Media Coverage of Tragedies

All tragedies are equally horrifying, but the media picks what tragedies are worthy of attention. Most recently this has been seen in the different amounts of news coverage between the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey and the aftermath of the floods and landslides in Sierra Leone. According to the Washington Post the death toll from Hurricane Harvey has reached 82 people, with 30,000 living in shelters. Al Jazeera reports that the floods in Freetown, Sierra Leone have caused over 400 deaths with 600 others reported missing, and over 10,000 people have been forced out of their homes. Both of these natural disasters have hurt so many people who now need help.

In the western world, news outlets tend to focus only  on their own issues and tagedies. Unlike western news outlets, publications like Al Jazeera and others around the world report on events that are not exclusive to their own nations. In modern society, European countries and the United States are more powerful economically, therefore it’s their news that is most widely shared. When Hurricane Harvey hit Houston, there was an immediate outpour of news coverage. Giant news organizations like CNN, Fox News, BBC and NBC as well as local news like Omaha’s own KETV and WOWT covered the path of destruction that Harvey was causing. When the floods and landslides occurred in Sierra Leone, they only got a fraction of that news coverage. Most of the coverage they did get was from news outlets that focused specifically on world events their own local news. It´s obvious that the amount and type of media coverage that a disaster receives impacts its public perception and response. After both Hurricane Harvey and the floods in Sierra Leone the victims received a lot of aid from the government, millions of dollars were also donated to Harvey victims from the public. This isn’t to say that people knowingly ignored the suffering in Sierra Leone. In fact it’s just the opposite. People want to help one another and that was seen through the outpouring support of those in Houston, but they cannot help if they don’t know their help is needed. That’s where effective and equal media coverage is necessary. The fact that some world tragedies are overlooked because they happen in a certain area has many negative effects. It minimizes the effects of the damage that was caused and continues the suffering that people are going through. Hopefully the attention that Houston has received in this trying time makes the recovery efforts easier. Unfortunately the lack of media coverage that Sierra Leone has received will most likely prevent the people who have been hurt the most from getting the assistance they need. The media has an immense power in the world, especially in times of tribulation. They have the responsibility to fairly report on what is going on in the world. That’s not an easy job, but one that has the power to save lives. Hopefully as time goes on, the disproportionate way that world tragedies are reported will change.