Opportunity Lost: Local and National Newspaper (Print and Online) Coverage of Oklahoma Earthquakes Focused on Uncertainty Rather than Risk or Preparedness

Oklahoma is far from a tectonically active plate boundary. Before 2010, Oklahoma residents had minimal exposure to earthquake risk, and limited personal experience with earthquakes. That changed in 2010 when seismicity increased dramatically, with more than 903 M3+ earthquakes in 2015. In 2011 a M5.7 earthquake caused substantial damage in Prague, followed by damaging M5.8 Pawnee and M5.0 Cushing earthquakes. The rapid onset and dramatic increase in seismicity provides a unique opportunity to analyze the content of earthquake information communicated by scientists, and others, to local and national audiences who were affected by, or interested in, earthquakes. We conducted a qualitative content analysis of newspaper articles (N=314) published online or in print, within a time period (2010-2016) selected to capture a period of anomalously high seismicity. Most articles (242 of 314) were published by Oklahoma news media. We followed a grounded theory approach to identify three communication themes: uncertainty over cause of earthquakes, uncertainty over earthquake risk, and non-consensus about regulating the oil industry. We found no communications about preparing for or mitigating Oklahoma earthquakes, and no assessment of risk to individuals. Although scientists are not specifically tasked with emergency management communications, scientists were frequently quoted in coverage, suggesting that they have an important role in helping the public understand earthquakes, and an opportunity to communicate about risk and protective action.