University/Biological Sciences/Biology/Ecology

Maria Moskovakis

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Some humanitarian crises make the front page while others wait in vain for their turn in the spotlight because

Whilst others make the front page because of the connection between them and other countries, such as Hurricane Katrina which viciously destroyed the New Orleans region. It made front pages around the world for weeks where as other crises such as the crisis in Africa and the slaughtering of Somalia’s did not make headlines worldwide. According to studies conducted people see, humanitarian crises as a “disaster”, and a threat to the health and safety of a group or communities over a large area. Whether it is an epidemic, conflict or a natural disaster, this term of “crises” applies to all.

Some humanitarian crises make the front page whilst other events are not completely covered; this is because of the media events, that take place and could mean better coverage and more viewers, for example, Hurricane Katrina. On the 29th of August 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit the city of Orleans with winds over 90 kilometers an hour destroying houses, taking out electricity and leaving people deserted; with up to 17 metres of water covering the majority of the city. Two days later, on the 31st of August 2005, 80 percent of the city was under water. The people of New Orleans were left without any food or water supplies, left to fend for themselves, with no check ups from anybody. A mass amount of people were able to escort the city and with no means of escape or transportation were left to camp in Louisiana superdome.

Hurricane Katrina made headlines globally because of many reasons such as, the location, in this case being the United States, and that it ruined a city and left thousands without homes. It also made headlines because the images displayed are ones that evoke emotions and thus creates and stirs an audience interest. With the images showing people wading through water and graphics of thousands in the superdome without food or water supplies and left without any sort of security leaving them to be in danger. These are part of the reasons of which this event made international news. This event is one that will not be forgotten and will be remembered by many victims who had loved ones or were personally involved themselves. By having Hurricane Katrina destroying a city and devastating years of memories, this is what is classified as a humanitarian disaster.

Another humanitarian crisis is the Californian bushfires, where up to 100,000 people were forced to evacuate their homes due, as the flames edged dangerously near. The fires had many casualties; more than dozens of people including fire fighters were killed trying to maintain the fires, which blazed throughout the area.

One of the main spots focused on in the media was Malibu where it was estimated that many actors, singers and other famous Hollywood actors resided there such as, Mischa Barton, Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes, Danny De Vito, Mel Gibson and many more. The bushfire was the worst that the city of California has ever experiences with up to having estimated 16,000 fire fighters trying to stop it. The Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger called it “a disaster” He stated that he will do anything to help the victims to rebuild and get back on their feet. The bushfires in California were viewed to all media globally. It was chosen to be a headline because it was a natural crises with graphics and interviews with those who had everything lost, houses, cars, loved ones and memories. These images and interviews were things that pushed the bushfires to headlines, and also because it was in a well known hotspot for celebrities. The bushfires were stated to be one of the most horrific natural disasters to occur in the city and one of which the country has ever witnessed in 57 years, a disaster which won’t be forgotten easily.

Both, Hurricane Katrina and the Californian bushfires affected many lives. What made these events unique is the way they were reported and treated. The victims of Katrina were not taken care or even had supplies sent out to them instantly; compared to those involved in the Californian bushfires, who were supplied and aided instantaneously. Everything was handed to them, ranging from doctors, to food supplies, to temporary shelter. The media coverage of both events shocked the world as people could clearly see the contrast between the two events. The victims of Hurricane Katrina were treated poorly whereas the Californian bushfires people well were looked after. Some citizens even went to the extent to bring racial discrimination into the picture, stating that it was “because of their ethnic backgrounds and colours”. Whereas the bushfire victims were give a notice of evacuation, shelter and supplies before the fires were out of hand.

The media coverage of the bushfires was mainly based on location because of the area the fires destroyed, one being Malibu which this area being populated by a majority of celebrities, making it a tourist spot also, although New Orleans is also considered to be a place of tourists it took the authorities days to react to the event that had just taken place.

Why did these two humanitarian crises make headlines worldwide while other crises were left unreported? Perhaps because it was in the United States, which this country always happens to had some involvement in the ...

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Communication is a key factor in endorsing as well as improving conflicts. The definition of communication is the trading of thoughts, messages, and or information through speech, signals, writing, or behavior. The cause of inconsistency within conflicts can often be lead back to a lack of communication, or the incapability of articulating who we are and what we prefer. This sort of communication is vital on two levels: in small-scale settings, for example small-group communication, and in larger-scale settings, such as the news and entertainment media.

