Today’s unfortunate Shuttle disaster has only further proven the inadequacies of our news reporting sources in today’s World. 17 years ago during the first Shuttle disaster the World was a different place, wasn’t it? I was in Grade 4 and was sent home from school where I rushed in front of the TV and put on the news to see what had taken place. There was no CNN, Newsworld, MSNBC, or Internet like there is now. Which brings me to issue one:
Why, in this day and age, does every basic cable station continue to interrupt their coverage to replay death over and over and over? My intention is not to sound heartless or disregard what has happened, but there were likely no fewer than 25 channels on my television repeatedly airing the deaths of 7 astronauts this morning. Regardless of CNN, Newsworld, MSNBC, and the Internet, Global, CBC, CTV, CBS, ABC, and NBC felt obliged to present the exact same coverage. Some of us would rather tune in later, grab the updates, and not have to witness the same disaster repeatedly, and I KNOW I’m not alone in that.
Second, the actual coverage. When I first turned things on to CNN this morning I saw this fiery wreckage hurtling to the ground, breaking up midway and sending plumes of smoke up in the air. CNN then alerted me that NASA had indicated the Shuttle was now “missing”. Missing. While the possibility that NASA does not get CNN, Newsworld, MSNBC, Global, CBC, CTV, CBS, ABC, NBC, or the Internet exists, this is unlikely. Which means the spin machine was in full motion, regardless of the fact we’d just seen the “missing” Shuttle hurtle to Earth in pieces. This, ladies and gents, is the news we’re meant to trust in.
My third issue: MSNBC.com sends me instant updates, and you have to love the one that came in moments ago:
Feared?! FEARED??!!! That’s dang near disrespectful to the friends and families of the astronauts that lost their lives this morning. Is this meant to place some unfathomable sense of possibility into these people, only to once again bring them back down when they must come to terms with the fact that there won’t be any survivors? The Shuttle no longer exists, friends, and indicating that they only “fear” the passengers are dead is just irresponsible.
It reminds me of a story in USA Today many years ago when a small airplane had crashed into the roof of a Holiday Inn in Ohio. The text underneath the picture of this airplane read “Most Guests Caught By Surprise”. Most guests. Wouldn’t I love to shake the hand of the guy that wasn’t caught by surprise when an airplane crashed above the buffet during his second helping of swiss steak.
Speaking of being caught by surprise, have you ever wondered if right before a major Earthquake someone’s Dad didn’t go up to his little boy and say “Son.. pull my finger..”
Cheers!
I think CBC Newsworld’s coverage of this event was the best. They brought on experts from the Canadian Space Agency almost immediately to speculate what went wrong, and what actually happened. The issue of terrorism was raised early and discounted almost immediately (contrast that with CBS, which put a watch on the President’s activities, just in case).
Moreover, they raised the issue of the minute (but still present) possibility of the astronauts escaping. There *is* a means of bailing out in this situation, but it’s a long-shot. Until they could get the evidence that the crew cabin itself had been totally destroyed, they had to believe that a possibility for survival still existed.
I also note that, at this end, while CBC Newsworld concentrated on the accident, regular CBC programming stayed on the kids shows, at least for the morning. So, the CBC stayed calm and collected, while the American networks went ape. Surprised?
CNN is still showing coverage.
No news to report. Go with the shuttle tragedy. Afterall, this is what 24 hour news programming is for, right?
I agree with Rick’s disgust of the endless reportage. BUT…people want to know. And while I (as space fan) was monitoring NASA newsletters and websites for the latest on some of the research, the rest of the world was hardly clued into the shuttle. Nothing compelling, not worth following. Hence, why I’ve called on a vision for humanity to make space exciting again…a “target” (a man on the moon before the end of this decade) like Kennedy’s was designed to give mission and purpose to America, humanity for the advancement of our species. While I won’t go into debate about the value of space over the world’s ills (space exploration MUST continue – my view — as a futurist), the tragedy highlights how technology helps us and destroys us.
As for CBC, yes, balanced and objective. But you are incorrect in suggesting the American networks did not have this in place. They did. Just CNN went on to highlight the reaction of families, eyewitnesses etc. This is the kind of MUNDANE coverage a “news” network could not report on. You’re getting virtual reality news programming on CNN. That is why people tune in there…
Our team leader for the Da Vinci Project was on CBC today around 1pm EST and had some interesting things to say about the shuttle technology.
The routine of custom tends to deaden even scientific inquiry; it stands in the way of discovery and of the active scientific worker. For discovery and inquiry are synonymous as an occupation. Science is a pursuit, not a coming into possession of the immutable; new theories as points of view are more prized than discoveries that quantitatively increase the store on hand. by pacific poker