Opinion

In defence of disaster journalism

The somewhat grubby tussle between Seven and Nine over who gets credit for rescuing baby Winnie from the Haiti rubble makes an easy target for those who see disaster journalists as vultures.

After all, what can the media do, but get in the way?  

In global trouble spots it isn’t uncommon for rescuers to find themselves competing with the world’s press for hotel rooms, vehicles, food or water, all of which can be in limited supply.

Surely, many would argue, better for the press to stay out of the way, and let humanitarian agencies do their jobs. Or perhaps have pooled coverage from a small number of news crews.

In truth though, although they rarely get the credit for it, journalists on the ground play as significant part as any rescuer.

In an emergency like this, public opinion plays a major part in deciding how much resource foreign governments put into relief work. That relies on the public hearing the stories at first hand.

And in many catastrophes, individual donations are what allow the relief organisations to respond, and to stay on the ground. Ads in the paper are not primarily what motivate people to make generous donations – it takes harrowing pictures on the news.

And the more dramatic the images (or story – such as the baby rescue) the bigger run the story will get.

And it takes TV news, over any other medium.

The seven minute report from the BBC’s Michael Burke in October 1984 reporting the famine in Ethiopia changed the world.

Bob Geldof, then a near washed up musician, watched it in his loungeroom. He got together with Ultravox’s Midge Ure and they created Band Aid. A Christmas number one single followed and the money started flowing. This was followed by Live Aid, and the money became enough to have a significant impact on the problem even if it didn’t solve it.

More than 20 years later the consequences still ripple. The organised lobbying of the G8 countries on debt reduction used by the likes of Geldof and U2 front man Bono was a tactic honed and inspired in the response to that single news report all those years before.

While it’s easy to feel disdainful of Seven and Nine’s tussle over who deserves the credit for rescuing the baby, it’s that competition for news that puts stories on the TV.

And that’s what generates the public response.

Sadly, cameramen will have a bigger impact by continuing to film, than they ever will by putting down their equipment to join in the rescue. That’s why they need to be there.

Tim Burrowes

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