”[3] Looking back there have been three major devastating fires: Black Friday (1939), Ash Wednesday (1983), and Black Saturday (2009). Even so, that does not include the devastation of the most recent Black Summer of 2019-2020.
This paper will examine two of these fires, Black Friday and Black Saturday through the lens of the media which played a large role in disseminating information about the disasters to the public. These two fires are also considered to be the most destructive and devastating in Australian history, with both having a drastic impact on Australian culture and society as a result. Since the Black Friday fire burned more land than both Ash Wednesday and Black Saturday, the fire service system was created.[4] Black Saturday brought climate change to the forefront of Australian concern and led to an ongoing political divide on the issue.[5] It was also the deadliest bushfire in Australian history with 173 deaths.[6] These changes to Australian society were led by the media, who shaped the narrative in which the bushfires were represented. The media was an integral part in not only reporting the story, but shaping the culture. Through this reporting, Australia’s history can be found.
Since “the media” is a large and diverse group of publications and organizations, we must set parameters for examining it. When referring to the media in this paper, it will mean Victoria’s The Age newspaper. This newspaper exemplifies the representation that Australian newspapers produce regarding bushfire reporting. The Age is a broadsheet that is regarded as slightly left leaning but generally considered unbiased.[7] Since its founding in 1854, it has had regular reporting about bushfires as well as Victorian news. Susan Yell used The Age in her reporting of different bushfires in her article “‘Breakfast Is Now Tea, Toast and Tissues’: Affect and the Media Coverage of Bushfires.” In describing her choice in picking this newspaper, she said it has “historical continuity and local specificity, as a Victorian newspaper providing detailed coverage” and this same reasoning is applied to this paper.[8] At its core The Age is a Victorian centered newspaper and both of these bushfires occurred primarily and exclusively in Victoria. Not many other newspapers have lasted as long or have been Victorian focused.
Burning Bush: A Fire History of Australia by Stephen J. Pyne is the backbone of much of the scholarship on Australian bushfires. Pyne is a leading fire historian worldwide. His perspective towards Australian fires is that fire has been an integral part of the landscape and narrative, even before Australia was Australia. From Aboriginals to European settlers to present day Australia, there has and always will be fires. His later book, World Fire: The Culture of Fire on Earth reiterates the connection between Australia and fire. In these two books, Pyne argues that Australia has always had fire and will continue to have fire although he acknowledges they appear to grow more damaging and more frequent.
This perspective that Australian fires are escalating in destructiveness is reiterated by Megafire: The Race to Extinguish a Deadly Epidemic of Flame by Michael Kodas. Kodas argues that there are historically unprecedented fires year after year, with some fires morphing into megafires as well as a notable shift in climate.[9] Dancing with Disaster: Environmental Histories, Narratives, and 9 Ethics for Perilous Times by Kate Rigby follows a similar argument in regards to Australia. Australia has always had fires, even though there has been a shift. In the most recent fires, the effect of the changing climate has become apparent.[10] Even though Pyne puts more emphasis on the everlasting relationship Australia has with fires, scholars are in agreement that these fires are changing.
Dr. Gregory Button in Disaster Culture: Knowledge and Uncertainty in the Wake of Human and Environmental Catastrophe highlights the nuances of examining the media’s relationship with disasters. He is considered an expert in the field of disaster studies and he argues that the media frames the narrative about disasters for the public so there is great power and importance in how they report on disasters. He also argues about the troublesome aspects of the media. Rather than looking at overall trends or historical precedents, the media only focuses on disasters as individual, unrelated events and this outlook is not productive.[11] This outlook canalso be harmful when future disasters inevitably occur.
Vital to the analysis of the media’s coverage of bushfires is the journal Media International Australia, which dedicated a whole issue to Black Saturday and Australia’s relationship to bushfires through the media. Although it discussed previous fires, most of the scholarship revolved around Black Saturday. Susan Yell wrote “‘Breakfast Is Now Tea, Toast and Tissues’: Affect and the Media Coverage of Bushfires” which analyzed how The Age reported on the bushfires. She argues, based largely on statistics, that the reporting changed in 2009 by having more articles, more pictures, and a longer reporting cycle than previous bushfires.[12] Louise North and Jason Bainbridge’s “The Victorian Bushfires and Extreme Weather Events: Media Coverage, Crisis and Communication,” argues that the media had a strong relationship to the communication of the destruction. “‘Catastrophic Failure’ Theories and Disaster Journalism: Evaluating Media Explanations of the Black Saturday Bushfires” written by Alex Burns and Ben Eltham argues that the media focused on four specific topics in regards to the fires: personal stories, government critique, historical comparisons, and the role of climate change. In Jason Bainbridge and Chris Galloway’s “Communicating Catastrophe: Blame, Black Saturday and Newspaper Constructions of Bushfire Risk,” they argue that the media warned people of the risks before the fire but due to the culture and previous policies, people decided to stay and risk their lives.[13]
This essay will build on the wider scholarship on the media’s coverage of ecological disasters and on the Media Australia Journal’s analysis of bushfire coverage by examining The Age’s reportage of and construction of a narrative for the Black Friday (1939) and Black Saturday (2009) fires. What happened on Black Friday and Black Saturday? How did the media report these fires? How did the media’s reporting affect the culture? What impacts and changes have occured from the media’s reporting of these two fires? Comparing the coverage of these fires highlights important similarities and differences but also offers a wider historical perspective. It also provides a new framework for understanding the media coverage of the disastrous 2019-2020 fire season and the wider cultural changes likely to ensue.
