One of the reasons for the outpouring of grief in the western media over Paris, more so than Beirut and other non-western cities that have suffered from recent acts of terrorism- and the non-stop live tv and radio coverage of Paris which continues as I type - is simply a cultural and personal identification with the city. It is of course every country's domestic media's responsibility to cover world news better than they do (which is why I tend to listen to Deutsche Welle, Radio France International, The Voice of Turkey, BBC World Service, Radio Sweden, Radio Prague and other international stations rather than domestic services).
Most people in the west have been to Paris I would think, or certainly know more about it than most other cities in the world. A case in point is the view above I took yesterday in Manchester, looking 3 or 4 miles northwards in a city I know so well. Yet I'm struggling to identify the landmark church. It's probably in Prestwich, I will pop up there tomorrow after work to find out more (and to pick up a retro lampshade from Emma of Light Fandango at Rose and Lee Vintage Living). But in the views below, which I took last autumn, the distant landmark would be instantly recognisable by hundreds of millions, if not billions, of people.
l don't think our domestic media has a responsibility to cover world news better than it does.
ReplyDeleteIn a free country the media should cover whatever news it wants to.
Nobody has a right to extensive news from all over the world just as nobody has a duty to provide it.
Just as shops only sell what people want to buy, so news providers will only provide news which people are interested in.
And people are not that interested in foreign news.
We all have a right to extensive world news. I agree that many people are not interested in foreign news but we all need to know and understand each other's cultures, countries, customs much better- the lack of this us why we are in such a mess and wars happen. the global City Daily Photo bloggers clearly are interested in all range of news and views from the world, hence our existence, and 150 million listen to the BBC World Service each week. People privileged enough travel abroad and have a quest for such information. Mainstream shops don't only sell what people want to buy, they sell what is imposed upon them by the commercial giants of multinational food corps and their vested interests. We would all be healthier if the fast food chains were replaced with local produce. Likewise it is the vested interest of global media tycoons that give us the news- with their bias on it, not real news from the people. Witness the coverage of the Occupy movements, the refugees crisis,. the climate change crisis etc.
Delete...but luckily social media such as blogs enables us all top gain access to all sides of the stories and to shre that with those who are unaware.
DeleteChrissy, I absolutely agree with you. Not wanting to know about unfamiliar people and places breeds fear and then hate. I truly believe that.
ReplyDeleteLove your photographs here, Chrissy.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful views, Chrissy.
ReplyDelete