Covering disasters and the media mandate : the 2004 tsunami

The Western media have been accused of judging the extent of Asian disasters by the number of Europeans affected. Do such assumptions persist in pan-Asian publications, which now enjoy the benefits of increasingly globalized communications? Does the press suffer from disaster exhaustion, reporting the initial impact but losing interest as the spotlight of international coverage moves elsewhere? Do national priorities frame the reporting of other people's disasters? This paper considers these questions by examining reportage of the 2004 tsunami by eight regional newspapers. The paper will analyse the themes adopted, the sources privileged and the issues pursued. It addresses the journalists' responsibilities in such events.