General Themes with Media’s Reporting of Natural Disasters
There are many trends with how the media represents and reports on natural disasters. When examining media it is important to remember that not only does it “report but ‘[creates] and [defines]’” a disaster.[14] It plays a larger role than just relaying information about a disaster while also shaping the narrative to create an emotional response. This can raise ethical questions since coverage “focuses on shocking images of death and destruction, and in particular on the grief of those affected, crossing an invisible line between respect and intrusion.” Examples can be seen in reports as well as images of family’s reactions to hearing news about loved ones.[15]Sometimes lines are crossed.
Press releases and statements from officials play a large role in the reporting of natural disasters.[16] Even with reporters at the scene, newspapers have to rely on the statistics and wider reports issued by the government. So we have to keep in mind that the government is helping shape the narrative as well, even if there’s little reason to suspect that the Australian government consciously tried to skew the narrative in these fires. This reliance on reports is not only present in reporting on fires but also for other types of natural disasters.
Black Friday: January 13, 1939
There was no sudden shift or change of events that led to the events of January 13th, 1939. Fires broke out in the state of Victoria and claimed more lives than any previously recorded fire. However, the tragedy did not start solely on Friday, the 13th. The Age reported on January 12th that there was a “record in material loss” with “an ever-extending roll [sic] of human lives ending in cruel death.”[17] At this point twenty-one people had died and many more were missing. It already looked grim, but by Friday, when the reports came in from the events of Thursday, the threat had calmed down and there was a decreased risk. There was a “new fire danger forecast” but the “fires [were] under control” with “no further deaths reported.”[18] It had been a busy fire season already and so when the conditions were reported as slightly worrisome on Friday, there were no alarms or red flags raised. People were told the current fires were controlled and that there might be more, but no one was predicting the destructive fire that arrived on Friday. At the time newspapers were the sole vessel of information, so if the newspapers were not worried, people were not worried.
In the news reporting for January 13th, the possible fire danger was due to the “freshening northerlies forecast,” but residents had no idea of the destruction that would occur later that day.[19] It was not until January 14th, that people were made aware of the events that occurred the day before. Friday’s paper warned of a possible fire danger, while Saturday’s paper reported on devastation and destruction. People would have been mostly unaware of the destruction occurring throughout the state on Friday. With “fifteen missing,” “Christmas Hill devastated,” and “four children lose [their] lives,” the headlines were grim.[20] It would only be in the coming days that the true magnitude of destruction was realized.
One day later, The Age had already named this fire “Black Friday.” Suddenly this fire was “Victoria’s most disastrous bush fires in history” because of “the scorching northerly winds accompanying the high temperatures ever recorded in this State.”[21] Everything changed within a day. There were the initial reports of the devastation on Saturday, but since there was no Sunday paper, people would have to wait until Monday to learn the full extent of Friday’s fire. The death toll was staggering. On Monday January 16th, the paper reported: “Over the week end more than 35 names were added to the death list caused by the appalling bush fires. To date more than 64 persons have died in Victoria.”[22] On January 17th, another name was added to the long list.[23] By January 18th reporting, there were sixty-nine fatalities.[24] Quickly this fire was setting new records for fatalities.
Despite the shocking number of fatalities, reporting of this large destructive fire faded into the background behind other news. On January 16th and 17th there were reports of rain across much of Victoria which reduced or put out the fires.[25] There was then a shift towards reporting on the relief effort rather than the drama of the fire. This reporting followed a standard pattern for news media reporting of natural disasters.[26] One day everything is heightened and extremely focused on the story and all of its details, then a couple days later the story has virtually disappeared.
The newspapers dictated the story but also dictated the truth. There is no evidence that this newspaper incorrectly exaggerated numbers or incorrectly reported events. Nonetheless, this accuracy does not limit the power that the newspaper had over the narrative. People received their information from the newspapers so that then shaped the narrative around such an event, and this information then entered the permanent record.[27] There was an important “flow of information” to the public through newspapers.[28] Through this reporting and construction of a narrative, language becomes very important. By looking back at the historical record, this fire does appear to be the most deadly, but this rhetoric of labeling a disaster the most extreme has a history of not being accurate. Journalists may believe one is the most extreme if it is the most extreme in recent memory or if they overheard such exaggeration, rarely checking the data.[29] For the Black Friday fire, the highest temperatures ever recorded help solidify the disaster narrative as the most deadly and extreme. Through this new record, the McArthur scale for recording wildfires was established. Black Friday was placed at the max of 100.[30] This scale lasted without change until the Black Saturday fire in 2009.
