Crisis Journalism

Reporting a crisis is a tough, challenging task, unlike writing poetic articles about sportsplayers and their masterful play. A true picture of the situation has to be presented. There is no room for displaying your writing skills or to share your socio-political ideas. Invariably, more people see the news when a crisis hits (e.g. sep 11, riots in gujarat, iraq war, hurricane katrina etc.) and strong opinions about leaders and governments are formed by judgng how they react to such situations. Most importantly, a true report of the situation helps in bringing relief and aid and helps in resolving the crisis. These reports are much more important than the daily gossip about movie actors and actresses, hence it is essential that the coverage be unbiased, unprovocative, nonfrivolous and strictly based on facts.

It is also the time when the "News channels (all news media)" really peak their ratings and make a lot of cash. Being in a very competitive market, some tend to lose focus and instead of reporting responsibly, produce news reports that are solely for the purpose of making money. They sensationalise the issue. Tragedies are inflated, shots of people crying and wailing are repeated incessantly, shots of devastation and destruction are shown. By playing up the emotional angle, it is easy to woo the viewers.Some channels downplay the issue or shift the focus to something totally different. It is probably easy to do this rather than present a true picture of whats going on. Lots of media groups have political and religious connections, and this becomes an ideal time for the channels to present their(pol., rel., org.) opinions. So the situation is "under control" if the party is in power and "out of control" if it is in the opposition.

All this biased, sometimes false coverage of the issue, leads to anger, confusion, and stress, but rarely does it help in resolving the crisis or bringing relief to the people who need it most. It is important that the media coverage of a crisis help in resolving it sooner rather than complicating it. Journalists and newscasters should realise that their words can have a profound effect, and report appropriately and seriously.