Posted on 01/04/2005 12:53:39 PM PST by Williams
Am I the only one sick of the tsunami coverage? Maybe it's the obvious fact the media has no other big story it wants to cover. Maybe the idiotic anti-Bush angle they have developed. But I think it's just the plain old fact the disaster coverage has reached the point where it is out of proportion to the disaster itself.
Of course the tsunami was a terrible event and there needs to be a major relief effort. But I started getting annoyed when they called it the worst natural disaster in history. I knew I'd lived during 200 or 300,000 deaths at a time caused by cyclones in Pakistan/Bangladesh/India in the 70's.
The disaster is an important one but it's spread out over many countries. And I am highly suspicious that many of these corrupt governments began upping the casualty figures, knowing it would mean more share of the aid pie. Not that I want to become a tsunami denier, but it just seems like another example of the media's chicken little approach to the World.
Conservative commentators have noted that tragedies like Darfur and Rwanda killed more people but didn't get the coverage. But ecven without the political overtones, the coverage of this thing is disturbingly reminiscent of Scot Peterson/Princess Diana/ etal.
I think it reached it's height with Diane Sawyer yelling at Colin Powell this morning and insisting that Japan is giving more, yada yada yada. The media cares about no one and we all know they will let certain groups be slaughtered while they collectively look the other way.
Uh, correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm fairly certain there were only three MSM news outlets on television in 1976.
That is the proper deference you should have for us Ancient Ones ;-).
And I'm sick of the friggin' Posting Police.
It is good to be king ;-).
Though people are being helped, the cynic in me knows a larger-than-imaginable portion of our dollars/pounds WILL no doubt find its way into the waiting hands of corrupt individuals and Aid agency execs -- just as what happened with 9/11, but on a much grander scale.
There is NO way logistics, accounting, and security measures have been organized adequately in so short a time.
And yes, I assume "arms" will be bought with the windfall.
"I think one of the lessons that the 11th September did teach us is that one cannot just focus on home news, as the biggest threats will usually come from abroad."
Of which the Third World seems always to figure prominently.
It's the ultimate "Reality Show," isn't it? There are pictures, video, political intrigue, life and death, stories of courage, remorse, sadness, sacrifice, scandal -- the whole shebang. That means ratings, ratings, ratings.
This should dwarf the Scott Peterson saga in media saturation and overkill for moths to come.
I agree, SOME coverage is cool!
You're correct that despite all we're doing to alleviate
the misery of the natural disaster many will still despise
us. But we're doing it not for thanks but because it's the
RIGHT thing to do. Look at our own nation and how some
have sought to politicize the calamity by finding fault
with Bush! One thing we've learned from history is that
EVERY disaster brings out the best and the worst in human
nature.
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