Black Friday was a wake up call for Australia. As previously established, Australia has a history with fires and fire burning but this fire was new and considered a holocaust fire. Even with this term previously used for other fires, Black Friday was still the peak of destruction. Black Friday was “a millennial fire, the fire of reference for a generation.”[31] This fire was the main turning point in Australia’s history in regards to fires. Since the media is responsible for the narrative, they are responsible in part for creating such long-lasting change. The lasting legacy of Black Friday is not just the fire but of what happened as a result of the fires. This fire systematically changed how Australia deals with fires and also changed Australian identity.
Newspapers can flatten events and lack the consideration of other contributing events. The fire was portrayed as a stand alone terrible incident during a fire season and once the wreckage was over, people moved on.[32] For this particular fire this could be because it occurred in January of 1939 as the papers were also reporting about the beginnings of World War II. In the January 17th paper, a report from January 6th in London was published. The headline “German Drive Eastward: Pressure on Poland” is reported only a few pages from the death notices from the fires.[33] Looming in the background of the worst fire in colonial Australian history is the possibility for another devastating war.
The war has two important implications for the legacy of the fire: the newspapers quickly moved on and it perpetuated an identity and cultural shift for Australia. It does not take long before the events occuring in Europe are of higher priority than the lasting impacts of the fire. The nature of news media is to run with a story and when a new story presents itself it must be investigated.[34] However, the cultural shift occurred because both the fire and the war happened within a short period of one another.
By the close proximity to the war, it would not be forgotten and the association between the two events occurring within a short period of time, engrained the memories together. Thus culturally, there was “a vast reconstitution of Australian society and lands that amounted to a new colonization.”[35] This sense of reform was coupled with unprecedented reporting and leadership by the Australian government. Judge Leonard Stretton’s Report of the High Commission to Inquire into the Causes of and Measures taken to Prevent the Bush Fires of January, 1939, and to Protect Life and Property and the Measures to be Taken to Prevent Bush Fires in Victoria and to Protect Life and Property in the Event of Future Bush Fires, published later in 1939, lead the way for reform. Filled with strong tones of leadership, as well as poetic language about drought, it was straightforward. The fire was officially declared “the most dangerous forest calamity the State of Victoria has ever known” as well as explaining the “fires were lit by the hand of man.” This report also finalized the death toll to 71.[36] Black Friday’s legacy of being the most disastrous was made official. Judge Stretton put forth measures to establish new fire codes, create a rural fire service and support research.[37] The “new” Australia welcomed these reforms and Australian identity changed forever.
Prior to Black Friday, Australians thought about bushfires with a “casualness [and] almost calculated indifference.”[38] With this notion so deeply ingrained in the culture, it would 39 take a reinvention of the policies and of the culture to prevent such disastrous fires in the future. Systematically and culturally, there was a change. The transformation of the fire service by Stretton, as well as the transformation of the world’s landscape with the war, lead to a unification among citizens and a rise in patriotism. The new fire system created “a new Australia [that] necessitated a new Australian.”[39] The reporting of the fires in the media allowed the culture to 40 open up towards change. This change was solidified by new fire systems and nationalism from the war. These events changed what it meant to be Australian with the newspapers as the vessel for change and transformation.
The Black Friday fires devastated Victoria. Through newspapers, the larger cultural implications and shifts are present. With the casual reporting of the northerly winds and then the dramatic shift to it’s label as the most disastrous fire in the country’s history, this reporting follows typical news media trends. Although at first the fire being labeled as the most disastrous could appear hyperbolic, Judge Stretton solidified this notion in his report. The newspapers were often blunt and straight to the point about the devastation and did not avoid the reality. Even though government officials would have received reports about the fire to prompt changes, the general public relied and trusted the newspapers. With the style of reporting and openness presented by the newspapers, the culture was able to accept the changes and transform. United by the war and banded together as a community against a different bombardment, Australian society changed. The new legislation created an industry around preventing fires that was strongly adopted by the “new” Australia.
Black Saturday: February 7, 2009
“The energy released by the 2009 Victorian firestorm is estimated to have been the equivalent of fifteen hundred Hiroshima atomic bombs.”[40] This quote exemplifies the extreme scale of the tragedy that occured on February 7, 2009. There had already been an incredible heat wave leading up to the day where 173 people lost their lives. The McArthur scale, previously established after Black Friday, reached 165 at the Melbourne Airport after the warmest temperatures recorded in 154 years.[41] The state had already been in drought for thirteen years. The unparalleled high temperatures caused many of the four hundred fires to join. People became trapped with fires on all sides. Six towns were completely destroyed.[42] This fire was not a regular fire, or even a bad fire. It was a fire of its own. It is considered the “worst peacetime disaster” in Australian history.[43] The media had a wide coverage of this fire, and unlike previous fires this coverage and intensity of coverage continued for a longer period in time.
