ABSTRACT
DISASTERS OFFER THE SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCHER A FINE OPPORTIJNITY TO study the nature of the social and cultural construction of reality. As Barth (1993: 4) has astutely reminded us, the study of the construction of reality should always be directed at "the here and now." One opportune way in which to examine these processes is to investigate the role the news media play in mediating our perception of reality. In particular, conducting an analysis of the media coverage of such events as the Braer oil spill in the Shetland Islands or the Sea Empress spill in Wales allows for a fine-grained understanding of how the media contribute to the construction of reality. The
analysis lends insight into what is included and excluded in current historical archives.
