This study aims at analyzing lightning reports published in Bangladeshi mass media in the year of 2019. Two mainstream online news portals, four other web portals of print media, and one news agency have been selected to conduct the study. Content analysis has been applied to understand the lightning hazards in Bangladesh, and 606 stories have been imported for analysis. The study found that media reports significantly covered the impacts of the lightning disaster— especially deaths and injuries rather than preparedness and management. This study reveals that lightning strikes in Bangladesh cause about 65 percent of deaths during agriculture, livestock, and fishing/fish farm activities. This study will help media organizations/professionals to carry out better reports on lightning, which will contribute to risk reduction and management of such disasters.

Keywords: lightning strike, mass media, internet publishing, disaster reporting, risk communication