From February 6th, there were warnings that this fire could be different. The reports expected it to be “the worst bushfire conditions in the state’s history.” The Country Fire Authority chief, Russell Rees, warned that the conditions were worse than any previous fires.[44] Similar rhetoric was used on February 7th warning residents about the severity. With “today’s extreme hot and windy conditions – tipped to be the worst in the state’s history” as well as headlines like “The sun rises on our ‘worst day in history,’” the media was reporting the danger as extremely high. In many parts of the state it was the twelfth day of over 40˚C (104˚F). Northerly winds were predicted up to 100 km/h. Many places had not seen any rain for over a month. All of these statistics were reported in the daily newspaper, warning residents that “Victoria [was] preparing for the worst.”[45] Although, in this unprecedented heatwave, people had already accepted this new severity. In an article on how to stay cool, the temperature is described as “Not a ‘blistering’ 44, or even an ‘unforgiving’ 44. Just 44…44 used to be extreme. Now 44 is just another hot, sticky day.”[46] It had already been a very hot summer and even though officials warned of the unprecedented nature, much of the rhetoric had become overused and lost its meaning.[47] This overuse has become a trend in media coverage.[48] Officials tried to warn people, the media highlighted their voices and also tried to warn people of the dangers. However, many people remained despite the policy that instructed them to evacuate early in order to defend their homes from the flames.
On Monday, February 9th, the media was filled with information about the fires. The extent of the tragedy was unfolding. Dramatic language was the only way to comprehend the dramatic truth such as “Marysville is the town that disappeared,” “scorched earth,” “destroyed civilization.” There was also a bluntness or matter of fact nature to some of the reporting such as “Black dots under trees turn out to be baked animals.”[49] Already 84 people had died, but with recovery searches under way, the number was expected to rise.[50] Not only was the fire or smoke inhalation lethal but also the sheer temperature of the fire, with such comparisons as “Heat so strong it recalls WW2 firebombing of Dresden.”[51] With heat greater than nuclear bombs, the destruction was described as “nuked.”[52] There was worry that due to this heat, people may not be able to be identified through DNA and forensics, only by belongings.[53] Already the fire was being labeled Black Saturday became it’s colloquial title.[54] Throughout the newspaper, the fires are repeatedly described as the worst in history as well as by government officials such as the Victorian Premier.[55] The fire was also described as “hunting the residents.”[56] The front page was covered with information about the fire. The headline “Our Darkest Day” was accompanied by many images from the fight against the flames. It reiterated the same sentiment later repeated throughout the paper as well as reporting that “authorities are treating it like a major terrorist attack.”[57] The reporting covered the government’s response as well as the realities of the situation from firefighters and residents.
Reporting continued on February 10th. This time the front-page headlines had a different tone: “Now the Backlash,” “‘This Time (Staying) was Wrong.’ Strathewen Fire Chief,” “Stay-and-Defend Policy Under Review” and there was the announcement for a new Royal Commission similar to the Black Friday fire.[58] The story changed from the horrors of the fire to the realities of people returning home and the rescue efforts. There were “sobs and screams…[that] pierced the air. “and people “anxiously awaiting news” since the death toll was predicted to be more than 130.[59] People also looked for change, “South-eastern Australia is perhaps the worst fire vortex in the world and we have to improve bushfire policy.”[60] On February 11th, the bushfires continued to dominate the newspaper. The call for policy to change continued, with harrowing headlines including “People died doing exactly what they were told to do” as well as more harrowing stories about survival.[61] After the initial blaze on Saturday many of the fires were under control, however twenty-three still raged across the state.[62] Reporting continued on February 12th. Even with recovery efforts underway, the focus shifted from recovery to memorials.[63] Not only were funerals planned but “a discreet search [had] begun for suits” amongst donated clothes since many attendees had lost everything.[64] The terrible reality set in for many residents and many suffered overwhelming amounts of survivors guilt.[65] There were worries according to the Premier that “the death toll in Marysville alone could reach 100 – a fifth of the town’s population” but there were also plans in draft to create “Australia’s toughest building codes.”[66] The sudden shift in direction by the winds was to blame and the death toll was reported to exceed 181.[67] Emotions were still high with headlines such as “‘It’s like the worst movie you could ever think of’” and “Worried neighbour makes gruesome discovery.”[68] In the days following the fire, it dominated the news headlines.
Even though the media represented this fire in a matter of fact manner with many reports from officials, the reports were not always accurate. However, these errors are due to the officials not giving the paper the correct information. On February 18, there were doubts about the death toll in Marysville.[69] This was also reiterated on February 26th.[70] Later on March 21st, 66 people had been officially identified, but officials offered a prediction of 210 victims.[71] By the very end of march the correct death toll was reported by ABC (Australian Broadcast Corporation) News as 173.[72] This number became the official total. Even though it was corrected and the exaggeration was not just made by the media but also officials, this exaggeration falls into a larger trend that occurs in media’s reporting of natural disasters all over the world.[73] These exaggerations can cause the numbers to be considered “fluid.”[74] Even with such a terrible error, it is important to remember the difficult circumstances and realities of the recovery effort and identification of individuals who died because of this inferno.
