One of the most widely-followed news stories from the past week is that of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370. Just over a week ago, the plane – which was scheduled to fly from Malaysia and into Vietnam – disappeared less than an hour into its flight. The story broke very early on, a matter of hours after air controllers lost sight of the plane on their radar systems, and has remained in the news ever since. Despite the media coverage, no trace of the plane has yet been found and no hints as to its fate have been discovered.
The coverage of the case so far seems to have started off in a balanced manner, which is surprising considering the media frenzies which can occur around accidents of a large scale such as these. Of note was the early reporting of several passengers on the plane using stolen passports; there was some initial speculation that they might have been used by terrorists, but it was also stressed that the details weren’t known, and a few days later it was revealed the passports were being used by refugees. Much attention has been
Over the past few days, as new details have emerged about the plane’s disappearance and authorities have begun to regularly release information, speculation over the plane’s ultimate fate has begun to branch off into a number of different directions. Unlike some other high-profile events that have recently occurred, the coverage of Flight MH370 has remained surprisingly consistent, with new details and speculation being reported upon and being referred to as speculation, rather than fact. This probably has something to do with the nature of the incident; as of writing, the search for the missing plane involves ten countries and covers three major bodies of water, and the media could be using their power to try and assist the investigation.
In terms of ethics in the media, I believe the coverage of the MH370 investigation has been highly ethical – surprisingly so – with a low amount of sensationalism and an attitude of reporting facts as they come in.
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