The missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 has been one of the most prominent news stories internationally for the past two weeks, perhaps triumphed only by Russia’s scarily militaristic annexation of Crimea. The official announcement by the Malaysian Prime Minister concluding that there was no hope for any remaining survivors was a final blow to the victims’ families hanging on to their last hopes by a thread. However, fair enough for them to remain hopeful because how else is someone expected to deal with such trauma. What I have a problem with in regards to the whole story is the media’s approach to investigating what happened to the plane throughout an inconclusive investigation to this day.
Like I said, fair enough for the victims’ families to cling on to whatever hope they can but for the media to perpetuate the growingly outrageous ideas of survivors was becoming an extreme stretch when taking into account the magnitude of the international search looking for the plane. Far too many “experts” were called into weigh in on the disappearance, ranging from semi-understandable former-pilots and air force workers to outrageous conspiracists leading the discussion along the lines of alien abductions and meteor strikes. Now obviously those were partially in jest (I hope), but the irresponsibility caused by these myths must have only stood to cause more damage to those affected as a result of their crushed hopes.
I would like to believe there were survivors as well as any other hopeful person, but to hope that people crashed-landed, survived and found their way aboard a wee lifeboat and found their way to a LOST-esque island might just be a little more of a stretch then I’m willing to believe. I understand the story had to be followed, and considering no developments really have happened other than numerous floating objects being found and then being proven to have come from elsewhere it must have been a tricky one to cover. However, when the line between investigative journalism and inventive journalism is crossed in the case of a serious, unsolved tragedy it all seems a bit tacky.
[Image: International Business Times]
I would like to believe there were survivors as well as any other hopeful person, but to hope that people crashed-landed, survived and found their way aboard a wee lifeboat and found their way to a LOST-esque island might just be a little more of a stretch then I’m willing to believe. I understand the story had to be followed, and considering no developments really have happened other than numerous floating objects being found and then being proven to have come from elsewhere it must have been a tricky one to cover. However, when the line between investigative journalism and inventive journalism is crossed in the case of a serious, unsolved tragedy it all seems a bit tacky.
[Image: International Business Times]