The media journal, Media International Australia, released an issue which focused on the coverage of the Black Saturday fire and offered a number of important takeaways. Not only were there a lot more images, especially emotional images, compared to Black Friday, there was more space taken in the papers. Upon analysis “the media focused on four aspects: survivor accounts, critique of CFA 78 leaders, historical analogies, and the perceived role of ecosystem and environmental factors.”[75] From the reporting in The Age, this analysis holds true.
Other traits of the media’s coverage of this bushfire include the role of officials. Most of the reports came from officials from the fire service or the government. Alongside the emotional stories of survival, the paper reported official reports, trusting them to be accurate. By 2009 newspapers were no longer the primary delivery for news, television and online publications dominated. Since physical newspapers are released once a day, rather than once an hour, there allows more time for accurate information to be vetted and checked. It also allows more time for press releases from officials to be understood. However, the officials still felt the pressure to get the information to the public. Since the officials are telling the papers many of the logistics and statistics, the numbers and language used heavily shaped the narrative.[76] It is important to acknowledge the role that officials have in the media coverage, and not all responsibility falls solely on journalists and reporters.
Compared to popular ideologies held by disaster media scholars, Black Saturday stands out and breaks the rules. Often, as seen in the Black Friday fires, the news reports a disaster and then within a couple days moves onto something new, completely forgetting the disaster and repercussions.[77] Yet, as shown on and following Black Saturday, the intensity of coverage continued. This coverage dominated the media for at least two weeks, and continued to be reported for months with the finalization of the death count. Not only is this extended coverage different from media trends but also from the previous disastrous fires in Australia.[78] There are also trends that much of the coverage stems from authorities rather than those affected.[79] However, stories of survival from the victims were abundant. The reporting was often highly emotional, and stories from people who suffered through such a tragedy were amplified. Perhaps this is due to the personal impact of this fire. With such a high death toll, there were chances that a large number of people throughout the state would know, or know someone who knew, someone who was affected by the fires. Even without a personal connection, the death of a famous former news reporter, Brian Naylor, and his wife gave many Austrialians a sense of the deadly impact.[80] Everyone felt loss from this fire.
Typically media coverage does not look at reasons why a disaster occured, or the larger historical context.[81] Nevertheless, Black Saturday reporting looked at the two largest fire disasters in Australia, Black Friday and Ash Wednesday, as well as examining many other fires that occurred.[82] Black Saturday was then compared to these fires and there was a search for an explanation. The primary explanation that was questioned was climate change.[83] This digression from most reporting on natural disasters could be because of two main factors: the severity of the fire and the historical context. This fire was so deadly and so destructive compared to other fires. With heat records breaking and terrible conditions, this was not the standard summer bushfire. The historical context is also important. There was no other large historical event going on, so more of the newspaper pages needed stories to fill, and it made sense to focus on the fires. Although there was mention of the economic recession, this was minimal.[84] This abundance of coverage was the opposite of Black Friday which occurred at a time of international crisis in the aftermath of the Munich Agreement. Again going against the traditional coverage narrative, the papers acknowledged the conditions that led to the fire, such as the thirteen year drought and dangerously high temperatures. Reports also emphasized the long-term recovery efforts, including consideration of building regulations and the ethics of rebuilding leading to a commission to study these issues.[85] This representation through the media did not follow the standard for how the media typically covers natural disasters.
Climate change becomes a sizable part of the conversation regarding the Black Saturday fires. From February 9th reports from climate scientists predicting more extreme weather were repeated.[86] The rhetoric increased on February 10th, reiterated warnings from climate scientists about a new fire regime that “would simply engulf the towns” and analysis that “Saturday showed us the terrifying and desolating face of climate change.”[87] It was also being considered in the rebuilding efforts. Some questioned whether it is wise to rebuild knowing that climate change will increase the danger.[88] The Age also reported climatologist David Karoly’s plea for action, since scientists have “been talking about an increase of extreme fire conditions for a decade or more due to climate change.”[89] There was also an open letter to the government from firefighters about the increased risk to their lives that climate change was causing.[90] Often media reporting does not cover disasters as something that is inevitable, however these stories focus on preventing a disaster of this magnitude from happening again.[91] Since scientists and journalists do not often overlap, this disaster allowed for the two worlds to meet.[92] Scientists were given a platform to warn the public but also hold the government accountable.
However, this warning was not always welcome. There were multiple incidences in the years to come about climate scientists being sent death threats. The conservative leaning national newspaper, The Australian, owned by Rupert Murdock, launched a “campaign to undermine any association between global warming and the extended drought and unprecedented heat wave” in regards to Black Saturday.[93] This started the long political divide over climate change in general but also in government. Many conservative officials disregard scientists, denying man-made climate change and any connection between the extreme conditions and the changing climate.[94] Although, Black Saturday led to the first serious conversation between the Australian public and government about climate change. As the world continues to be affected by climate change, this denial and divide only furthered the chance for another fire disaster to occur. The apocalyptic scale of the 2020 Black Summer could be seen as a side effect of this political divide.
