Covering Disaster: Media responses to the tsunami and its aftermath

Evaluating Tsunami Coverage

News and reviews of how the press is performing

WORLD: When four million dead isn't news
Aid experts raise attention to disasters 'forgotten' by media

SRI LANKA: Thousands of villagers on southern and eastern coasts flee their homes after false tsunami warning
Experts say proper use of the media and disaster management plan could prevent such panic in the future

US: Tsunami survivor copes with ten-day media barrage
Santa Monica resident receives bevy of media inquiries, emphasizes importance of "human contact" and "respect" for journalists covering tsunami survivors

Reporting amidst conflict and crisis
Sri Lankan journalist, Feizal Samath, appraises the challenges of reporting on a disaster in a country divided by a twenty-year-long war

"Many papers covered the tsunami so extensively that they were not able to maintain any semblance of balance, or to do justice to other important stories such as the Ukraine election and Sabarimala Pilgrimage."
-- Vaikom Madhu

"As the crisis deepens, the journalism has not."
--Danny Schecter

Caught between tragedy and propaganda
Emmy Fitri says the media has to battle against TNI propaganda in the aftermath of the tsunami by staying loyal to truth

Kerala media in the chase to cover the tsunami
Journalist Vaikom Madhu surveys Indian coverage of the tsunami that devastated the South Indian coastline

Helicopter Journalism: What's Missing in the Tsunami Coverage
Media advocate Danny Schecter says that what we need is "inside-out" and bottom up coverage -- not just reporting from the clouds

NEPAL: Nepali media give prominent coverage to Asia quake
A review of major Nepalese dailies' headlines the morning after deadly quake and tsunamis hit Asia

The Digital Wave

Bloggers and Internet enthusiasts find a wealth of information and a new form of community news in cyberspace

WORLD: Riding the tsunami wave
Fraudulent websites about tsunami victims fool do-gooders into giving in donations that never reach the correct place

WORLD: Tsunami aftermath includes crooks phishing for funds
Inboxes filled with phony requests for relief, websites in Canada, Australia, US, England, Singapore and China are cyber crime

INDIA: Front page photo of the tsunami turns out to be a sham
Photos from PTI website showing tsunami as it happened--published by major dailies, including the Times of India and Calgary Herald--turn out to be from 2002 China tidal wave

AUSTRALIA: Web users pitch in to global relief effort
Blog rings provide a database of information on how to locate missing persons and how to donate either money or clothing

WORLD: In time of disaster, bloggers make their mark
As worry-struck families attempt to find loved ones in South and Southeast Asia, Internet weblogs are proving to be valuable sources of fast, reliable information about tsunamis

Praise and Doubt

Commentaries about Internet coverage of the tsunami

How citizen reporters get the news out first
The news media are beaten to the punch by internet amateurs in tsunami coverage, says Hugh Martin

Tsunami bloggers in tribal news network
An army of bloggers have been riding the tsunami wave of no information and just might be the digital wave of the future, says James Borton