The weighting of death
It's always interesting to see the type of news that warrants a lead article by a major news agency. A bus crash with one death in the US, a missing American teen in Aruba, 1 person killed by a suicide bomber in Israel (for Fox fans a homicide bomber is known to the rest of us as a suicide bomber), a marine killed in Iraq, an American killed in Afghanistan; all these have been lead articles by CNN, Fox and Reuters.
Meanwhile did anyone know that 1,000 people died in flooding in India this week, that 200,000 people in Niger are at risk of starvation, that last year's tsunami is still claiming lives in Indonesia, that each year in the US guns claim more than 30,000 lives?
Maybe large scale death is something we have become immune too, particularly when it doesn't affect suburban America. Makes me think that the media's reluctance to cover some of these issues diminishes their importance on the social agenda.
Meanwhile did anyone know that 1,000 people died in flooding in India this week, that 200,000 people in Niger are at risk of starvation, that last year's tsunami is still claiming lives in Indonesia, that each year in the US guns claim more than 30,000 lives?
Maybe large scale death is something we have become immune too, particularly when it doesn't affect suburban America. Makes me think that the media's reluctance to cover some of these issues diminishes their importance on the social agenda.
posted by mochi at 8:43 PM
4 Comments:
Or perhaps their diminished importance in America is the reason the media doesn't cover them? Does art imitate life or does life imitate art? I've always felt the former was true. In our ruthlessly capitalistic society if there's a demand, there will be a supply. Always.
Mochi,
One thing I have noted is that Greta Van Susteran has topped the cable news ratings with her coverage on the Aruba affair. I don't understand this either.
An AP story about Greta's success says, "With war and terrorism in the news, critics wonder how one missing person case can so dominate a news program." The answer of course is that it's getting a large and growing audience. But it's not just "critics" who are confused.
I'm not the least bit critical of Greta's focus on the Holloway story, but I do wonder what's so compelling about it that her show is now the most popular news/political show on cable TV.
The only explanation that makes sense is that maybe people like to try to solve a puzzle. But generally, if they make little or no progress toward the solution, they lose interest in short order. Not so with this story it seems, and that to me is the real puzzle. Do you have the solution? I don't.
Greta and Hannity have been milking this thing for weeks. Very indicative of the IQ of their audience.
for Fox fans a homicide bomber is known to the rest of us as a suicide bomber
If a person sets out to kill other people, and dies in the process, is he less of a murderer?
Very indicative of the IQ of their audience.
Or of their compassion for a family who lost a daughter. It's easier for more people to relate to that story then to the others, I think. Personally, it had my attention for a short period of time, but when it became obvious (or very likely) that she is dead, my interest waned. Now I just want to be told what the outcome is without watching it nightly.
Meanwhile did anyone know that 1,000 people died in flooding in India this week, that 200,000 people in Niger are at risk of starvation, that last year's tsunami is still claiming lives in Indonesia, that each year in the US guns claim more than 30,000 lives?
Yes, yes, yes, and yes - although it's technically the person using the gun that claims lives.
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