To a great extent most of the information that we are exposed to and receive on a daily basis about the world and its surroundings is both subjective and restricted by all media outlets, including television, newspapers, and radio. Supplementary information that is personally taken in shapes our view of the world as it is basically created by the way wherein information is offered by these outlets.

For example, people in Australia may possibly obtain information in relation to the current issue of fires in Greece. Their only access to this information would be from news reports conducted on both television, radio, and or in the newspaper. Likewise, the populace in Greece may know little about the issues currently happening in Australia, or the ongoing conflicts between Iraq and the United nations, this is because what they see or read in their news coverage, both local and national, has very limited exposure and extremely inadequate information. Since there is this restricted coverage to information, it is especially significant to distinguish the impact that the media have on humanitarian issues and conflicts as well as to guarantee that this authority is exercised appropriately.

The news and entertainment media are inclined to focus on issues that have a humanitarian element. The news media are dependant on publicity for income, and advertisers seek for programs with a large number of viewers and or readers: "Audiences are the product the commercial media sell to their advertisers." (Tehranian, Majod. "Communication and Conflict" in Media Development)

Media representatives state that they have humanitarian interest stories at the center of attention since that is what people want to see. Humanitarian conflicts tend to be more appealing and gain more of an interest within viewers.

The outcome is a tendency to "focus on the erratic and incomplete accounts of the most remarkable moments mainly leaving out the former reasons and costs.”(Tehranian, Majod. "Communication and Conflict" in Media Development)

Mass media" is the simple expression that refers to the media that is intended to be consumed by large audiences through the forms of technology; which is the main means of mass communication (newspapers, TV & radio). Mass media includes all types of information communicated to large groups of people, and also there are no constrictions on the sort of facts being offered. A car advertisement is an example of mass media.

The difference linking news and entertainment can at times be unclear, but news is in theory based on facts and explanation of facts, such as editorial opinions, articulated by journalists. Which facts are chosen to be included, and how they are accounted, how much understanding is given, and how a good deal of space/time is committed to a news event is determined by journalists and other news events contending for that same exact time or space.

Mass communicated media bounds this contemporary world. The television in the room, the newspaper on the porch, the radio in the car, the computer at home/work, and the fliers in the letterbox are just a few of the many media feeds that supply us daily with adverts, news, opinion, music, and several other forms of mass communication.

Since the media are so established in developed countries, they have quite an influential impact on how these populaces perceive the rest of the world. Virtually all news that has circulated from country to country from every major network or newspaper has been around. It is no more than the main local and personal events that are experienced directly. Dealings within the larger community, the state, the country, and the rest of the world are experienced throughout the eyes of a journalist.

Not only did the media report the news, but they created the news today by deciding what was to be reported. The "top story" of the day has to be picked from one thing that happened within the several millions of things that would have happened that particular day. After something is considered out of the ordinary, there are choices on how much time or space to give it, whom to interview, and what pictures to use. All of these choices combine the audience's analysis of the world, and those who pressure the decisions power the audience.

The media, then as a result, contain a huge significance to conflict resolution since as they are the crucial and only source of information in regards to conflicts. If a state of affairs does not make the news, it plainly does not exist for most people. Whilst issues such as peaceful options for example negotiations and additional mutual problem-solving techniques are not covered, or they are not reported. These stories tend to turn into something that is less likely to be well thought-out and most probably not even understood as possible, it then tends to lose its value and importance, becoming invisible.

News media thrives on differences. The lead story for the majority of news programs is generally the most current and intense crimes or disasters. Conflict gains many audiences, attracting them to the media; the better the conflict the bigger the audience, and huge audiences are vital to the financial successes of media outlets. Thus, it is often in the media's interest to report conflict by, emphasizing the issue, making it appear more extreme than it really is.

