Humanist: Compassion Fatigue: How The Media Sell Disease, Famine, War, and Death.(Review)

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Compassion Fatigue: How The Media Sell Disease, Famine, War, and Death.(Review)

Humanist, July, 1999, by Ronald D. Jr. Lankford

Compassion Fatigue: How The Media Sell Disease, Famine, War, and Death by Susan D. Moeller (New York: Routledge, 1999); 390 pp,; $27.50 cloth.

In 1992 relief officials warned that a famine loomed in the Republic of the Sudan, but the American press showed little interest in covering it. There were many reasons to ignore the story. Sudan's civil war continued and an unfriendly government made access into the country difficult. There was little American interest in Sudan (Sudan had supported Iraq during the Gulf War), and the internal politics of Sudan made any resolution seem improbable. Besides, there was already a famine in nearby Somalia with easy access, great images, and, eventually, American troops. The press had its famine.

International news stories vie for the public's attention: starving children in Ethiopia, epidemics in Zaire, assassinations in the Middle East, and genocide in Eastern Europe. The gaunt child or refugee may provoke pity, but the sheer number of crises and the violent imagery that accompanies them dull the senses. The pictures from the old famine begin to run together with the pictures from the new one. Soon, the public's eyes have glazed over.

Compassion Fatigue is a critical assessment of the American press' failure to adequately cover international news. Susan D. Moeller conducts a comparative study of how the mainstream media (CNN and network news plus the major newsweeklies and dailies) cover disease, famine, death, and war: the four horsemen of the apocalypse. In each of the four sections she explores the dynamics of crisis coverage: why each story relies on certain formulas (length of time, stereotypical characters and situations), why each story must have an American connection (culturally, economically), and why each story must have provocative imagery and language.

In March 1996, the press began to report on the possible connection between Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE or mad cow disease). With a novel disease, possible epidemic, and British connection, the press believed they had a story that would "surmount the compassion fatigue hurdle." They tried to bring an American element into the story by interviewing the wife and daughter of a Florida man who had died of CJD; they also reported when McDonald's restaurants in England discontinued the use of British beef. Still, no one was dying and the story fizzled out.

Moeller writes: "It's probable that if CJD had been tied to the eating of Asian or African water buffaloes it would never have come to the public's attention at all." Clearly the possible connection of CJD to BSE needed to be explored, but the media's attempt to turn CJD into the next Ebola fell flat.

On October 6, 1981, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat was assassinated. The press began their coverage by questioning what the crisis meant for the United States. Would amenable relations with Egypt continue? Video footage of the assassination and surrounding events emphasized the violence. Instead of attempting to describe disaffected Muslim sects in Egypt, the press boiled everything down to terrorism. Moeller writes: "Acts of terror are lethal and there is a presumption of future risk. Political assassinations, as narrowly defined, while lethal, do not typically pose a continued risk." Sadat's assassination received heavy coverage, but the story lacked context. The press even downplayed negative aspects of Sadat's past. When coverage was discontinued after the funeral, the public was left with a simple story about a saintly man cut down by fundamentalist terrorists.

Moeller offers several practical solutions for overcoming compassion fatigue. Instead of formula coverage, the media should take the time required to add depth to the context. Without foreknowledge of potential problems--as in the humanitarian mission to Somalia--no one is prepared when unexpected things happen. Moeller also warns against simplifying a story by using American connections. By comparing involvement in Yugoslavia to involvement in Vietnam, the situation is reduced to whether or not to get involved in a "quagmire." Finally, Moeller warns against graphic imagery and sensationalized news. Everyday crises like measles are important, too, and it is the media's job to make them interesting.

Despite its lively writing, Compassion Fatigue is an exhausting book. The number of crises analyzed leaves the reader acutely aware of the human need that exists in the world around us. It also makes us aware of just how important it is to take the necessary steps to avoid compassion fatigue. The media must choose stories where human need--not sensational images or an American connection--is paramount. They must take the time to explain why these stories are important and why the public should care. Only then will the public begin to pay attention and properly address the human need.

Ronald D. Lankford Jr. resides in southwest Virginia, where he reviews books for a local newspaper. His most recent piece of satire was published in the Door.