Conclusion
Australia has had a long history with fires. Newspapers have had a long history of reporting fires. Accordingly, the media has played a large role in informing the public about the disasters. The narrative provided by newspapers had a profound impact on culture and society. The examination of the media coverage of Black Friday and Black Saturday vividly illustrate how the dramatic reporting and shock of fatalities mobilized public support for the creation of a fire service and sparked a larger conversation about climate change. By shaping the narrative of these natural disasters, the media helped shape these important changes to Australian society. The media served an integral role in not only reporting the story, but shaping the culture. Based on the lessons of 1939 and 2009, we can expect that the media coverage of the Black Summer of 2020 will have a similarly significant effect on Australian society. Black Friday changed Australian attitudes towards fire and the role of government in fighting them. Black Saturday brought the topic of climate change to the table. Black Summer will make the pressing issues more difficult to ignore, especially as scientists predict that devastating fires will continue to plague Australia.[95] The media will continue to play an important role in reporting the devastation of natural disasters and the consequences of ignoring climate change.
Bibliography
Primary
The Age, 1939, National Library of Australia (accessed March 3, 2020). https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/19405778
The Age, 2009, Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints (accessed April 12, 2020). https://go-gale-com.ezproxy.ycp.edu:8443/ps/paginate.do?tabID=News&searchResultsTy pe=SingleTab&searchId=R1&searchType=AdvancedSearchForm¤tPosition=1&u serGroupName=ycp_main&inPS=true&prodId=OVIC&audit=y.
“Black Saturday death toll lowered.”ABC News, March 29, 2009 (accessed April 12, 2020).https://www.abc.net.au/news/2009-03-30/black-saturday-death-toll-lowered/1635324.
Love, R. J., and Mervyn E. Bill. “Victoria Showing Areas Swept by Bush Fires, January 1939 [cartographic Material] / Drawn by R.J. Love ; Forests Commission of Victoria ; M.E. Bill, Chief Draughtsman.” 1939, By Authority T. Rider Govt. Forest Commission Victoria, State Library Victoria.
Stretton, Leonard. Report of the High Commission to Inquire into the Causes of and Measures taken to Prevent the Bush Fires of January, 1939, and to Protect Life and Property and the Measures to be Taken to Prevent Bush Fires in Victoria and to Protect Life and Property in the Event of Future Bush Fires. 1939. University of Melbourne (accessed May 4, 2020). https://digitised-collections.unimelb.edu.au/handle/11343/21344 .
Secondary
Alison Anderson. Media, Culture and the Environment. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1997.
Bainbridge, Jason, and Chris Galloway. “Communicating Catastrophe: Blame, Black Saturday and Newspaper Constructions of Bushfire Risk.” Media International Australia 137, no. 1 (November 2010): 100–108.
Bell, Robert C., and Robert M. Ficociello. America’s Disaster Culture: the Production of Natural Disasters in Literature and Pop Culture. New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2017. Burns, Alex, and Ben Eltham. “‘Catastrophic Failure’ Theories and Disaster Journalism: Evaluating Media Explanations of the Black Saturday Bushfires.” Media International Australia 137, no. 1 (November 2010): 90–99.
Button, Gregory. Disaster Culture: Knowledge and Uncertainty in the Wake of Human and Environmental Catastrophe. Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press, 2010.
Haerens, Margaret M., and Lynn M. Zott, eds. Natural Disasters. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2013.
Kodas, Michael. Megafire: the Race to Extinguish a Deadly Epidemic of Flame. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017.
North, Louise, and Jason Bainbridge. “The Victorian Bushfires and Extreme Weather Events: Media Coverage, Crisis and Communication.” Media International Australia 137, no. 1 (November 2010): 67–70.
Pyne, Stephen J. Burning Bush: a Fire History of Australia. New York: Henry Holt and Co, 1991.
Pyne, Stephen J. World Fire: the Culture of Fire on Earth. New York: Henry Holt and Co, 1995.
Rigby, Kate. Dancing with Disaster. Environmental Histories, Narratives, and Ethics for Perilous Times. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2015.
Yell, Susan. “‘Breakfast Is Now Tea, Toast and Tissues’: Affect and the Media Coverage of Bushfires.” Media International Australia 137, no. 1 (November 2010): 109–19.
[1] Stephen J. Pyne, World Fire: the Culture of Fire on Earth, (New York: Henry Holt and Co, 1995), 30.
[2] Ibid., 31, 34, 36.
[3] Ibid., 35.
[4] Kate Rigby, Dancing with Disaster: Environmental Histories, Narratives, and Ethics for Perilous Times, (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2015), 125-26. Susan Yell, “’Breakfast Is Now Tea, Toast and Tissues’: Affect and the Media Coverage of Bushfires,” Media International Australia 137, no. 1 (November 2010): 113.
[5] Kate Rigby, Dancing with Disaster, 12.
[6] Michael Kodas, Megafire: the Race to Extinguish a Deadly Epidemic of Flame, (New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017), 14-15.
[7] Jason Bainbridge and Chris Galloway,“Communicating Catastrophe: Blame, Black Saturday and Newspaper Constructions of Bushfire Risk,” Media International Australia 137, no. 1 (November 2010): 101.
