Published on January 10, 2005
CNN journalists arrived journalists arrived “on the ground” in Sri Lanka and Banda Aceh in such numbers last week that at times in seemed Larry King was the only one left at CNN Headquarters in Atlanta.
Christine Amanpour also couldn’t make it as she was busy filming CNN promos about being “on the ground” as a foreign correspondent in far-flung, disaster-ridden countries.
The reason why Larry was “on the swivel chair” in Atlanta and “not on the ground” in Aceh or Sri Lanka was because he’d heard there were no Starbucks in the countries hit by the tsunami and so he could interview all the CNN journalists “on the ground” in Banda Aceh about what is was like for them being there “on the ground”. Interviewing journalists who are suppose to be interviewing disaster victims is a ploy often used when there are no victims around to be interviewed – which has hardly the case in Sri Lanka and Aceh. It is also used when a journalist has just arrived in a place and is finding his feet. But since we were constantly reminded that CNN’s reporters “were on the ground”, we presume they new exactly were their feet were. The technical term for this style of journalism is called “wank”. Larry and other anchors back in Atlanta would begin by asking: “I know as journalists we are suppose to remain impartial ... to stand back from the events happening around us no matter how harrowing, but ...” The journalist’s reply would usually begin thus: “As journalists we are taught to be impartial ... to stand back from the events happening around us, but ...” And/or: “I have covered many wars and natural disasters, but...” Viewers would then be treated to a few minutes of eyewitness spiel laced with personal pronouns about what it is like to be here in this devastated place while the producer was running around looking for a victim or someone from an NGO to interview. This style of personality journalism was invented by CNN. It is irksome. It elevates the journalist to the level of the event he or she is supposied to be covering, making them part of the story. In many cases this filters the importance of the story they are covering because it has to share the limelight with the reporter (although in this case, the events being covered were of such magnitude, that was impossible to do, even for the smug-looking Aaron Bradley who was also “on the ground” in Aceh). It is also unnecessary, as a journalist’s descriptions and opinions can be easily fused into a report without the viewer having to look at his or her mug or be bombarded with personal pronouns. It is anti-journalism. Get behind the camera where you belong, do your job as it is supposed to be done and save all this for your mates down the pub. ------------------ Graphic detail Sometimes it takes far less than 1,000 words to paint a picture. The two examples below describe the aftermath of the December 26 tsunmani in Khao Lak and Banda Aceh with a gut-wrenching panorama that a single photograph or 30 seconds of video would find hard to match. The first is a description of Khao Lak in Phang Na; the second is from a dispatch out of Banada Aceh. Khao Lak “The beach is a ruined landscape, eerily quiet, save for the hum of mechanical diggers searching for corpses … Bodies are everywhere, wedged into cracks in the walls of crumpled buildings and floating, blackened and bloated, in the receding floodwaters. “Those excavated lie in untidy heaps on the sand. Others, wrapped in blue tarpaulins or bloodstained sheets, are lined up at the roadside, awaiting transport. Exhausted rescue workers sit among them, eating their lunch. The stench of death is overpowering.” – Independent, London. Banda Aceh “People with head injuries and broken bodies lie groaning on the hospital floor, covered in blood. Others lie outside in the heat and sun. Also in the sun are the dead. “Normally, this is Banda Aceh’s military hospital, but early yesterday there were hardly any doctors or nurses. “Rotting bandages, dirt, mud and debris cover the hospital floor. On the steps outside, a boy with half his skull crushed sits conscious and shivering. No one attends to him. All he can do is pray to Allah. “There is mud, debris, masonry, and upturned motorbikes. Limbs stick out of the mud and bodies are left where they had been dumped by Sunday's surging sea.” -Herald Sun, Melbourne. ------------------ Singular courage An Australian survivor spoke of a small Thai man on a water tower who saved several people by snatching them as they swept by him out to sea. With impossible strength, and at great personal risk, he dragged them from the torrent and certain death. – Sydney Morning Herald. ------------------ Opportunism This is so unfortunate. If the US had warned the Asians of this horrific event, we wouldn't have had to see all these people dead. What a shame. Shame on the Americans for their ignorance. – forum guest on Al Jazeera website. ------------------ Locals shining through A Swedish woman and her daughter, survivors of the tsunami, were walking barefoot along a street in Phuket on Monday when a Thai woman stopped them. “She took off her shoes and insisted I take them,” the tourist said. “I tried to tell her I was all right, I was fortunate, I had not lost my family, but she insisted I take them. And then she bought a pair of shoes for my daughter. I tried to pay her but she would not take the money, even though I am sure she had much less than me.” ------------------ You survived! $100 please An Ontario woman is outraged she was asked to pay 100 Canadian dollars (Bt3,200) for a replacement passport from Canadian officials after surviving the devastation in southern Asia. Elizabeth Theodosiou says she was in Thailand touring with her band when disaster struck. She told Global TV that she lost everything in the giant waves, and went to the Canadian Embassy to try and get a new passport. She says she was forced to fill out form after form. Then officials asked that she pay to replace her lost passport. She says she couldn't believe it. Canadian officials say they are now waiving the fee. – Global News Canada. ------------------ Banks being banks I just went to Barclays Bank and tried to pay direct to the hospital … they wanted to charge me ?20 (Bt1,470) for the transaction. A person in the UK wanting to donate money to the Patong Hospital through a Thai bank account set up for that purpose. ------------------ Change channels As if the lingering shots of blackened and bloated bodies washed up onto the shore were not enough, one Thai channel began treating viewers to outdoor autopsies being carried out by Western doctors in Phuket. ------------------ Question of priorities We will, of course, keep you updated on the bar situation [in Phuket] and hopefully get a report from Prowler in our next mailing. – Asia Bugle e-newsletter. ------------------ Localise it Former local man was in Thailand when tsunami hit. – headline in the Muncie Star Press. Area couple’s honeymoon turned hellish. – Sacramento Bee. A Muskogee couple’s brush with this week's tsunami in the Indian Ocean. – KOTV Ex-Seaside resident injured in tsunami. – The Californian. Coppell family escapes tsunami at Thai resort. – Fort Worth Star Telegram Ex-TV reporter survives tsunami. – Syracuse Post Standard. ------------------ Humanity vs religion Occupied Jerusalem: With thousands of bodies washed up and more others left stranded by the tidal waves that devastated Asia this week, a Palestinian couple rushed to the aid of a pair of Israeli honeymooners. “It's simply an amazing couple. They paid for one hotel night and our plane tickets. It's wonderful,” Yossi Gross told the Maariv newspaper Wednesday, December 29, after arriving back in Israel. – IslamOnline.net. ------------------ Blues festival donations The organisers of the first Koh Samui Blues & World Music Festival, a 10-day music marathon that ended last Thursday, said the event had raised nearly Bt1 million for the festival’s Andaman Aid fund. The proceeds of the fund will be donated to the Thailand Disaster Fund to help tsumani victims.
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