to think some of the earthquake coverage is overly intrusive?

bringincrazyback · 2023-02-08T22:17:25+00:00

Just been watching BBC news coverage. I really don't think it's necessary or appropriate for a camera to zoom in on someone who's just been told a loved one has died and film lingering shots of someone's utter heartbreak and despair in that moment. What does it add? We don't need this sort of intrusive, almost voyeuristic shot to drive home the scale of the tragedy. AIBU to think it's in poor taste?

Neededanewuserhandle · 08/02/2023 22:30

YANBU I have had to start avoiding the coverage on TV and even radio. I realise people are suffering but the coverage is starting to be almost pornograpic (in its literal meaning).

colouringindoors · 08/02/2023 22:31

yanbu. I think it's harder and harder to get a "reaction" from the viewers 😪

RumpleDumple · 08/02/2023 22:32

Sky news is also very intrusive. I stopped watching it on Monday - wall to wall coverage of people suffering, grieving etc is really not my cup of tea.

TheObstinateHeadstrongGirl · 08/02/2023 22:32

YANBU I had to turn off the news yesterday when they showed a toddler with a camera shoved in his face being rescued after losing his mum and dad. I found it way too upsetting and have avoided the news today.

JustAGirlInACountrySong · 08/02/2023 22:33

yabu

HollyGolightly4 · 08/02/2023 22:34

YANBU. I've had to switch off from the coverage because it feels voyeuristic

Original poster

bringincrazyback · 08/02/2023 22:36

JustAGirlInACountrySong · 08/02/2023 22:33

yabu

Why?

OP posts:

toomuchlaundry · 08/02/2023 22:36

I can’t imagine having a camera in my face at the moment I am told a family member has died. We don’t need to see or hear their plaintive cries to know how awful this situation is

Emmamoo89 · 08/02/2023 22:49

Yanbu

AtrociousCircumstance · 08/02/2023 22:53

I haven’t watched any coverage. Have read about it and donated.

I agree OP. Griefsploitation.

Florxa · 08/02/2023 22:55

Yanbu, It feels like the news has been doing that way for quite a while nkw, very intrusive almost reality show style for some stories. 24 hour rolling news and social media news to blame, the constant need to have "more" of everything.

FictionalCharacter · 08/02/2023 22:57

I agree, it feels voyeuristic and exploitative. I've stopped watching. But I've heard people argue that putting this in front of people so graphically encourages donations.

SweetSakura · 08/02/2023 22:59

Yanbu. I think it's grotesque at times.
I lost a friend in the boxing day tsunami and remember finding the level of coverage deeply distressing even then (I tried to avoid it but lived in a shared student house). And it's got worse since.

It's possibly to convey the scale of a tragedy without being intrusively voyeuristic

Original poster

bringincrazyback · 08/02/2023 23:39

SweetSakura · 08/02/2023 22:59

Yanbu. I think it's grotesque at times.
I lost a friend in the boxing day tsunami and remember finding the level of coverage deeply distressing even then (I tried to avoid it but lived in a shared student house). And it's got worse since.

It's possibly to convey the scale of a tragedy without being intrusively voyeuristic

So sorry about your friend. I agree, I remember the coverage of the tsunami being very full on in a similar way to how they're covering the quakes now.

OP posts:

acquiescence · 08/02/2023 23:43

I think most people don’t want to see it as they don’t want to feel others’ sadness. We are so bad at confronting tragedy, loss and grief in this country, we prefer to avoid and think that nothing awful will ever happen to us. There is an argument for trying to understand the horror of the situation. There is also an element of voyeurism.

It probably depends on the individual’s outlook and history of trauma and adverse life events.

RoseBucket · 08/02/2023 23:46

Agree there was a picture yesterday if a dad holding his 15 year old daughters hand, she had died and he sat there all night holding her hand waiting for help, they had even dig a social media picture of them together out and put the photos side by side. Absolutely crossing a line.

Neededanewuserhandle · 08/02/2023 23:53

We are so bad at confronting tragedy, loss and grief in this country
No we aren't. We are very very good at it.

Original poster

bringincrazyback · 09/02/2023 14:06

acquiescence · 08/02/2023 23:43

I think most people don’t want to see it as they don’t want to feel others’ sadness. We are so bad at confronting tragedy, loss and grief in this country, we prefer to avoid and think that nothing awful will ever happen to us. There is an argument for trying to understand the horror of the situation. There is also an element of voyeurism.

It probably depends on the individual’s outlook and history of trauma and adverse life events.

I'm not so sure it's about not wanting to feel other people's sadness - for me anyway, it's more of a feeling that if a person has just lost a loved one, they should be able to have those initial moments of utter anguish in relative privacy, rather than have potentially millions of TV viewers see them. It definitely feels voyeuristic at times.

I'm not sure there is an argument for trying to make sense of this particular situation, though, as it's a natural disaster rather than anything humankind could have controlled or averted?

OP posts:

TheObstinateHeadstrongGirl · 09/02/2023 14:14

Neededanewuserhandle · 08/02/2023 23:53

We are so bad at confronting tragedy, loss and grief in this country
No we aren't. We are very very good at it.

We can also feel grief without the graphic imagery of tragedy

Cornelious2011 · 09/02/2023 14:15

I agree, the few minutes I caught this morning was a reporter whispering as the rescuers were gathering to pull someone out of the rubble.

Trianglesquarerectangle · 09/02/2023 14:59

For me it was the picture of the man holding his daughters hand as her body was obviously completely crushed under a huge block of concrete. I don't think I will ever get that image out of me head.