The astonishing weakness of many media outlets in weighing topics according to their actual importance is only understandable from an economic perspective. One consequence is dramatic information gaps.
Updated version from September 22, 2019.
Even after twenty years in the media industry, it's still shocking to see or read the emphasis that mainstream media places on supposedly top topics. Anyone who doesn't regularly turn to the back pages of an (online) newspaper or follow niche public broadcasting services like Arte and Phoenix learns nothing or far too little about many highly relevant topics.
Just four examples:
- The devastating war in Yemen, in which military equipment from Germany is also used, has only become a fairly regular topic in news reports since the Khashoggi murder. A good summary of our unspeakable handling of the greatest humanitarian catastrophe of our time can be found at n-tv.
- In the Eastern Congo According to United Nations estimates, “four to five” million people have been violently murdered in the past 20 years. diedCurrently, “8,5 million people, including 5,5 million children,” are dependent on humanitarian assistance, and according to Unicef, “400.000 children” are at risk starvationIf Article 1 of the UN Charter of Human Rights were used to select news, this would clearly be a headline story—every day!
Significantly, one of the underlying events, the Genocide in Rwanda in 1994, under the closed eyes of the global (media) public. The direct connection between our demand for the raw material coltan for smartphones and computers and the situation in the number one country of origin is also largely unknown in this country.
“All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.”
Article 1, United Nations Charter of Human Rights
- In Mexico rages Drug war, which is getting more and more out of control. numbers for 2017 are dramatic: Over 20.000 people died. Drug and human trafficking, extortion and murder are also common in Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua. to everyday life. About the Background only a few media outlets report.
- North Korea While President Kim's meeting with US President Trump briefly made headlines, the inhumane camp system for political prisoners was only mentioned in passing. Amnesty International estimates the number of inmates at 120.000. Men, women and children. In addition, there is the Malnutrition by hundreds of thousands of other people.
Did you like this article? Become a member!