Christchurch, NZ 6.3 earthquake

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Oh, the media can certainly be horribly exploitative in moments of tragedy, no question. Cameras and microphones shoved into people's faces, forcing them to explain what happened and what they saw over and over again, making them try and talk when they probably want to tell people to just go away in no uncertain terms...I don't argue that at all. It's disgusting when those moments do happen, too.

But at the same time, what are they supposed to do, not report it? If they do, they're exploiting and don't care, if they don't, they're neglectful and don't care. Which is it? And besides that, for those who have loved ones in the area and are unfortunate enough to hear about the tragedy via the news, I'm pretty sure they'd like to know exactly what's going on and where so they can figure out if their loved ones are all right or if they need to start making frantic phone calls.

Also, I'm pretty sure that most reporters still do care. They just have a job to do, one I'm sure they wish didn't involve talking about stuff like this.

Angela
 
Good post, Angela. My only real problem with how this has been reported is titles like this ("400 Dead or Missing" in case it's changed). It's all about the number, and comes off as terribly insensitive, especially to those who still haven't heard from their loved ones. But of course, this happens with every disaster.

I almost feel like I've already been to Adelaide because I'm familiar with Christchurch.

Yeah, not surprised. Even the pic Ian posted looks like a view of town from Mt Lofty. Glad to see Mike Rann understanding our duty here, being a Kiwi himself too.

South Australia's response to the Christchurch earthquake - ABC Adelaide - Australian Broadcasting Corporation
 
I am kind of pursuing a career in journalism. Yes, it is extortion and disgraceful sometimes, the way the media cover these stories, but remember they have a job to do, just like anyone else. So a photo of a distraught family on the Internet is going to create a lot of interest and traffic. That's their job. Editors have an ability to completely remove themselves from the emotion of a disaster such as this. This stuff is horrible, but it sells papers. I can't speak for journalists but I know that I personally would never wish for something this tragic to happen; but you're naive if you think the media aren't going to swarm all over a natural disaster.
 
On the media front, I'll be honest and say that, for all its flaws, the massive coverage of the quake by the Australian media has been some consolation for me. Being so far away, and knowing so many people in Canterbury, the coverage has made me feel a bit more connected and in touch with what's going on there. Just leaving on the telly on Tuesday was comforting, even through the dull, unedited press conferences by politicians, because what else could I do? I couldn't exactly call up anybody there and have a chat with them.

Yeah, not surprised. Even the pic Ian posted looks like a view of town from Mt Lofty.

Let's be honest, a number of New Zealand cities can be pretty fairly described as miniature versions of Australian cities. Wellington is a miniature Melbourne. Auckland a mini Sydney. Christchurch a mini Adelaide. The North Shore a mini Gold Coast. I'd say Dunedin is a mini Hobart, but Dunedin's Scottish heritage is so much a part of its identity that the comparison fails.

wish i'd been able to make the trip to christchurch i wanted to make in about july last year. it's a shame, it'll never be the same place again.

meanwhile, i vote the crusaders move to greymouth for the season.

I'm gutted that it's been so long since I've been to Christchurch. Used to go there at least every other year, but hadn't been in ages. No doubt the city will rise from this and re-invent itself like Napier did so successfully after 1931, but it won't be the same, it won't be the Christchurch I fell in love with as a child.

And hang on now, I don't know if Greymouth could quite handle that sort of excitement!
 
To respond to one tiny thing in the ABC article most people COULDN'T get info from the official channels because all our cell phones and landlines died and the internet slowed to a virtual standstill. I couldn't even make local calls in Dunedin so the tv coverage was a lifeline of sorts.
 
To respond to one tiny thing in the ABC article most people COULDN'T get info from the official channels because all our cell phones and landlines died and the internet slowed to a virtual standstill. I couldn't even make local calls in Dunedin so the tv coverage was a lifeline of sorts.
yeah, we tried to make a rare outgoing call at work tuesday afternoon to a cell phone and couldn't even get a signal, and that was a landline to a cell. cell networks seemed to recover wednesday and everyone at work was slaughtered.
 
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