Problems With Modern Reporting

In today’s rapidly changing world, new conflicts, situations, deaths, and triumphs constantly arise. Although many events share the same degree of importance and impact, only a select type seems to be reported by mainstream international media — western affairs.

On July 8th, 2022, former Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo was assassinated at a political gathering. As most can imagine, the sudden loss of such a key member of government was a national emergency that sent shockwaves through Japan. But for some reason, it caught very little international attention. When a group of BASIS juniors were informed of Abe’s death earlier this month, over a year after his assassination, they were surprised and confused. Just a couple of months after Abe’s death, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom’s passing quickly took over headlines and reached every single corner of the world. Japan’s recovery and replacement of Abe’s key role in their federal government was overshadowed, with popular media sites opting to report on the Queen’s death instead.

In a more long standing conflict, the Syrian Civil War began in 2011 due to the Ba’athist government’s brutal crackdowns on pro-democracy protests (BBC). As the war grew, the government, various opposition forces, ISIS, Kurdish forces, and other international actors became involved in the conflict. The results of the civil war have been devastating, marked by desperate refugees, the deaths and killings of innocent civilians — children, adults, and elders alike — and the destruction of infrastructure. However, the Syrian Civil War has similarly been overshadowed by other happenings, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and political conflicts between highly influential countries such as Russia, China, and the US. While such events also do bear great significance, the Syrian conflict is too often placed on the back burner, with minor reports coming up only once every few years.

The G20 summit, a meeting between the world’s leading economic leaders, is arguably one of the most significant political gatherings in the world. In September 2023, New Delhi hosted the G20 summit for the first time in India’s history. While an extremely significant milestone for the populous and rapidly developing country, there was little to no buzz on the event. Even now, searching “G20 New Delhi Summit 2023” generates a low level of results relative to those generated when searching up “Trump Fraud Trial”, which brings a fountain of reports from popular sites such as Forbes, Politico, CNN, Times, PBS, etc.

So the question must be asked: Why do some events take priority in the news over others?

Western-related events often take priority over Middle Eastern and Asian news in mainstream media. Western countries, particularly the US, have a more powerful economy and global influence and thus tend to have a say in many events to begin with. This power results in the US and other western countries being seen as number one not only by other states but also by themselves. Because of this, news sites associated with the West (which are often quite popular internationally) mostly report Western events, with one exception — if Western countries (namely the US) become involved in something in the East. Another reason many media outlets fall victim to limiting their scope of reporting in this fashion is due to their need for profit. The prominence of Western countries in the political scene means that such headlines will attract more viewers, and thus more membership/advertisement revenue and increase in the worth and popularity of the network. Events in the Middle East and Asia, especially those relating to a small country or minority, are far too often ignored by influential and popular platforms, leaving those affected without a voice.