Mine "tragedy" really? - news events w/ disproportionate coverage

[El Diablo]

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/08/17/utah.mine/index.html

Coverage of this mine accident has been bothering me.

"Suffice to say yesterday we went from a tragedy to a catastrophe"

That's what was said by the governor after 3 rescuers died as part of the rescue operation for the 6 trapped miners.

Sure, the idea of being trapped in a mine sucks super hard. But, I dunno, in the context of all the tragic stuff that happens in the world, this just seems relatively minor in scope compared to tons of other stuff.

I dunno, maybe I'm just coldhearted, but I just don't really care what's going on in the rescue effort or anything.

Anyway, this is sort of a pet peeve of mine, when things that are somewhat rare or have some unusual twist to them get huge amounts of coverage that imo they don't really merit.

[The Ocho]

that chick who got killed/lost in jamaica or whatever certainly qualifies.

[gumpzilla]

Yeah, it's not like the miners are getting eaten by sharks or anything.

I don't know why it's easier to wrap one's brain around this than to think about earthquakes in Peru. But I think it's the same reason that lots of people will get enraged by Michael Vick and dogfighting without batting an eye about 200 people getting blown up in Iraq. There's not an adequate emotional frame of reference for considering the objectively bigger tragedy and so it just doesn't resonate in the same way. The mine in particular stretches this theory, it should be said, since it's not like people have any experience with that either.

[disjunction]

I get what you are saying but I don't get it. The media is what they is. They will cover what they feel will get the most attention. Off the top of my head, this will be stories that are:

(1) The viewer can imagine what it's like to be one of the victims
(1a) The victim is as similar as possible demographically to the viewer
(2) The story is somewhat unique
(3) The story is easy to cover
(4) The story has some tragic element to it.

Also, the economy is based in a large part on mining operations, in addition to health risks, it really sucks if their working environment is not safe. It just seems like taking advantage. These are guys that DO STUFF for a living.

[El Diablo]

dis,

The Peru quake gump mentions comes to mind. I mean, sure, of course a few people dying in Peru vs a few people trapped in US, the US story is gonna get way more coverage. But six people trapped in a mine vs hundreds of people dead in an earthquake? It just seems like the earthquake should be the much bigger story, even if it is in Peru.

[disjunction]

[ QUOTE ]
dis,

The Peru quake gump mentions comes to mind. I mean, sure, of course a few people dying in Peru vs a few people trapped in US, the US story is gonna get way more coverage. But six people trapped in a mine vs hundreds of people dead in an earthquake? It just seems like the earthquake should be the much bigger story, even if it is in Peru.

[/ QUOTE ]

And endless war and starvation going on in Africa. I do agree that priorities are messed up, but it's farther away, the people don't speak the same language, it's costly to send the local reporter out there and look serious, there are no individual family members to speak at press conferences, and it's going to be harder for the viewer to identify with the story.

I don't know what to do to change all that.

[El Diablo]

dis,

Let's not be silly here. Nobody cares about Africans.

[Zarathustra]

El D,

If coverage of this type of incident bothers you because of its lack of merit I am guessing the Paris Hilton coverage induced a seizure? Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media by Chomsky and Herman is indispensable reading for anyone interested in the driving forces of the media machine. It addresses several historical examples of how the "liberal media" can so uniformly ignore or downplay very newsworthy events that are often very relevant to the American people. Summary

[El Diablo]

Z,

Not at all, really. I put Paris Hilton and other celeb coverage into an entirely different bucket when it comes to my evaluation of news coverage.

[Ribsauce]

[ QUOTE ]
But I think it's the same reason that lots of people will get enraged by Michael Vick and dogfighting without batting an eye about 200 people getting blown up in Iraq.

[/ QUOTE ]
Michael Vick is getting railroaded for a few reasons. He had to get caught in the slowest sports period of the year. Had he got caught during the season, during march madness, during the baseball playoffs, hell, anytime but the 45 day window he got busted in it would have been a much smaller deal. Race has something to do with it as well. Actually not so much race as race+athletic status+jealous people. And sports media being the most pathetic type of media there is doesn't help.

Speaking of, this entire thing pisses me off. Dog fighting is terrible and all that, but what is happening to Vick because he is Vick is retarded. The whole concept that is driving peta and the prosecution is "we got to get michael vick" Quentel Woods didn't even go to jail or get suspended for getting caught dumping one of his fighting dogs in a dumpster and I know the federal government has caught other dogfighting rings and not put this much effort into it, if any. I have trouble believing one house in Virgina is even in the top 50 for worst dogfighting rings of all time.

I feel with the current state of mass media our country is in constant witch hunt mode which leads to things like the Duke Lacrosse situation and the Imus case*

*Imus sucks but any rational person knows this was blown out of proportion

edit

Another thing that drives me crazy are AMBER ALERTs and that type of stuff. The media and politicians and I'm sure other people are creating a society of constant fear for our children. The other day at work this lady was worried because her 15 year old daughter's flight was cancelled and her and her friends were put up in a hotel overnight. She was 75% convinced someone was going to get them drunk and rape them. She was dead serious and totally worried, like it was unavoidable and certain to happen.