Andres Eisert 

Communication 1500  

Professor M. Cancio  

3 August 2023  

5-Step Critical Process Analysis Final 

Module 9 Prompt: Telling stories and covering disasters.   

Hurricane Harvey 

1. Description: 

Hurricane Harvey was one of the deadliest hurricanes in the United States. In August

2017 it began as a tropical storm but quickly developed into a category 4 hurricane.

Experts from the National Hurricane Center confirmed that Harvey began on August 13 th

from a tropical wave off the West Coast of Africa. By August 22nd, the storm had moved

into the Yucatan Peninsula with smaller winds. The storm started small, and members of

the National Hurricane Center were confident that the storm would not get worse. “NHC

believed Harvey would become either a strong tropical storm or a Category 1 hurricane,”

(US Department of Commerce, 2017). Unfortunately, their predictions were inaccurate,

and the storm began to intensify as it grew and spread. Later during the week, Harvey

developed storm winds of 120 mph officially making it a category 3 and by the end of the

day in August 25th, the hurricane had reached a category 4 with winds over 130 mph,

“The highest measured peak 1-second wind gust was 145 mph at 8 meters AGL (152

mph at 10 m AGL) recorded at the Aransas County Airport in Rockport by the Center for

Severe Weather Research,” (US Department of Commerce, 2017). As the hurricane made
its way into land, the most affected by its winds and floods were the people living in

South Texas and Cameron, Louisiana.  

2. Analysis: 

When I searched for information on Hurricane Harvey, I looked through different

versions of the news like print, television, and online. I began my research with the online

version because it is the most accessible and I noticed a few patterns with all their

articles. Upon entering a news website, I was presented with a popup that persuaded me

and in other cases forced me to subscribe to a membership to access the information.

Once inside, many articles still had ads popping up all over the website, mostly on top

and on the sides. When I finally was able to read the actual article, the titles were

large accompanied with images or pictures in the background that gave an idea of what

the article was about. The article was made up of detailed reports, sources, images, and in

some cases videos. Another pattern I saw with online articles, were the hyperlinks added

to access the source of information and a link at the end of the article to keep navigating

their website with related news. I was able to find a few Hurricane Harvey stories from

the newspapers online. They and although they had some similarities to online articles,

their articles were made to catch the reader’s attention with their bold, extra-large letters.

They usually presented the articles with 1 picture in the center and written in columns

with smaller letters. 

Television was very different from both online and printed news. They make their reports

more dramatic as they include music to announce a breaking news story. With this

specific report they displayed the storm with a radar and talked live with experts about all
the details from the storm such as wind speeds, categories, locations, and movements.

They also used their experts to give recommendations on how to stay safe and what to

expect from the government and other officials. Another thing they did to ensure current

coverage was to show live images and pictures of people and the streets affected by the

storm. Reporters spent a large amount of time speaking about the storms and providing

the latest updates from the studio and from the storm site. 

Although these types of news are presented differently in different mediums, they use

similar ways of reporting to keep their audience engaged. All three use images, most of

the time they all use similar words to name their news with words like deadly, disaster,

impact, and total costs. They provide information gathered from their experts, interview

people affected, and use credible sources to quote updates or announcements. All three

aim to inform the public and earn their trust. 

3. Interpretation: 

All these patterns show us the commitment of reporters to keep us informed about the

things that matter. Many of them put themselves in dangerous places to get to the story,

to update and to warn people. In these types of news, news anchors and field reporters

stay put because they know their work can save lives. “As communicators, you and the

media share the same goal during an emergency: getting reliable, updated information out

first and reaching the most people,” (CDC, 2017). Despite the danger, risk, and other

difficulties during their work, they aim to be first in the scene to make sure the public

knows what is happening and what to do to survive a disaster. 

 4. Evaluation: 

I think the strongest stories are the ones that are covered in every media outlet and are

reported by journalists whose goal is to inform the public with accurate and descriptive

reports. We know that a lot of us rely on the news when a disaster strikes and it is

important that we have access to this information from different places “One lesson

learned — the public seeks out information about hurricanes on social media much more

often before and during the storm than afterwards, so timing of messages is important as

many lose power and are unable to access social media,” (Kotala, 2022). It is critical that

people have diverse ways to access important news during disasters in case one way is

not available. I think the weakest stories are the types of news created solely for social

media attention. Many times, we don’t know where they can be getting the information

from. With the creation of social media platforms, people can express their opinions and

share information that may not be accurate, exposing the audience to potential

misinformation and disinformation. 

5. Engagement:  

Dear CNN editors 

I would like to thank you for your constant updates regarding CDC guidelines

during Covid-19. A lot of people do not think that news sources are credible or reliable,

so the fact that you relied constantly on information from the CDC was extremely

important. Another essential move was relying on medical analysts to explain guidelines,

precautions, and reassure the public. I witness the influence it had when people started to

quarantine, isolate, ware masks and vaccinate. Your news kept us informed from the very
beginning of the pandemic until the end when the WHO announced covid was no longer

a global health emergency. 

 
Works Cited 

CDC. (2017, April 21). CERC corner - the media’s role in a crisis, disaster, or

emergency. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

https://emergency.cdc.gov/cerc/cerccorner/article_031517.asp#:~:text=The

%20Media%27s%20Role%20in%20a%20Crisis%2C%20Disaster%2C%20or

%20Emergency,-Print&text=One%20of%20your%20most%20important,people

%20who%20need%20it%20most. 

Gonzalez Kotala, Z. (2022, May 27). When hurricanes strike, social media can save

lives: University of Central Florida News. UCF Today.

https://www.ucf.edu/news/when-hurricanes-strike-social-media-can-save-lives/ 

US Department of Commerce, N. (2022, August 26). Major hurricane harvey - august

25-29, 2017. National Weather Service.

https://www.weather.gov/crp/hurricane_harvey