CNN deserves a lot of credit for their sustained reporting on Haiti, weeks after the earthquake actually happened. FoxNews has moved on to their political agenda, and I’m not sure MSNBC was ever much interested in Haiti. But CNN is still there, keeping us informed.
I suspect their ratings are suffering as a result. That’s been the experience with disasters in the past. People have ADD when it comes to disasters–they get tired of hearing about it. So rather than lose viewers, TV shows change the subject to appease the fleeting tastes of their consumers. Yesterday’s disaster gets left behind. It’s still a disaster, still news, but it’s not what viewers want anymore.
But CNN has held firm, insisting that Haiti is still an important story.
It’s expensive, too, keeping reporters, camera crews, and producers on location. It’s much cheaper to let Sean Hannity or Keith Olberman pontificate in suit-and-tie from a studio. By comparison, sending reporters into the field costs big bucks. Though you can bet Fox will spend that money to cover, in force, the upcoming National Tea Party Convention. It’s a matter of priorities.