Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Malaysian Airlines MH370

I have recently become somewhat obsessed with the missing flight from Malaysia, Malaysia Airlines MH370. I'm frequently reading articles about the lost flight, searching for new leads or details but generally finding the same few facts everywhere I look. The lack of answers has gotten quite frustrating, to be honest. But yesterday, I clicked on an article that did show something different; upon opening the article, I saw this photo of a family member of one of the flight's passengers. Throughout all of the updates and lack of truly new information throughout the past two weeks, I hadn't even thought about the family members of the passengers. I realized that very few articles had taken them into account.


This photo shocked me and made me angry, and it got me thinking. If I'm anxious and frustrated by this situation, how in the world are these family members dealing with it?  All forms of media have jumped on this mystery, searching for ways to keep it interesting and at the surface of news. In doing this, though, they are creating a still suspense for families while simultaneously following them around with cameras to capture their fear and grief.
Houses of pilots and passengers are being searched for new information. Some have accused the pilots and even some of the passengers of Though, of course, keeping all possibilities open and searching for evidence is incredibly important, it is certainly adding to the stress of the families. It is fair for authorities to be searching for leads. However, I believe it is not fair for media to be harassing families for photos and interviews as shown in the photo above. It's somewhat abusive and only serves the purpose of creating a dramatic story that will keep readers and viewers, like me, obsessed with the mystery.




Image Source:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/13/malaysia-airlines-flight-satellite-images

1 comment:

  1. I agree completely. It seems like people are interested in this story for the mystery it presents, not for the human effects it has caused. While this is of course a natural response, it is wrong of the media to exploit this response at the cost of additional pain to the families. Another issue is that there are so many things going on in the world right now. Whether it is Syria, Crimea, or Egypt, there are many areas of the world where either people are dying, the outcome of events will have a huge impact, or both. While the missing flight is tragic, it has taken up a disproportionate amount of newspaper space.

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