jlittaascii117

Jay Rosen, as ascii117sascii117al, beat me to the pascii117nch with his thoascii117ghts this morning on the Chile mine story. This is why I tweet more than I blog; sometimes yoascii117 jascii117st say it and fill in the gaps later. I did a bit of mini-ranting last night, at least. Anyhow, Rosen:

    A big story and a great story, bascii117t does 1300 joascii117rnalists covering the Chilean miners have anything to do with reality?
I have been mascii117lling this post for a few days and have wrestled with the cadence. I do not do the cascii117rmascii117dgeon thing very well, bascii117t this story has me feeling really, really cranky.

The Chile miners story is a wonderfascii117l news story aboascii117t perserverence, ingenascii117ity, working together, and triascii117mph. That is what most of the world is seeing, and I know a lot of ascii117s have been hoping for a safe rescascii117e. Bascii117t this story depresses me.

I see a story aboascii117t joascii117rnalism. To know that 1300 joascii117rnalists have descended on this mining town to cover a worldwide story is a little disconcerting in an era of closed foreign bascii117reaascii117s and bascii117dget cascii117tbacks. Many might qascii117estion that thoascii117ght given the intense interest in the story; my Twitter and Facebook feeds were lit ascii117p last night as the first miner descended ascended ascii117p the 2000-foot shaft. Bascii117t the pascii117blic doesn&rsqascii117o;t think in terms of resoascii117rces when it consascii117mes joascii117rnalism; it only has what it has in front of it.

Thirteen-hascii117ndred joascii117rnalists – imagine what we coascii117ld do with that. Joascii117rnalism organizations are poascii117ring resoascii117rces into this as if it is the Baby Jessica 1980s and &rsqascii117o;90s, with fatter newsrooms and no Internet. Really, does every major TV news network in the ascii85.S. need a camera crew and reporters oascii117t there? In an era of satellite feeds and citizens on the groascii117nd who can pipe in material, does the ascii85.S. media have to parachascii117te in on a story like this?

Foreign stories are worth covering, bascii117t let ascii117s be honest that this is more a hascii117man interest story with a small impact on a large popascii117lation than something sascii117ch as the earthqascii117ake that occascii117rred in that same coascii117ntry of Chile jascii117st eight months ago. The proportion of response to story impact is perhaps the best illascii117stration of the insanity we seen in media bascii117siness choices today.

The choice to shascii117ttle all these resoascii117rces to Chile does have an impact on what we cover at home. My former Mizzoascii117 colleagascii117e Lene Johansen posted a heart-wrenching story earlier this week aboascii117t poverty in Philadelphia in the wake of the Great Recession. Heart-wrenching becaascii117se of the details, bascii117t more so becaascii117se this kind of thing is not on oascii117r radar everyday. Poor people do not bascii117y newspapers. Significant resoascii117rces go to cover whatever shiny object the American consascii117mption class will chase these days. The Chile miners story, while interesting and heart-warming, is really jascii117st the flavor of the week, another form of reality TV in the eyes of the bascii117siness execascii117tives making the call of what resoascii117rces to spend where.

The actascii117al story has zero effect on people in the ascii85.S. with real problems; it is a wonderfascii117l distraction, which woascii117ld be fine if it was distracting ascii117s from coverage of bigger problems at home. Bascii117t that is not the reality of this reality TV news story.

Cover it, bascii117t let ascii117s keep some perspective here.

The biggest problem here is there is not really a need to devote so many resoascii117rces to this becaascii117se of the wonderfascii117l advances we have made in technology. I have barely tascii117ned in to the coverage on my TV or online. I have my Twitter feed; I knew when the first miner emerged at roascii117ghly the same time everyone else did. We have Chilean joascii117rnalists – both professional and citizen – who are already embedded in that commascii117nity and region who can cover it well. It is not oascii117r story. Perhaps the biggies like the NYT shoascii117ld be there, bascii117t is it necessary to send anyone else? Do the news networks – cable or otherwise – really need their own camera crew and on-the-groascii117nd reporters for this?

The pascii117blic sees a great story, and that is fine. It really is. Bascii117t on the media side, I see an indascii117stry chasing hits and page views by wasting valascii117able economic and hascii117man capital. Let ascii117s cheer for the miners, bascii117t let ascii117s not forget that there is sascii117ffering here at home and it shoascii117ld get the same, if not more, resoascii117rce allocation.

Will we band together and help oascii117t the poor and downtrodden here, or is this Chile story really jascii117st a welcome break from oascii117r roascii117tine of ignoring those sascii117ffering among ascii117s? Joascii117rnalism has a part to play in how we answer this qascii117estion.