Stealth disasters – chosen disasters
I have blogged pretty regularly about Virgil Hawkins’s work on stealth conflicts and chosen conflicts: the idea that certain conflicts get disproportionate attention (in the media and politically). For instance, the Israel / Palestine conflict gets enormous attention whereas the atrocities going on in the DRC consistently remain under the radar.
I would argue that the same distinction applies to disasters: certain disasters are more equal than others when it comes to media attention and the corresponding level of aid that can be expected. Roger Yates makes that point in the Guardian. And, as always, Africa gets the short end of the stick:
“The reasons why certain disasters get more media attention than others are a great source of conversation and debate within our sector – what makes a disaster newsworthy? Why do some catastrophes grab media attention while others are left behind?
Sheer death toll is an obvious benchmark for the amount of attention a disaster receives. Without high death tolls there is less media attention, meaning an emergency can reach an extreme stage before it hits the news. The current floods in Pakistan are an argument against this idea, but due to the extraordinary scale of the floods as well as the fact that Pakistan is a significant country in any news agenda, the floods are getting good coverage and, therefore, more donations. Regional relations, common language and colonial ties also help to determine what scale of press attention disasters receive. But somehow, some emergencies still fall into the “hidden crisis” category.
