Don't you love the news when there is a disaster overseas?

[RB TexLa]

"Disaster kills thousands, when we come back we'll have a live interview with the three Americans who's flight was delayed over thirty minutes due to the disaster. We'll have their story of how they survived and I'll ask them how they plan to move forward with their lives after the break."

[tekisui]

1. link?

[RagAss]

2. LOL...so true.

[Berry Cool]

3. Well, unfortunately that's what they call "the local angle."

It's not that they assume you won't be interested unless Americans are involved, or that they believe you shouldn't care unless Americans are involved, it's that they assume you will be MORE interested if Americans are involved.

You may be assured that in the Indonesian media, any Indonesian victim of 9/11 received high attention vs. the others who died.

It's not a value judgment.

(edited for typo fix, and to add: Yeah, it seems coarse and some of them go overboard because they will try to make it sound like "inconvenienced" Americans are just as victimized as DEAD people from other countries, which is absurd--but it also happens when Americans die vs. when others die)

[phasma ex machina]

8. Yon calls the phenomenon "slap and tickle"

The British press often plays slap and tickle: they issue sharp-tongued remarks about American troops (slap), while moments later shamelessly gratifying hometown readers with reports about the superiority of British troops (tickle). - Yon

[RaleighNCDUer]

10. As opposed to how our press covers the troops :

our troops are the only ones over there.

[On the Road]

4. It Has Been With Us for Awhile

In 1978, the National Lampoon parodied the myopic way most American media report such news with its spoof Ohio newspaper, the Dacron Republican-Democrat. "Two Dacron Women Feared Missing in Volcanic Disaster," a headline declared. Beneath it, a subhead added: "Japan Destroyed."

[Ineeda]

5. nailed it. n/t

[TheCowsCameHome]

6. ...isn't that the truth.

[Locut0s]

7. It's disgusting. But also a good reminder that you should be getting your news from...

Reliable sources. Like the BBC, CBC, reuters etc. It's amazing the coverage difference you get just by switching channels. CNN will cover the death of thousands of people for 2 mins vs 30 or more on these other networks if there is no American impact.

[phasma ex machina]

9. OT - To its credit the BBC does a superb job with documentaries.

"Oppenheimer", for example, seems to stick to know facts. But you need hip-waders to watch Newman and Cusack hamming it up in "Fat Man & Little Boy"