RI TV's disastrous Aceh coverage<\/p>\n
Despite the deepest grief for our fellow Indonesians who
\nbecame victims of the horrible tsunami disaster in Aceh and North
\nSumatra, I have been amazed and even confused at how the local TV
\nstations, except Metro TV, have responded to the tragic
\nsituation.<\/p>\n
I cannot believe that the news and updates of this sad tragedy
\nare only aired during their regular news schedules. I guess the
\npeople running these stations are stone-hearted humans or they
\njust do not care enough, even after we have lost perhaps 100,000
\nlives.<\/p>\n
In this respect, I appreciate Metro TV for their continuous
\nairing of the latest development of the disaster. The same must
\nbe done by other TV stations, considering the magnitude of
\ndisaster.<\/p>\n
Indeed, in the last couple of days, a couple of stations have
\nstarted to have additional info in the form of tiny moving news
\ntickers at the bottom of the screen. But they often only contain
\ndetails of the station's bank accounts for donations to Aceh as
\nwell as names of donors. That is the extent of it! Other than
\nthat, it is business as usual for these TV stations. It is truly
\nunbelievable that the portion of news for one of the worst
\ndisasters in history is so small that even for certain TV
\nstations, the ongoing \"Reza and Ajie\" celebrity divorce news has
\na higher priority. What a sad situation.<\/p>\n
Back in 2001, a couple days after the Sept. 11 tragedy in the
\nUnited States, almost all the TV stations aired the latest
\nsituation updates for several days. It is still clear in my mind
\nas well, how several TV stations aired the moments of the U.S.
\ninvasion in Iraq and continued for the first few weeks. One TV
\nstation even continuously aired the live updates in cooperation
\nwith an Arabic TV station.<\/p>\n
I have not seen a similar response to the catastrophe that has
\noccurred in our own land and to our fellow citizens.<\/p>\n
Certainly what happened in Aceh should be given a much greater
\nproportion than the above-mentioned events. Why should we care
\nanymore about celebrity breakups or reunions. Our tears should be
\nfor our poor brothers, sisters and children in Aceh and North
\nSumatra.<\/p>\n
IRMA F. SUMARYANTO, Tangerang, Banten<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ri-tvs-disastrous-aceh-coverage-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }