Ground Zero? Hmm, what country do we live in again? Yes, the one that now 'guns people down' instead of shooting them and 'locks down' schools
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To be fair the term Ground Zero existed long before The World Trade centre and is recognised as being the point of earthquakes, cyclones etc. that receive the most damage or the epicentre of such events. I've said it before, my sister is a journalist and I will defend her choice of career. Yes they do go overboard with the reporting but I can imagine what would happen if they didn't cover it. I've personally been watching ABC2 all morning, because it's showing cartoons, but I am keeping an eye on news.com.au and the ABC news site just to see what's happening.
The incessant use of ground zero only became fashionable after the world trade centre, from my shakey knowledge i beleive it was actually a war term, but i could well be wrong
Its not responsible journalism thats an issue, its irresponsible coverage, half arsed reports when there are no facts available and endless speculation to fill in time and pad out real reporting. Of course we expect events to be covered, but properly. Journalism is not the careeer it once was sadly, but i do hope your sister is one of the better ones still out there.
Yep, ground zero was first used after the bombing of Hiroshima. Then because of the similarities of the devastation between that and earthquakes, floods, tsunamis etc. it spread to refer to natural disasters. I too loathe the Americanisation of things and how they seem to feel a need to turn everything into a catch phrase. It's also laziness to shorten something so horrible to a snappy little term.
I like to think my sister is pretty good at what she does, she's risen dramatically from reporting on school concerts in a little local paper to working for the biggest news service in Australia and the western world. It's because we're so obsessed with everything being instant that we demand constant updates, even when nothing is happening. I admit I got up at 5 this morning to see what had happened, but once it dawned (pun intended) on me that it was still dark and they couldn't see the damage, I turned off the telly.
It sickens me and it does nothing but frighten people trying to prepare and stay calm. We need the media to release information to help and support people in areas of risk, we need accurate reporting of facts so residents can make informated choices. It needs to be clear that BOM reporting is largely educated guesswork and eventually decisions need to be made. The hysteria around this is disgusting it is indeed like a frenzy. I was most appalled at a council website that had a link to a countdown clock! Seriously, why? Its not an exact science
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I remember running down to get the pegs off the line in cyclone warnings........they'll take someones bloody eye out they will!!!!!
But seriously, I keep hearing our journos and ad gurus referring to our "closets". A closet is no place for red cabbage....it simply must be a wardrobe!
and in stark contrast today i watched a journalist filming out the window on his mobile phone whilst he was holed up in a hotel in Egypt. His crew had been dragged from a taxi and held for a short time before being cleared to leave. Other journalists in the area had been assaulted and it appeared foreign journalists were now the popular target. Now this is journalism with integrity in my book, letting the world know what is going on in a hostile and unpredicatble environment, not placing devasted families in front of the most damaged building they can find and asking them inane questions.
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I've said it before, my sister is a journalist and I will defend her choice of career. Yes they do go overboard with the reporting but I can imagine what would happen if they didn't cover it. I've personally been watching ABC2 all morning, because it's showing cartoons, but I am keeping an eye on news.com.au and the ABC news site just to see what's happening.
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Its not responsible journalism thats an issue, its irresponsible coverage, half arsed reports when there are no facts available and endless speculation to fill in time and pad out real reporting. Of course we expect events to be covered, but properly. Journalism is not the careeer it once was sadly, but i do hope your sister is one of the better ones still out there.
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I too loathe the Americanisation of things and how they seem to feel a need to turn everything into a catch phrase. It's also laziness to shorten something so horrible to a snappy little term.
I like to think my sister is pretty good at what she does, she's risen dramatically from reporting on school concerts in a little local paper to working for the biggest news service in Australia and the western world.
It's because we're so obsessed with everything being instant that we demand constant updates, even when nothing is happening. I admit I got up at 5 this morning to see what had happened, but once it dawned (pun intended) on me that it was still dark and they couldn't see the damage, I turned off the telly.
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But seriously, I keep hearing our journos and ad gurus referring to our "closets". A closet is no place for red cabbage....it simply must be a wardrobe!
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