Haiti TV coverage: Reporters saving lives is good, but selling it on TV feels bad

I have watched none of the TV coverage of the Haiti earth quakes. That’s not to say I haven’t been following the story — I just prefer to get my news online. So I’m blogged this story which discusses what appears to be a trend in TV coverage.

The aftermath of the Haitian earthquake is one of those stories that
alters the guiding principle of journalism – that reporters are here to
observe and document. Their job is not to be part of whatever is
happening, but to be the eyes and ears for readers or viewers who want
to know and can’t be there.

But from the moment the first correspondents in Haiti transmitted
their first reports on this earthquake, it was clear this was not a
traditional situation where reporters could come in, take a spin
around, talk to a few locals for their reaction, then file a story.

There are still people trapped under slabs of concrete. There are
people with shattered limbs who have waited days for medical attention.
Food and water are almost unavailable in many places. There is so
little functioning infrastructure that supplies can’t be moved a few
miles to people whose lives they would save.

It is still theoretically possible to pass through this landscape,
take notes and file a story. But most reporters can’t do that, and
equally to the point, we wouldn’t want them to. —David Hinckley, NY Daily News