Enduring, conflicts that are ongoing in process such as negotiations are not as dramatic and are repeatedly complicated to comprehend and report, particularly since the events are almost always closed to the media. Thus these types of stories are without difficulty pushed aside in favor of the latest features of a conflict, most times humanitarian issues. Factions that value these factors can provide to it in order to increase media attention. For instance conditions intended for terrorist attacks take account of points in time them so they can match with important dates, aiming at leaders, deciding what locations to target with easy media access, and intending for large numbers of fatalities. Campaigners will raise their signs and chant when the many television cameras and crews draw closer into view. It is not strange for the media to persuade activists into performing these actions as from this they can depart to their studios with stimulating footage. The media coverage then can present a position and even give authority to minor opponents, so television exposure logically develops into one of their intended plans and main concerns. The "30-second sound bite" has turned out to be a well-known expression in television and radio news so they can manipulate this to use it to their advantage.

In nearly all divisions of the modern world, the news has to "sell," as the press is controlled by many media firms; these media firms then place a main concern on money-making procedures. Media companies have limited funds and severe rivalry with competing media businesses. Important dependence on sensationalism, space and time limits, and a constant need for new stories. Reporters with urgent deadlines may not have the time to discover and confirm new sources. Instead they have a tendency to rely on government reports, press releases, and many sources, which are more often than not drawn from "reliable" groups and associations.

Many media outlets also depend upon advertisement income and that reliance can negotiate their objectivity. Newspapers for instance and television stations carefully consider what is being reported before publishing anything that may be destructive to their advertisers, and will choose to avoid the story, if possible. to a survey taken in 2000 states, "...about one in five (20 percent) of local and (17 percent) national journalists say they have faced disapproval or stress from their bosses after creating or writing a piece that was seen as destructive to their company's financial wellbeing." The obligation to add to advertising profits has directed many mediums to cut down world news in length compared to accommodating longer humanitarian, weather and sports reports.

Without media, nearly all people would not know anything beyond of events further than their direct district. The further one ventures outside of a circle of friends and family, the more lengthy and costly it turns out to be to be able to acquire information. Very few, persons contain the possessions to continue being independently up to date with world events. With the news, on the other hand, all one has to do is turn on a television or go on the Internet. Even whilst it is prejudiced or partial, it gives an image of what is occurring around the world.

The additional source that are compared, makes it more precise so then the pictures can pieced together. Also the media companies can then have a range of independent news outlets, although they have a much lesser audience. Several of these offer another view of events and repeatedly attempt to distribute stories that cannot be found in mainstream media. Hi-tech advances in numerous modern nations make it achievable to read papers and observe broadcasts from around the world. While verbal communication skills can be an obstacle, it is possible to live in the United States and watch Greek-language broadcasts from Greece, or to go on the Internet and read parts of a Chinese newspaper. Having access to these choices restricts the authority of domination over information.

An additional vital advantage of running mass news media is that information can be communicated hurriedly in times of crisis. Tornado and hurricane declarations can offer large populations advanced warnings and permit them to acquire safety measures and get out of harm's way. In a nation suffering war, a radio transmit outlining wherever the most recent fighting is taking place can prepare the public to avoid those areas. In quieter times, the media can issue other practical statements, from traffic reports to how to avoid getting HIV. It is a steady and educating strength.

A current media occurrence named the "CNN effect" happens whilst influential news media (i.e. CNN) appear to generate the news by reporting it. It has been disputed that CNN, with its enormous global reach, situates the agenda by deciding which items are out of the ordinary and call for the interest of government leaders. Usually, agenda-setting is seen as the privilege of the government. It is in addition said that emotionally-charged recordings of people in misery, such as mass starvation, bombed-out markets, and burning houses, provoke the public to command instant action. This provides leaders small time to think all the way through a suitable reply and can force them to receive important resources from more urgent, less camera-friendly issues.

This exploitation of sensational images is referred to as being responsible for the United States' unfortunate participation in Somalia: "In the words of one U.S. congressman, 'Images of starved children, not policy objectives, got us interested in Somalia in 1992. Pictures of U.S. fatalities, not the conclusion of our objectives, led us to exit Somalia”. Then again, the media failed to entirely account for the genocide that took a probable 800,000 lives in Rwanda throughout a 100-day period in 1994; this made it simple for these governments to take no notice of the catastrophe that they favored not to recognize until long after it ended.

