Identity and Conviction Stories in Discourse on Natural Disasters

This study investigates how media discourse on natural disasters constructs identity and expresses conviction through language. Using Stibbe’s (2015) six stories we live by framework. This research adopts a qualitative methodology based on manual thematic analysis and close reading of 300 news articles—50 each from six global and regional outlets: The Guardian, Al Jazeera, Reuters, NBC News, Dawn, and The Express Tribune. The analysis of identity stories reveals that The Guardian and Al Jazeera often portrayed survivors as resilient agents, emphasizing community solidarity and proactive responses. Reuters and NBC News displayed mixed identity framing, combining victimhood with narratives of heroism or institutional action. In contrast, Dawn and The Express Tribune predominantly constructed affected individuals as helpless victims, with limited representation of agency or local resilience. Regarding conviction stories, The Guardian and Al Jazeera expressed high epistemic certainty, directly linking disasters to climate change. Reuters and NBC News offered moderate conviction, with occasional references to environmental causes but limited elaboration. Dawn and The Express Tribune frequently used vague or uncertain language, reflecting weak conviction and limited ecological framing. These findings underscore how media narratives shape public perception of disaster, ecological causality, and moral responsibility, reinforcing distinct discursive patterns between global and regional media.