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Media Evolution from the Hyatt Regency Collapse

to the Digital Age
REPORT WRITTEN BY: HARSHAL POKAR
STUDENT ID: 0840504
SUBJECT: COPING WITH DISASTERS
CVL301G-24W-001
PROFESSOR -ROBERT ROY
DATE: 2024/02/1
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Media Evolution from the Hyatt Regency collapse to the digital age.

The Hyatt Regency collapse occurred on July 23, 1981, [1] it is a catastrophic structural
failure when two overhead walkways collapsed during a tea dance. The disaster has took
away 114 lives and injured over 200 people, making it one of the most fatal disaster in US
history. During that time the media coverage was limited to traditional news outlets such as
television and newspapers. In current times it has changed dramatically as social media
has set new benchmarks in the media industry. The purpose of this essay is to analyze
how media coverage of such a disaster would be in today’s world of social media.

During the year of 1981, the news of Hyatt Regency disaster would have spread through
traditional media like the television, radio, and newspaper as we have seen in the news
report. In the present era, social media platforms have revolutionized how such news is
shared and consumed by people. Moreover, half of U.S. adults now get news from social
media and the speed at which information is shared has increased rapidly due to which any
news can go viral in minutes. [2]

If that accident had happened today, it would likely be live streamed by the people on the
walkways on platforms like Facebook or YouTube. Realtime updates would have been
tweeted with images and videos on Twitter which would have eventually resulted in rapid
spread of information and potentially resources for rescue can be arranged.

Social media not just spread information quickly but also has the power to influence
people’s opinions. Nowadays, whenever individuals are looking for new information on the
internet their opinions are generally formed by looking at other people’s opinion on social
media. For example, Reddit and Twitter are websites where people write about their
opinions on different things. In the context of this disaster, the narrative that would be
formed could potentially shape the perception of both the event and the audience. To
demonstrate social media could have influenced people and made them judge that the
response for tackling was effective or not also it might have raised questions on the
structural maintenance of the building.
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However. It is important to understand that social media can also break existing beliefs. To
conclude, the media landscape has gone through a renaissance period from the time of the
accident. Social media has offered immediate, interactive, and personal experiences
compared to that of traditional media. It has created more channels of sharing information
for everyone whereas in traditional media it was only possible by the media industry. It also
comes with its own challenges like potential spread of misinformation.

References:

1. Hyatt Regency Walkway collapse (2024) Wikipedia. Available at:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyatt_Regency_walkway_collapse

2. Social Media and News Fact sheet (2023) Pew Research Center’s Journalism Project.
Available at: https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/fact-sheet/social-media-and-news-
fact-sheet/

3. NIMCJ, T. (2020) Traditional media vs. social media similarities and differences,
Traditional Media vs. Social Media Similarities and Differences. Available at:
https://www.nimcj.org/blog-detail/traditional-media-vs-social-media-similarities-and-
differences.html

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