[8] Susan Yell, “’Breakfast Is Now Tea, Toast and Tissues’: Affect and the Media Coverage of Bushfires,” Media International Australia, 111.
[9] Michael Kodas, Megafire, 14-15.
[10] Kate Rigby, Dancing with Disaster, 6-8.
[11] Gregory Button, Disaster Culture: Knowledge and Uncertainty in the Wake of Human and Environmental Catastrophe, (Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press, 2010), 130-155.
[12] Susan Yell, “‘Breakfast Is Now Tea, Toast and Tissues’: Affect and the Media Coverage of Bushfires,” 109-119.
[13] Louise North and Jason Bainbridge, “The Victorian Bushfires and Extreme Weather Events: Media Coverage, Crisis and Communication,” Media International Australia 137, no. 1 (November 2010): 67-70. Alex Burns and Ben Eltham,” ‘Catastrophic Failure’ Theories and Disaster Journalism: Evaluating Media Explanations of the Black Saturday Bushfires,” Media International Australia 137, no. 1 (November 2010): 90-99. Jason Bainbridge and Chris Galloway, “Communicating Catastrophe: Blame, Black Saturday and Newspaper Constructions of Bushfire Risk,” Media International Australia 137, no. 1 (November 2010): 100-108.
[14] Louise North and Jason Bainbridge, “The Victorian Bushfires and Extreme Weather Events: Media Coverage, Crisis and Communication,: 67.
[15] Susan Yell, “‘Breakfast Is Now Tea, Toast and Tissues’: Affect and the Media Coverage of Bushfires,” 110, 111-112, 116.
[16] Gregory Button, Disaster Culture, 152. Margaret M. Haerens and Lynn M. Zott, eds., Natural Disasters, (Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2013), 165.
[17] The Age, January 10, 1939, 10.
[18] The Age, January 13, 1939, 9
[19] The Age, January 13, 1939, 1.
[20] The Age, January 14, 1939, 1.
[21] The Age, January 14, 1939, 25.
[22] The Age, January 16, 1939, 1.
[23] The Age, January 17, 1939, 1.
[24] The Age, January 18, 1939, 1.
[25] The Age, January 16, 1939, 1. The Age, January 17, 1939, 1.
[26] Haerens and Lynn M. Zott, eds., Natural Disasters, 170.
[27] Gregory Button, Disaster Culture: Knowledge and Uncertainty in the Wake of Human and Environmental Catatstrophe, (Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press, 2010), 150. Robert C. Bell and Robert M. Ficociello, America’s Disaster Culture: the Production of Natural Disasters I Literature and Pop Culture, (New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2017), 2.
[28] Bell, America’s Disaster Culture, 57.
[29] Gregory Button, Disaster Culture: Knowledge and Uncertainty, 158.
[30] Stephen J. Pyne, Burning Bush: a Fire History of Australia, (New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2017), 2.
[31] Pyne, World Fire, 35, 38.
[32] Gregory Button, Disaster Culture: Knowledge and Uncertainty, 151.
[33] The Age, January 17, 1939, 11, 14.
[34] Margaret M. Haerens and Lynn M. Zott, eds., Natural Disasters, 171.
[35] Pyne, World Fire, 38.
[36] Kate Rigby, Dancing with Disaster. Environmental Histories, Narratives, and Ethics for Perilous Times, (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2015), 125-26. Leonard Stretton, Report of the High Commission to Inquire into the Causes of and Measures taken to Prevent the Bush Fires of January, 1939, (Melbourne: University of Melbourne, 1939), 5.
[37] Pyne, Burning Bush: a Fire History of Australia, 225.
[38] Ibid., 314.
[39] Ibid., 317, 322.
[40] Kate Rigby, Dancing with Disaster,122.
[41] Michael Kodas, Megafire, 14-15.
[42] Kate Rigby, Dancing with Disaster, 11.
[43] Louise North and Jason Bainbridge, “The Victorian Bushfires and Extreme Weather Events: Media Coverage, Crisis and Communication,” 67.
[44] “Worst peril since Ash Wednesday.” The Age, February 6, 2009, 3.
[45] “Town in fury over bush arsonist,” The Age, February 7, 2009, 5. “The sun rises on our ‘worst day in history’,” The Age, February 7, 2009, 4.
[46] “Keeping cool – a user’s guide.” The Age, February 7, 2009, 4.
[47] Jason Bainbridge and Chris Galloway, “Communicating Catastrophe: Blame, Black Saturday and Newspaper Constructions of Bushfire Risk,” 101.
[48] Robert C. Bell and Robert M. Ficociello, America’s Disaster Culture: the Production of Natural Disasters in Literature and Pop Culture, (New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2017), 2.
[49] “Historic tourist town wiped off the map,” The Age, February 9, 2009, 7.
[50] “Deaths climb to 84 with more expected,” The Age, February 9, 2009, 3.
[51] “Heat so strong it recalls WW2 firebombing of Dresden,” The Age, February 9, 2009, 12.
[52] “Heading home with a sick feeling of dread, ”The Age, February 9, 2009, 6.
