A description of the information cycle, using the example of the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster in 2003.

1. The Information Cycle

2. Event
To set off the information cycle, an
event must occur.
It could be a natural disaster, or a
political upheaval, a celebrity death…
anything.
This event sets off a chain reaction:
the information cycle.

3. The Space Shuttle Columbia Disaster
On Feb. 1st, 2003 at
approximately 9am, the
shuttle Columbia
disintegrated over Texas as
it reentered the Earth’s
atmosphere, killing all
seven crew members.

4. The First Hours
In the first minutes and hours after an
event:
○ Television
○ Radio
○ Internet posts (now Tweets)
○ Essentially, reporting
Quick, dirty, emotionally charged, not
necessarily 100% fact- checked

5. The First Days
Newspaper stories are
published, as well as
continuing TV, radio,
and internet coverage

7. The First Several Weeks
There has now been
enough time for journalists
to create more in-depth
pieces about the event:
○ Magazine articles
○ Longer television
specials
○ In-depth blog posts

9. Within the First Year
The emotional fuel of the first
few stages has died down,
and new material at this point
is getting more objective:
○ Scholarly articles
○ Preliminary government
reports
○ A few books United States. (2006). Space shuttle Columbia investigation: Hearing before
the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, United States
Senate, One Hundred Eighth Congress, first session, May 14, 2003.
Washington: U.S. G.P.O.

10. Seife, C. (2003).
Space shuttle:
Columbia disaster
underscores the risky
nature of risk analysis.
Science, 299(5609),
1001-1002.

11. The Next Few Years
There has now been enough
time for:
○ Books (the better ones)
○ Complete government
reports and documents
At this point, all necessary
facts have been established.
Chien, P. (2006). Columbia, final voyage: The last flight of NASA's first space
shuttle. New York: Copernicus Books.

12. United States. (2008). Columbia crew
survival investigation report. Houston,
Tex: National Aeronautics and Space
Administration, Lyndon B. Johnson
Space Center.

13. Further Down the Line
As the years pass:
○ Full-length
documentaries
○ A continuing stream of
academic material
○ Yet more books
○ Eventually, entries in
reference sources

14. The Cycle Continues
On significant
anniversaries, smaller
versions of this cycle are
often kicked off:
○ TV/internet/radio
○ Newspaper stories
○ Magazine articles
○ Television specials