Catching Fire in the News: The Necessary Conditions for Media Storms

Amber E. Boydstun; Jill R. Laufer; Dallas Card; Noah A. Smith

Coming soon

Series: Elements in Politics and Communication

Catching Fire in the News

The Necessary Conditions for Media Storms

Expected online publication date: 16 March 2026

Dallas Card and

Amber E. Boydstun: Affiliation:
University of California, Davis
Jill R. Laufer: Affiliation:
University of California Center Sacramento
Dallas Card: Affiliation:
University of Michigan
Noah A. Smith: Affiliation:
University of Washington

Summary

Why do some events catch fire in the news, producing a media storm, while many similar events go unnoticed? This Element uses a fire triangle analogy to explain the necessary conditions of media storms. The 'heat' is the spark: a dramatic event or discovery. The 'fuel' is the political and cultural landscape, including similar items in recent news, as well as current debates that allow the event to be framed in a resonant way. The 'oxygen' is the available news agenda space, plus attention the event receives beyond the news (by activists, politicians, people on social media, etc.). Media storms are not easily predictable; it takes the right event, at the right time, with the right momentum of attention. But when the political stars align and a media storm erupts, it can be a window of opportunity for change. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

Information

Type: Element
Information: Series: Elements in Politics and Communication

DOI: https://doi.org/ [Opens in a new window]

Online ISBN: 9781009498432

Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Creative Commons: This content is Open Access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence CC-BY-ND 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/cclicenses/

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