[53] “As death toll rises, police regroup to pursue arsonists, ”The Age, February 9, 2009, 13.
[54] “Counting the terrible cost of a state burning,” The Age, February 9, 2009, 13.”Dreadful history takes its toll,”The Age, February 9, 2009, 12.
[55] “A heartfelt message from the Premier, ”The Age, February 9, 2009, 3. “‘Fire had a mind of its own, like a beast’,” The Age, February 9, 2009, 11.
[56] “Devastated survivors tell of the hell they call home, ”The Age, February 9, 2009, 4.
[57] “Our darkest day,” The Age, February 9, 2009, 1.
[58] Jason Bainbridge and Chris Galloway, “Communicating Catastrophe: Blame, Black Saturday and Newspaper Constructions of Bushfire Risk,” 103. “Stay-and-defend policy under review,” The Age, February 10, 2009, 1.
[59] “Family’s desperate hope turns to tears,” The Age, February 10, 2009, 3. “Wait for word on the missing,” The Age, February 10, 2009, 3.
[60] “Looking for answers in the ashes,” The Age, February 10, 2009, 25.
[61] “Bushfire strategies must be reviewed to save lives,” The Age, February 11, 2009, 27. “Angry survivors blame council ‘green’ policy, ”The Age, February 11, 2009, 3. “People died doing exactly what they were told to do, ”The Age, February 11, 2009, 27. “Crash then dash to safety, ”The Age, February 11, 2009, 8.
[62] “Cool conditions help but 23 fires out of control.” The Age, February 11, 2009, 3.
[63] “Memorial planned for victims,”The Age, February 12, 2009.
[64] “Solemn call for funeral attire,” The Age, February 12, 2009, 9.
[65] “Survivors may suffer ‘shocking guilt’,” The Age, February 12, 2009, 13.
[66] “Never again: Brumby,” The Age, February 12, 2009, 1.
[67] “Wind change raises inferno alarm,” The Age, February 12, 2009, 3.
[68] “‘It’s like the worst movie you could ever think of’,’” The Age, February 12, 2009, 15. “Worried neighbour makes gruesome discovery,” The Age, February 12, 2009, 7.
[69] “Doubts emerge over Marysville’s toll,” The Age, February 18, 2009, 4.
[70] “Missing may lift death toll,” The Age, February 26, 2009, 8.
[71] “Coroner identifies 66 of 210 bushfire dead,” The Age, March 21, 2009, 5.
[72] “Black Saturday death toll lowered,” ABC News, March 29, 2009.
[73] Margaret M. Haerens and Lynn M. Zott, eds., Natural Disasters, 167.
[74] Robert C. Bell and Robert M. Ficociello, America’s Disaster Culture, 59.
[75] Alex Burns and Ben Eltham,“‘Catastrophic Failure’ Theories and Disaster Journalism: Evaluating Media Explanations of the Black Saturday Bushfires,” Media International Australia 137, no. 1 (November 2010): 91.
[76] Gregory Button, Disaster Culture, 150.
[77] Gregory Button, Disaster Culture, 152. Margaret M. Haerens and Lynn M. Zott, eds., Natural Disasters, (Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2013), 170-171.
[78] Susan Yell, “‘Breakfast Is Now Tea, Toast and Tissues’: Affect and the Media Coverage of Bushfires,” 117.
[79] Gregory Button, Disaster Culture, 154.
[80] “Nine’s Naylor dies with wife,” The Age, February 9, 2009, 3.
[81] Gregory Button, Disaster Culture, 154.
[82] “Counting the terrible cost of a state burning,” The Age, February 9, 2009, 13.”Dreadful history takes its toll,” The Age, February 9, 2009, 12.
[83] “Fire tragedy the deadly inevitability of climate change,” The Age, February 10, 2009, 25.
[84] “Economist warns of 500,000 job losses,” The Age, February 10, 2009, 15.
[85] Gregory Button, Disaster Culture, 154. “The sun rises on our ‘worst day in history’.” Age [Melbourne, Australia], February 7, 2009, 4. “Never again: Brumby,” The Age, February 12, 2009, 1.
[86] “Letters,” The Age, February 9, 2009, 20.
[87] “Fire tragedy the deadly inevitability of climate change,” The Age, February 10, 2009, 25.
[88] “Climate change must be ‘a factor’ in deciding whether to rebuild,” The Age, February 11, 2009, 13.
[89] “Heat, fire, water and power all show up policy failure,” The Age, February 11, 2009, 27.
[90] “Face global warming or firefighters’ lives will be ever at risk,” The Age, February 12, 2009, 25.
[91] Gregory Button, Disaster Culture, 154.
[92] Alison Anderson, Media, Culture and the Environment, (New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1997), 4.
[93] Kate Rigby, Dancing with Disaster, 11, 12.
[94] Alex Burns and Ben Eltham,“‘Catastrophic Failure’ Theories and Disaster Journalism: Evaluating Media Explanations of the Black Saturday Bushfires,” 90.
[95] “Mallacoota: this is what climate change looks like,” The Age, January 3, 2020.