At least 10,000 people are probably dead in the terrible cyclone in Myanmar. Will news coverage of this event finally get Rev. Wright off the front page? The Rev. Wright issue has refused to die for several days now, but now his 15 minutes may be up.
I think the Myanmar cyclone will put the Rev. Wright issue to bed. After the primaries tomorrow, the election news will slack off a bit.
While I’m sure Obama is saddened by the tragedy, he’s probably glad that there is another newsworthy event to cover.
The front page headline in the local paper yesterday (The Daily News?) was something about (I didn’t read beyond that) “Wright Stole His Wife.” So? Even if the thrust of the article was that a supposed holy man was involved in someone breaking their marriage vows (him? her?), if it was any other preacher, it wouldn’t have made it further up the page 26, below the fold.
Unfortunately, it speaks to our media culture…further confirms we care more about being plugged-in than we care about atrocities abroad. The Election and all the recent service men and women who have died in Iraq - both seem to get high coverage.
The tsunami affected a lot of westerners who were living or vacationing abroad, killed a lot more people, and hit several different countries. It also occurred during what is normally a pretty slow news week.
Burma is a closed country that most people only hear about when they arrest Aung San Suu Kyi or change the name of the country (Burma becomes Myanmar) or the capitol (Rangoon becomes Yangoon).
I’m not saying it won’t garner news or that it’s not a huge tragedy, just that I don’t believe it will sweep Wright out of the headlines.
Not to discount the Burmese* typhoon, but didn’t the tsunami happen the day after Christmas? That had to have been a slow news day and, not coming in the middle of an all-consuming election, took the forefront. I’m not advocating the self-centered view we have when it comes to the news, just trying to add a little more context to all the other bits.
What is the new angle that the MSM is using to keep the good reverend in the news constantly? How many times can they ask Obama whether he condemns and repudiates the man’s views before it becomes a parody of itself?
Meh, Canada could’ve annexed Maine, and the only way the rest of the country would hear about it is the news coverage speculating how it might effect the Dem primary. We’re basically not going to get more then 30 seconds of news on anything else till November.
Wright’s replacement may actually be his replacement. The Myanmar government is run by the military and they’re not too keen on allowing aid into the country. Not too sure how long they will be in the news.
Looks like I was right. The cyclone has certainly been the headline on CNN’s website except for the coverage of the primaries. Rev. Wright is a footnote.
Yeah, the cyclone became a headline story for CNN… as soon as the estimated death toll reached six figures. Maybe I’m being naive, but I hate that this question is being asked.
For whatever it’s worth, I think last night’s primary results would have knocked Wright far from the front page even if there hadn’t been a horrible natural disaster. The pundits all seemed to think Indiana and NC proved that Obama is over the Wright controversy. Until they or McCain think of another way to bring it back, that is.
I found it interesting watching the news channels in our hotel up North. The wife and I get BBC and not CNN at home here in Bangkok. We flew to Chiang Mai the day the cyclone hit. CNN says Myanmar and Yangon, while BBC sticks with Burma and Rangoon. The latter is what Thailand’s English-language press uses, too.