On the Scheduling of Rolling News
Mar. 22nd, 2012 01:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
There are two current news stories that I don’t understand. I don’t understand why they are getting the airplay they are are.
The first is the unwellness of Fabrice Muamba.
I think that a person collapsing in front of thousands of people is certainly news worthy but I don’t quite understand the requirement for constant updates.
Whilst Mr Muamba seems like a decent enough guy and a skilled sportsman I don't see him as sitting in the nation's conscious as much as, say a former Prime Minister or an Archbishop.
I’m not receiving constant updates on the other 750 odd people who had a heart attack that day. What is it about Mr Muamba that marks him out for special attention?
The other story is the shooting and subsequent manhunt and siege in Toulouse.
Whilst the original event was certainly newsworthy it’s a slightly unusual police action in a foreign country which happens to be having an important election.
I'd be willing to bet that as I type or as you read this some bizarre crime is being perpertrated somewhere in the world or that the police are struggling to find the perpertrator of a bizarre crime or are engaged in a shoot out with the perpertrator of a bizarre crime. Not all of them are on my news everytime I look.
It’s not that I don’t care but bad things happen to people all the time so what makes these particular events so momentous that I need to have a network of journalists reporting each small progression (or lack or progression) in the story as if the drip feeding of information to me was valuable.
My question isn’t so much what makes these events news worthy but what makes them worthy of rolling coverage?
no subject
Date: 2012-03-22 01:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-03-22 02:02 pm (UTC)I'd never heard of him until he fell ill.
no subject
Date: 2012-03-22 02:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-03-22 02:06 pm (UTC)I’ve pay less attention in the last few years (and he is a young young man).
You would recongise the England team. Ten men and a monkey in a Massarati.
no subject
Date: 2012-03-22 02:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-03-22 02:34 pm (UTC)