Only 3% of Media Stories Cover Iraq and Afghanistan
Posted on May 26, 2008 - Filed Under citizen journalism, media |
Back in February of 2007 while iConflict was just a business plan in rough draft, we noted that something was wrong with the current state of media. In a month of important news events on issues from the climate crisis to Darfur and Iraq, the mainstream media was fixated elsewhere. First, on the death of Anna Nicole Smith, and then two weeks later, on Britney Spears who shaved her head.
This past weekend on my way to a meeting with iConflict investors, I watched Alisa Miller’s TED speech on this very same topic. She is President and CEO of Public Radio International and oversees the development of some 400 hours of programming a week. Ironically, her TED talk examined the failings of media to bring us global news coverage, and as her case study, she looked at, of all dates, February of 2007.
Then today, came this interesting news from the Project for Excellence in Journalism. News coverage of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan now represent just 3% of the total news that is covered by the mainstream media. How can that be?
When responding to this figure, Bill Keller, the Executive Editor of the New York Times wrote, “There is a cold and sad calculation that readers/viewers aren’t that interested in the war, whether because they are preoccupied with paying $4 for a gallon of gas and avoiding foreclosure, or because they have Iraq fatigue.”
The mainstream media seems less and less inclined to cover any news story that isn’t local. But paradoxically, the world continues to shrink and events abroad are just as important, if not more important than ever before in our increasingly intertwined global village. The recent earthquake in China and Cyclone in Myanmar accounted for 13% of all news stories recently. In those two events, over 190,000 people died and millions more instantly became homeless. In October of 2007, the California wildfires destroyed 1,500 homes and claimed the lives of 9 people. Yet, this story received triple the news coverage. Why?
One reason is cost. It is a lot cheaper for the media to cover a domestic story since so many foreign bureaus have closed over the years. Second, there is a perception in the media that Americans care more about the lives and losses of other Americans, despite polling evidence that suggests the contrary.
The good news is that today consumers of news have options. They are no longer tied to the passive constraints of the mainstream media and can look for alternative sources of news. iConflict, and other citizen journalism sites, allow for users to submit and share news that is of interest to them. This is not a pitch for our site, but rather it is a warning to large media companies that times have changed and will continue to do so. If you insist on putting Iraq and Afghanistan on the back burner, someone else will come in and fill that void. If people truly care about the stories missing from the headlines, then they will go someplace else to find them.
Since citizen journalism sites rely on people, not reporters, to send back video, images and news tidbits from remote areas, there is no cost efficiency consideration to be made, no budget to be reviewed, and no approval process to be authorized. Instead, we just report the facts, which, is what the mainstream media was supposed to be doing in the first place. But that’s before news became a business, before conglomerates were formed, before profits were put ahead of the pursuit of journalistic excellence.
News is changing, and it is now more empowering, more democratic, more open than ever before. While there are many pitfalls in this new era, there are many opportunities as well. For those who recoil at the notion of changes in journalism, for those who believe this new path is dangerous, for those who are aghast at empowering people to report on the news, just remember that 3% figure. If that doesn’t make you believe change is not only necessary but it is needed right now, than nothing will. 900 US soldiers were killed last year, 52 last month, and so far 18 in May. They deserve better. You do too.
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One Response to “Only 3% of Media Stories Cover Iraq and Afghanistan”
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well said! i’m done with network news anyway…