Is All The Disaster News Makeing It Worse?

[stevehaigh]

i'm in the US at the moment and people here think thailand is in ruins, totally devestated. when i told my neighbour i am going back to thailand tomorrow she asked if the airport was open and if the trains were running!

it seems to me that all this disaster news is going to have a much worse long term effet on thailand than the tsunami itself, if tourists stay away because they think we are out of acition. the government should remind the world that 99.9% of thailand is completely unaffected by the tsunami and it's still a great place to visit.

just my $.02 worth.

[WernerS]

Nobody has ever said that Thailand is in ruins.

At least you try to understand that still there are 2000 missing people and the rescue of bodies will go on for days.

The "areas" affected are very few, but this is a national tragedy and the authorities are focussing on it. Also they have no time to drive the media.

Did the americans advertise holidays to the non affected areas of Manhattan while still seeking for bodies after the tragedy you american faced?. No, they focus in what they had to.

In here, time to think in holidays and leasure will begin, I guess, after the body count finishes and resconstruction start. Certainly Thailand will need tourists on those desvastated areas.

This is a great place to visit, with great people, and always will be. Just be sensitive now. Many people is in pain and the mood in here it is not as it is yours. Nobody intend to make a sensation of this tragedy.

All non affected areas are open as usual.

[damnaam]

Nobody has ever said that Thailand is in ruins. 

The news would have you believe it is. Despite constant reassurance from me, to people back home, that everything is pretty much back to normal where I live, I had a pharmacist friend in England text me yesterday offering to send out medical supplies I might be in need of. The others are just in pure disbelief that I haven't left the area already.

I don't believe the original poster was hinting at advertising holidays, more that there is a need to counter-balance, using factual information, the negativity of the mass-media. No harm in that...

[Darknight]

Thailand is getting Mass media coverage Much more then the other areas for the simpel reason that it's the place where the most Farang Casualties are.

The disaster is much worse in Sri lanka And indonesia , but as they are only local casualties there it still " far from my bad show" for most viewers.

Most People Also know Thailand Better as a Holiday destination then the other countries.

Is it a nice situation to only think about your own countrymen? NO.

Is it human nature? I'm afraid so.

[george]

Moved to General Topics

/Admin

[chuchok]

Thailand is getting Mass media coverage Much more then the other areas for the simpel reason that it's the place where the most Farang Casualties are.

The disaster is much worse in Sri lanka And indonesia , but as they are only local casualties there it still " far from my bad show" for most viewers.

Most People Also know Thailand Better as a Holiday destination then the other countries.

Is it a nice situation to only think about your own countrymen?    NO.

Is it human nature?  I'm afraid so.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

An example would be the 30,000 people that lost their lives in the Earthquake in Iran last year. I did not see that much coverage. when I did I just said to myself "poor buggers", without too much thought.

[Darknight]

/Moved To new disaster subfourm. Tsunami politics and comments.

[ProfessorFart]

I was horrified to read a post quoting a Guardian article where some low life Journo was looking for some sleazy sensationalist sex tourist angle amongst the debris.

It seems to have been zapped from this site and I can't find it on their website now either.

This kind of dribble if far more deconstructive than any actual reporting of actual events.

[Darknight]

I was horrified to read a post quoting a Guardian article where some low life Journo was looking for some sleazy sensationalist sex tourist  angle amongst the debris.

It seems to have been zapped from this site and I can't find it on their website now either.

This kind of dribble if far more deconstructive than any actual reporting of actual events.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

We deleted it already twice but is has popped up again. It's probably a view as well but indeed i don't find it personally suitable.

The people in there are just moronic or insensitive.

[meom]

I was horrified to read a post quoting a Guardian article where some low life Journo was looking for some sleazy sensationalist sex tourist  angle amongst the debris.

It seems to have been zapped from this site and I can't find it on their website now either.

This kind of dribble if far more deconstructive than any actual reporting of actual events.

We deleted it already twice but is has popped up again. It's probably a view as well but indeed i don't find it personally suitable.

The people in there are just moronic or insensitive.

I don't really agree with this. The fact that a tourist enjoys the company of a girl amid the devastation is a sign that things get back to "normal".

[The_Moog]

The journalist is being ironic - and critical of the fun-lovers.

The Guardian's editorial policy is one of do-gooder political correctness. (Unless one is familiar with the Guardian, you wouldn't know that)

By accentuating that there's bars open, tourists who want to party - he's pandering to the famously PC Guardian readership. He's actually sneering at these tourists.

Trust me, that's how you have to read a Guardian article.

[The_Moog]

Yeah, but the journalists, (and there must be loads in Patong), are starting to hear the music starting up again.

...and that makes a story, - and its not necessarily cynical journalism, its common sense if you've got the full-on Soi Bangla thing going next to your eardrum.

The consensus here seems to be that tourists should continue to support Phuket - well, if they do, they're not going to want to sit quietly in their hotel rooms, they're going to go out and have a nice time.

Easy target for journalists who have a word quota to fill !

[onethailand]

There are a lot of valid points in this thread.

Of course residents in the affected areas will need life to get back to normal as fast as possible, disaster or no disaster. On the other hand, many of them are not even residents of the area they are working in - and can find work in other provinces.

The media - well, some of them anyhow - have a responsibility to report the news that is important to its audience. You cannot avoid the fact that most people want to know what is happening in Thailand.

But - you cannot also expect people to know the specifics of the disaster area - my mail has been flooded by colleagues wanting to check if I am okay, and sending their condolences - for all they know Khao Lak is a district in Bangkok. I've known people who think Hong Kong is in Japan.

Some people just aren't that aware of the geography of the affected area - so naturally Thailand, the one thing they can easily focus on - becomes the affected area. This is especially noticeable from North America - the Europeans have better knowledge of Thailand, just as the Americans know more about Puerto Vallarta.

Like Werner said, this is a national disaster no matter how you look at it. We'll worry about educating the uneducated later - right now there's work to do.

[Darknight]

There are a lot of valid points in this thread. 

Of course residents in the affected areas will need life to get back to normal as fast as possible, disaster or no disaster.  On the other hand, many of them are not even residents of the area they are working in - and can find work in other provinces.

The media - well, some of them anyhow - have a responsibility to report the news that is important to its audience.  You cannot avoid the fact that most people want to know what is happening in Thailand.

But - you cannot also expect people to know the specifics of the disaster area - my mail has been flooded by colleagues wanting to check if I am okay, and sending their condolences - for all they know Khao Lak is a district in Bangkok.  I've known people who think Hong Kong is in Japan.

Some people just aren't that aware of the geography of the affected area - so naturally Thailand, the one thing they can easily focus on - becomes the affected area.  This is especially noticeable from North America - the Europeans have better knowledge of Thailand, just as the Americans know more about Puerto Vallarta.

Like Werner said, this is a national disaster no matter how you look at it.  We'll worry about educating the uneducated later - right now there's work to do.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The simpel fact is that everybody seems to think it happened in thailand for the sole reason that it's the place with the western tourists...

Here in belgium 90% of the coverage has been about missing belgians in Thailand.

I would like to Stress (as far as i can join you in the discussion as a mod) that the situation in thailand is BAD....

But the situation in Indonesia Is FAR FAR WORSE....

Unfortunatly in a remote closed of region there were no tourist and so for most europeans and americans and the respective media this is:

" The far way from my bed Show"

As Said Before

Is it Nice to act like that? NO

Is it human nature? I'm afraid so