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To authenticate to the full-text of this article, please visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.2010.01493.x Byline: Eran N. Ben-Porath (1), Lee K. Shaker (2) Abstract: This study looks at the effect of news images and race on the attribution of responsibility for the consequences of Hurricane Katrina. Participants, Black and White, read the same news story about the hurricane and its aftermath, manipulated to include images of White victims, Black victims, or no images at all. Participants were then asked who they felt was responsible for the humanitarian disaster after the storm. White respondents expressed less sense of government responsibility when the story included victims' images. For Black respondents this effect did not occur. Images did not affect attribution of responsibility to New Orleans' residents themselves. These findings are interpreted to support the expectations of framing theory with the images serving as episodic framing mechanisms. Abstract (French) Les images mediatiques, la race et l'attribution a la suite de l'ouragan Katrina Eran N. Ben-Porath & Lee K. Shaker Cette etude explore l'effet des images mediatiques et de la race sur l'attribution d'une responsabilite quant aux consequences de l'ouragan Katrina. Les participants, Noirs et Blancs, ont lu la meme nouvelle concernant l'ouragan et ses suites, l'histoire ayant ete manipulee pour inclure des images de victimes blanches, des images de victimes noires ou aucune image du tout. On a ensuite demande aux participants de dire qui etait selon eux responsable du desastre humanitaire ayant suivi la tempete. Les repondants blancs ont exprime moins d'impressions de responsabilite gouvernementale lorsque l'histoire incluait des photos de victimes. Cet effet n'est pas apparu chez les participants noirs. Les images n'ont pas eu d'effets sur l'attribution de responsabilite aux residents de la Nouvelle-Orleans. Ces resultats sont interpretes de maniere a appuyer les attentes de la theorie du cadrage, les images servant de mecanismes de cadrage episodique. Mots cles : attribution, race, cadrage de responsabilite, ouragan Katrina Abstract (German): Nachrichtenbilder, Rasse und Zuschreibung im Fall Hurrikan Katrina Eran N. Ben-Porath & Lee K. Shaker Diese Studie betrachtet die Wirkung von Nachrichtenbildern und Rasse auf die Zuschreibung von Verantwortlichkeit fur die Konsequenzen von Hurrikan Katrina. Die Teilnehmer schwarzer und wei[sz]er Hautfarbe lasen die gleichen Nachrichten uber den Hurrikan und dessen Folgen. Die Bilder zeigten entweder wei[sz]e Opfer, schwarze Opfer oder es wurde auf eine Bebilderung verzichtet. Die Teilnehmer wurden dann gefragt, wen sie fur die humanitare Katastrophe nach dem Sturm verantwortlich machten. Wei[sz]e Teilnehmer zogen die Regierung weniger in die Verantwortung, wenn Bilder von Opfern gezeigt wurden. Fur schwarze Teilnehmer zeigte sich dieser Effekt nicht. Die Bilder beeinflussten nicht die Zuschreibung von Verantwortlichkeit auf die Einwohner von New Orleans selbst. Diese Ergebnisse werden im Sinne der Annahmen der Framing-Theorie interpretiert, bei denen Bilder als episodische Framing-Mechanismen dienen. Author Affiliation: (1) SSRS/Social Science Research Solutions, 53 W. Baltimore Pike, Media, PA 19063, USA (2) Department of Politics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA Article note: Eran N. Ben-Porath; e-mail: ebenporath@ssrs.com

The 2001 anthrax attacks emphasized the need to develop outreach that would more effectively support racial/ethnic minority populations during a bioterrorism incident. Given the importance of antibiotic prophylaxis in a future anthrax attack, it should be a priority to better support racial/ethnic minorities in mass dispensing programs. To examine the needs and perspectives of racial/ethnic minorities, this study used a nationally representative poll of 1,852 adults, including 1,240 whites, 261 African Americans, and 282 Hispanics. The poll examined public reactions to a ''worst-case scenario'' in which cases of inhalation anthrax are discovered without an identified source and the entire population of a city or town is asked to receive antibiotic prophylaxis within 48 hours. Findings suggest willingness across all racial/ethnic groups to comply with recommendations to seek prophylaxis at dispensing sites. However, findings also indicate possible barriers for racial/ethnic minorities, including greater concern about pill safety and multiple attacks as well as lesser knowledge about inhalation anthrax. Across all racial/ethnic groups, roughly half would prefer to receive antibiotics at mass dispensing sites rather than through the US Postal Service. People in racial/ethnic minority groups were more likely to say this preference stems from a desire to speak with staff or to exchange medication formulation or type. Findings suggest the need for tailored outreach to racial/ethnic minorities through, for example, emphasis on key messages and enhanced understandability in communications, increased staff for answering questions in relevant dispensing sites, and long-term trust building with racial/ethnic minority communities.

An attack with Bacillus anthracis ("anthrax") is a known threat to the United States. When weaponized, it can cause inhalation anthrax, the deadliest form of the disease. Due to the rapid course of inhalation anthrax, delays in initiation of antibiotics may decrease survival chances. Because a rapid response would require cooperation from the public, there is a need to understand the public's response to possible mass dispensing programs. To examine the public's response to a mass prophylaxis program, this study used a nationally representative poll of 1,092 adults, supplemented by a targeted focus on 3 metropolitan areas where anthrax attacks occurred in 2001: New York City (n=517), Washington, DC (n=509), and Trenton/Mercer County, NJ (n=507). The poll was built around a "worst-case scenario" in which cases of inhalation anthrax are discovered without an identified source and the entire population of a city or town is asked to receive antibiotic prophylaxis within a 48-hour period. Findings from this poll provide important signs of public willingness to comply with public health recommendations for obtaining antibiotics from a dispensing site, although they also indicate that public health officials may face several challenges to compliance, including misinformation about the contagiousness of inhalation anthrax; fears about personal safety in crowds; distrust of government agencies to provide sufficient, safe, and effective medicine; and hesitation about ingesting antibiotic pills after receiving them. In general, people living in areas where anthrax attacks occurred in 2001 had responses similar to those of the nation as a whole.