As the technologically savvy parts of the planet watches Japan during it's devastating time, am I an asshole for wondering what else is going on with the rest of the world? I want the Japanese to rise from the tragedy of an earthquake, tsunami, and now nuclear reactor meltdown. Thus, in the same way I wanted the Haitians to recover, to lift the spirits of New Orleans residents, well wish tsunami victims of Sumatra Indonesia and wanted those in Pennsylvania/DC/ New York to heal and be cared for. But I also would like to know about other things that are taking place with the rest of the planet. Must I have to watch news of this latest horror on every channel and read about it endlessly? To me the quantity and quality of coverage of most natural disasters and (on occasion) high profile terrorist act received is in my view is a bit perverse.
At this point the rat race of industry itself runs the way the news works. Sure we get a few celebrity news stories to wet the palate, spurn a little gossip and keep a few careers going; media outlets claim they cover these stories so intently because the public shows interest in the form of higher ratings. The presentation of celebrity news is excursive and specious at best. The deceptive allure of viral videos, blow-jobs, and gossip before the masses will often trump a story about say, innovations in water treatment projects in developing countries.
There is much going on in the world that could be covered in addition to recent destruction and the talk of the day. In the news arena, when disaster strikes, no one wants to be outdone. Heaven forbid if Fox and CBS only commit 40 minutes of a sixty minute program to coverage of the earthquake while NBC and CNN only designate a shady 25. The need to be the first to capture breaking news guides the media circus of having 24-hour coverage on one topic. It's even worse on cable news networks, now every 1-hour news show is covering the same event with nothing else on the roster to mix things up.
Once on location of the catastrophe, not much change happens minute to minute to warrant headline or 30minute to hourly updates. The dime is now spent and the network is dedicated to the topic. Gotta fill the time and attempt to etch out a defined perspective amongst monotonous programing to contrast other networks. Enter to create intrigue: the speculators, the analysts, the photographers, another field reporter, the experts, and the distant witnesses who have managed to live to tell the tale (even if they actually left the location 2weeks prior, they still count). -Basically all the bullshitters to justify all of this coverage in the form of offering perspective and giving us a little history. Meanwhile, stations and crews wait for something to dazzle them into the activity of breaking news.
Breaking news commemorates the here and now without much respect given to actual progress. What happens when a story isn't forced to into hot popularity anymore? New Orleans has molded and still hasn't returned to it's former glory. Haiti is still bleeding with cholera. Ten years after we stood united, emergency workers (those still alive and that qualify) in New York are only recently getting some the health care attention they need. Makes one wonder if being terrorized by the media for weeks on end was worth it. Could 12 hours worth of viewing devastation accumulate enough anxious solidarity to garner support for the suffering? Or, is 24 hours the key, a must? Someone should do the math.
Notifying me of a phenomenon with as little intrusion to residents as possible, advocating for/addressing basic human necessities, and updating me on the progress is one thing. Hourly updates that don't update anything and swarming these regions to set up media camps with hundreds of cameras without offering any assistance to the locals is disturbing. Every time the latest tragedy happens we are depressed and oppressed by images and sounds of the suffering until media attention is stolen or transitioned by something else. This form of rumination venerates the experience, decline, and /or misery of a community right before our eyes. Where does the line between information and exploitation begin? Will the next tragedy du jour taste like the same old bitter broth?
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