The Haiti disaster and the resulting outpouring of grief, assistance and financial backing have dominated the past weeks’ news reels. As relief poured in from almost every corner of the world, terrifying stories of mass deaths and heroic rescues by aid workers simultaneously took lead space on all media outlets. Reports of how people’s pleas for rescue could be heard for days from under the rubble till their faint voices finally quietened, must have made the hardest of hearts shed tears. We saw that by the end of two weeks, Haitians had already buried about 150,000 people — most of them in mass graves.

Known as ‘the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere’, Haiti has been notorious for its history of political violence and lawlessness. Its citizens, who have seen a succession of dictators play havoc with civil laws, live on one meal and approximately two dollar-a-day income according to UN figures. Healthcare is almost non-existent and HIV/Aids is rampant even amongst newborns, as is meningitis, cholera, typhoid and other waterborne diseases. And on top of all this when the country's most severe earthquake in over 200 years struck, crumbling its capital city, the world’s humanitarian forces didn’t think twice about jumping in with all their resources to bring in any and every relief possible.

It was a staggering tragedy made palpable by the devastating images filtering in to our TV lounges at prime time and onto our breakfast table with the morning paper. The entire first world felt moved to contribute in every way. Funds were opened all across North America and every organised business as well as small time enterprises began fund collection for the victims. School children and even low-income workers added their bit, with the Government of Canada offering to match the collection made to charity organisations.

The entertainment industry in Canada and the US also got together to host simultaneous telethons where movie stars and performers pitched in their time to take phone calls for donations. Called Canada for Haiti in Canada and Hope for Haiti in the US, star-studded telethons were one of the widest distributed prime time telecasts with the one raising 13.5 million dollars and the other almost 16 million dollars.

But in the midst of this emotional outburst, when someone in my broadcast media class raised the question as to why a natural disaster was more newsworthy than genocide in Ethiopia, Congo or Darfur, it got me thinking about the politics of news. Undoubtedly, massive tragedies like the Haiti quake deserve attention. If it weren’t for this sustained, frame by frame media coverage, such a systematic response would not have occurred.

Ever wondered why media consider natural disasters more important? Is it because governments find it an easy cause to appease their conscience and a neutral ground to pour compassion into?

Here is not space enough to dissect news coverage of global political events. Suffice it to say however, that such incidents reveal the concept of a Free Press and liberality amongst media leaders to be a myth. Many global incidents vie for first place in the news, but there is always someone making that choice of ‘headline news’ for the public.

Haiti is a prime example that the news media is very much a pillar of the Capitalist system. Not that the earthquake in Haiti was part of the capitalist plan, but to cash in on its news value while accruing humanitarian credits is quite in keeping with the Capitalist mindset. If one looks at it without stirring the emotional quotient, then it would be clear that splashing a disturbing image of a sea of dead bodies is as unethical a ploy, as distorting or suppressing vital information that may harm someone’s political agenda.

The press has a taste for dramatics. The daily dose of sex scandals that are not restricted to the tabloids’ anymore is proof enough. And selling real life disaster stories makes even more compelling reading. Most newsroom editors have lost the ability for editing a copy solely for its news value. For most of them, there are some basic deal breakers that give a story space or time. If there’s a sexual aspect; if there’s a tragedy deep enough to get high viewer ratings or if it is serving (or not serving) a political course.

The intention here is not to make the Haiti tragedy seem any less. But in all fairness, isn’t the issue of child soldiers in Somalia’s feudal war as news worthy or multinational companies’ involvement in fuelling the mineral war in Congo? Are Somali children as young as eight years old that go missing and then end up becoming human shields less pitiful than the Haiti orphans for whom a host of adoptive parents have put a bid? That is the disturbing element of the politics of news that puts a spin even on a natural disaster.

maheenrashdi@yahoo.ca