tragedy and the media

[mattttt25]

caught rumsfeld's press conference today and it got me thinking. two days before the columbia crash, a uh-60 helicopter crashed in afghanastan, killing four soldiers. the news barely made the papers and broadcasts. and since saturday, no mention of it (except rumsfeld's comments today.) i personally feel both incidents are equally tragic. lives were lost while brave men and women were making their countries proud. but the constant disparity always angers me. military deaths seem to be accepted with minimal remorse, while other, equally dangerous profession's deaths are mourned on a national scale. i wasn't around for pearl harbor, but i know there are exceptions. but in my short life, i've seen this played out again and again. after september 11th, our nation mourned over the death of the firemen and rescue workers (and rightfully so), but seemed to foget about the soldiers, sailors, and marines that died trying to hunt down the enemy in afghanstan. i feel better knowing that most of columbia's crew were military officers (and a fellow alumnus) and that they are being respected and honored in the national spotlight. but i doubt most americans even realize they were military officers, probably just looking at them as astronauts. i guess my bottom line is that i blame the media for this. they collectively decide which tragedies to focus on, which will sell more papers or demand more air time, and forget the others. sorry for the long post, and i don't mean to offend or start a war. as a naval officer, the topic just rests uneasily on my mind. take care-

 

[plywoody]

Re: tragedy and the media

While I don't disagree with your premise, and that both the soldiers that lost their lives in the helicopter is just as tragic as the shuttle astronauts, I think you answered your own question as to who is to blame for the disparity in coverage.<br />The media chooses what it covers by what sells airtime and newspapers, which ultimately mean, rightly or wrongly, that the public decides what kind of coverage each gets.<br />Thye sad fact is that helicopter crashes, as tragic as they are, are not particularly unusual, whereas a shuttle disintegrating is.<br />This notion is played out on a constant basis. An airliner crash takes a couple hundred lives, and is on the new constantly for days at a time, and yet virtually no mention of highway deaths that on any given weekend, probably take more lives.<br />On a busy newsday, a thing like a helicopter crash is likely going to get pushed aside, but if not much else was going on, it would likely be reported to death.<br />It is the way the world, and the media, work, and to somehow "blame" the media for this is like blaming a wolf for attacking a lamb. They just do what they do. Changing it would require changing the attitude of the public, which is a pretty tough thing to do.<br />Again I in no way wish to minimize the importance of what any of our military do for us, or the risks they take. I only address the issue of who is to blame for the coverage, or lack therof.

 

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: tragedy and the media

plywoody hit the nail on the head. The media reports what the public wants to hear.<br />Any death is tragic, be it in a shuttle crash, airplane crash, or soldiers getting killed one way or the other, but it is sad to say that that is not what the public wants to hear about.<br />A good example is the Ramsey case in Colorado.<br />Now how many murders are committed in the US in any one given day?<br />You don't hear about them but they happen.<br />Why then was this case so special?<br />High profile, thats why and thats what the public wanted to hear.<br />Now it's old news and you hear very little from it anymore.<br />Thats media and how it works.<br />I kinda have a link to the media, but in no way like the way it's done, but I have no choice. Thats just the way it is and always will be.<br />When the public wants something, the media will deliver, cause that's what pays their salary.

 

[Ross J]

Re: tragedy and the media

I saw the title of a book at an Auckland university yesterday named - "If it Bleeds, It Leads", The book was for media studies!<br /><br />Tradegy or not the media here has played constant replays of the incident along with numerous reporters mock ups of the flight and computor animations. I feel for the families concerned and do not for one minute critise this sad event.<br />I do however take issue with the media coverage with other world events. For instance, there was a fire in China where 40+ people died, a train crash in Africa where 70 odd people died all around the same time.<br /><br />A good comparison was when Pricness Diana died in a crash. Here in New Zealand there was a house fire up the far North where two yound girls died and the media didn't even bother to report it until the following day. The newspaper sent it back a few pages, all because someone seen as important died!<br /><br />What happens around the world is important to us all and we deserve the right to unbiased publications if they expect us to use our brains to decide how we feel about various events. <br />Ross

 

[plywoody]

Re: tragedy and the media

The coverage does get pretty outrageous at times, though.<br />Here in Portland, Oregon, one of the TV stations went to interview the crew of a local Jiffy Lube about what their reaction to the tragic events were:<br /><br />the gist of the interview: "Big plane went BOOM! Wow!<br /><br />For this they took up maybe 5 minutes of a 30 minute broadcast.<br /><br />I am not exactly sure who at Channel 8, the NBC affiliate, decided to air this, or what exactly the employees of Jiffy Lube added to our understanding of the event, but there is was, nonetheless.<br /><br />(BTW, I am not making this up, although I did edit the response for brevity and clarity, still leaving all pertinent comment included)

 

[ob]

Re: tragedy and the media

plywoody,Maybe someone at channel 8 has a brother in law who owns the jiffy lube franchise that was interviewed.

 

[DJ]

Re: tragedy and the media

Ross J,<br /><br />Good point. <br /><br />Does anyone remember that Mother Theresa died at almost the same time as Princess Diana?<br /><br />I'll bet not many did. It was a sidenote.<br /><br />I wonder which one of those two did more good for the world?

 

[mattttt25]

Re: tragedy and the media

thanks for the opinions fellas. i guess we all see it happen and know why it happens, but understand that it probably won't change. my problem is a bit slanted, though. not including the celebrities and such, i have a problem with the disparity with military, police, and fire dept deaths. i believe them to be all dangerous professions, and those that chose the lifestyle accept the reality that they may one day give up there lives. regular civilians don't go to work and expect to possibly die. that's where i was lost during the whole sep 11th episode. the rescue workers were held as heroes (again, as they should), but it was almost as if they forgot about the thousands of civilians that lost their lives. i probably lost everyone there, can't seem to get my true thoughts down. i'll end it here and just accept it. take care-