Sichuan/Wenchuan Earthquake, China : Press coverage?

skyline5k

Warlord
Joined
Jan 27, 2004
Messages
110
Location
Shanghai, the Middle Kingdom
What's the press coverage in the rest of the world like? Here, it's been nonstop since May 12th. Both CCTV-9 and the new Shanghai English Channel, ICS, has been pumping Earthquake news originally (good) but has now started playing musical "rescue" clips & scenes of the damage, orphans, volunteers... set to some random song (bad). When they don't sell advertisements, they pump in Earthquake sympathy ads, asking for donations.

The 3 days "Mourning time" last week? Still not sure what to think of that one.

What did the rest of you hear?

Sharon Stone didn't hear a whole lot apparently. :rolleyes:
 
Most of what I know about it I learned from a friend who just returned from a business trip in China. I haven't seen that much on TV here, to be honest. But we're the United States. Did you hear that Kobe's Lakers knocked out the San Antonio Spurs?

Cleo
 
How many chanells do you have ?

What's the press coverage in the rest of the world like? Here, it's been nonstop since May 12th. Both CCTV-9 and the new Shanghai English Channel, ICS, has been pumping Earthquake news originally (good) but has now started playing musical "rescue" clips & scenes of the damage, orphans, volunteers... set to some random song (bad). When they don't sell advertisements, they pump in Earthquake sympathy ads, asking for donations.

The 3 days "Mourning time" last week? Still not sure what to think of that one.

What did the rest of you hear?

That reminds me of what happned when a plane with 150 passengers crushed two years ago. Propaganda and the thought process behind a news chanel does not differ as much as we like to believe from example China to other parts of the world. However there where extensive reports on the responsibilities of governmental authorities from reporters on the incidents. Where such media reports in China ? I don't think that the half truth you are getting is bad but that it is just the half truth.
 
On TV, I saw Sharon Stone call the Earth Quake "karma" for what the Chinese did to Tibetans. I guess Hurricane Katrina was karma for America's slave trading past; even though the people who suffered most were African Americans.
 
I don't watch TV but the internet news has at least one article a day on something related to it...

yesterday they mentioned that Sharon Stone said karma was punishing the Chinese with an earthquake for being evil to the Tibetans (or just mean?). The article also mentioned that she is a longtime friend of the Dalai Lama, who the Chinese don't like (for financing a revolution or something).

I can't imagine the Dalai Lama thinking anything like that, considering how progressive he is, but it's clear Sharon Stone thinks so.

edit - found link! (yay)

edit 2 (Karma isn't a god. sry)
 
However there where extensive reports on the responsibilities of governmental authorities from reporters on the incidents.
Here too. The next morning, Wen Jia Bao was right out near the epicenter of the quake as the army poured in to try to figure out just exactly what happened.

Example of what we get here... the ICS movie just ended. News doesn't start till 12:30am (replay). From 12:10 to 12:30, nothing but earthquake footage, including one clip done to Bryan Adam's "All for One" (Robin Hood movie, I think?) and a few Darth Vader-sounding clips talking about the damage, repeated 4 times before the news came on.

Take a guess what the first 15 minutes of the actual news program was about?
 
Here too. The next morning, Wen Jia Bao was right out near the epicenter of the quake as the army poured in to try to figure out just exactly what happened.

Example of what we get here... the ICS movie just ended. News doesn't start till 12:30am (replay). From 12:10 to 12:30, nothing but earthquake footage, including one clip done to Bryan Adam's "All for One" (Robin Hood movie, I think?) and a few Darth Vader-sounding clips talking about the damage, repeated 4 times before the news came on.

Take a guess what the first 15 minutes of the actual news program was about?

I still don't find it terribly odd. What different subject would media be able to squezee over time and time again ? The reasons your media may be doing it could be different but i am not sure that if it happened say in France that the media coverage (excluding possible lack of damning of the goverment in your case) would be similar. Hell this isn't China but five minuites footage of the earthquake are among the first news of each day continually until now. Why?
Because of the media mindset.

I understand it. I don't accept it but i understand it. What i don;t understand are half truths. Can you offer more examples of criticism to the goverment ?
 
It probably took up a good 10-15 minutes of the nightly news for the first week. Now it is many just image and death count clips. Though that damn thing is getting a lot of coverage right now.

Internet sites normally have at least one article on it a day, even now.
 
It's been really thoroughly covered in the BBC and CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corp.) The actual earthquake, its exacerbating factors and the humanitarian costs was leading the news for about a week or so.


As well, the other Canadian media has been doing some really good commentary about how the CCP's reaction was shaped by the New Year blizzards, and how the mass civilian mobilisation is fairly unprecedented, and is worrying to the CCP.
 
Top Bottom