The CNN effect in addition conveys matters of accuracy. The Times, with its huge assets, has long been known as "the newspaper of evidence; once something is accounted by this news outlet it is established as actuality and approved by supplementary outlets, even as soon as faults creep into the Times' stories. A number of viewers state that the humanitarian issues reported are overestimated. Warren Strobel and Susan Carruthers, for example, dispute that the government have not been required into doing anything; rather, it used response over media stories to initiate policies that it has already preferred. Strobel furthermore argues that any battle an official assumes as a consequence of these demands will simply be a "modest reply" -- an incomplete act that puts forward a better reply than has taken place.

Any argument of media and conflict ultimately guides to the reason and responsibilities of journalists. An audience anticipates impartiality of its news reporters. Whilst the majority of people take this for granted, intentional exposure has not been the past type. The notion of neutrality itself has time and again existed on the center of discussion. As Susan Caruthers states, "... news can by no means be 'value-free,' from 'nobody's point of view.' “It is a feeling spoken by many reporters and educators.

Choosing what information is needed becomes a valued decision. In news media there is an agreement that information is something that creates curiosity which then departs from daily existence and is proven. For example, the epidemic of war is news, but any hostility afterward may not be. As the war persists, its newsworthiness depends on whether the news agency's home troops are caught up, or whether the troops of close allies are mixed up, how many fatalities are accounted for, how camera-friendly the victims are, whether the media have right of entry to the war and whether they are entitled to the information about it, and what other stories are occurring at the same time. This news consists of events, not procedures. These prejudices can consequence in news reports where events seem to have no background.

In response to the shortcoming of 'objective' journalism, some reporters have started looking for substitutes such as "peace journalism" and "public journalism." Peace journalism creates the belief that the media ought to use the power of the media to assist resolve conflict rather than describe it from a distance. Its opposes dispute that "once a journalist has set himself the objective of stopping or manipulating wars, it is a small step to tolerating that by any means to attain that is justified. ... There can be no greater disloyalty of journalistic values."

Public journalism search for ways to investigate issues disturbing a society and continue with those issues long enough to provide the community a sufficient amount of information to recognize the conflict and get drawn in. This, still, often needs a long-term obligation by the reporters and news media to pursue a story over the course of the conflict. If the story is of ongoing high significance to the readers -- such as a war that entails local troops, such exposure is familiar. If the story is not believed to be endlessly "newsworthy," yet it still, takes a dedicated journalist to persist writing about it.

SOURCES

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Sanders, Edmund. "Results of FCC's Media Studies Are Released." Los Angeles Times. Oct. 2, 2002.
Carruthers, Susan L. The Media at War. New York: St. Martin's Press. 2000. p 206
Strobel, Warren. 1996. Managing Global Chaos: Sources and Responses to International Conflict, eds. Chester A. Crocker and Fen Osler Hampson with Pamela Aall. Washington, D.C.: United States Institute of Peace Press. p. 366.
Carruthers, Susan L. The Media at War. New York: St. Martin 's Press. 2000. p. 17.
Weaver, Tim. "The End of War." Track Two. Vol. 7, No. 4.
Botes, Jannie. "Dialogue of the Deaf: Reframing the Debate Over Media and Conflict." , December 1, 1998
Hieber, Loretta. Lifeline Media: Reaching Populations in Crisis: A Guide to Developing Media Projects in Conflict Situations. Geneva: Media Action International (MAI), 2001.
Davidson, Walter Philips. Mass Communication and Conflict Resolution: The Role of the Information Media in the Advancement of International Understanding. New York: Praeger Publishers, 1974.
Dissanayake, Andrew and Wimal Arno. The News Media in National and International Conflict. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, April 1984.
CURSOR.
http://cursor.org.
This organization highlights various news stories on its web site that it feels are not given enough coverage elsewhere. It provides an excellent survey of daily news.
Girardet, E., Andrea Bartoli and J. Carmel. Somalia, Rwanda and Beyond: The Role of International Media in Wars and Humanitarian Crises. Dublin: Crosslines, 1995.
Schaffert, Richard W. "The Media's Influence on the Public's Perception of Terrorism and the Question of Media Responsibility." In Media Coverage and Political Terrorists. Edited by Schaffert, Richard W., ed. New York: Praeger Publishers, 1992.
The daily telegraph
African Rights (1993) Somalia: Operation Restore Hope: A Preliminary Assessment (London: African Rights)

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