April 22, 2004
It's All About the Coverage
My friend Michele (not that Michele, although I consider her a friend as well, and they are kindred souls), brought up a significant point to me tonight, to wit:
How does the blistering fiery death of 3,000 people in North Korea in a train crash not merit a bit more coverage on the broadcasters? Were they Kim Jong-Il's gulag-slaves, and therefore unworthy of mention, because they reminded the media of the specter of Stalinist slave camps, which they universally ignored, and were therefore inconvenient?
That's the same butcher's bill as 9/11, you know, and I consider that a huge number of dead innocents. And I know the difference between murder and accident, of course, but I don't see a lot of coverage of this accursed catastrophe. I'm well versed in parsing the reasons trains collide, and there are people eminently better at it than me, but I just have to ask why nobody cares.
And I'm sorry, but I just went back to CNN, and they do not have the story anywhere on the front page. They DO have: Pentagon Angered By Mortuary Photos, and Save the Boss Money - Just Call In Sick.
I hate to be a putz, but Fuck CNN.