Indonesia's Tsunami Lost In The News Cycle?
Newspaper coverage hasn't been particularly extensive either – since Monday, neither The New York Times, The Washington Post or The Los Angeles Times have carried stories about the Indonesian tsunami on their front pages.
The media was lauded for its extensive coverage of the 2004 tsunami disaster that killed hundreds of thousands of people throughout South and Southeast Asia. One of the salient issues that coverage revealed was the lack of an early warning system for earthquakes and tsunamis throughout that region of the world – a system that could have perhaps limited that tragedy. The Los Angeles Times noted in its article today that "[t]he government had planned to establish a national tsunami warning system after a massive tsunami hit the Indonesian island of Sumatra and several other nations in December 2004, killing more than 220,000 people. More than half the victims were in the Indonesian province of Aceh. But the warning system project has stalled." Michael Kocher, country manager for the Indonesian Rescue Committee, told The New York Times, ''This surely points to the need to establish an effective warning system. Surely, this isn't the last tsunami we'll see in Indonesia.''' While there are clearly other international crises worthy of the media attention that are tying up the press's resources, the recent tragedy in Indonesia reveals a story worthy of more than just a mention.