Is robbery so endemic? One of my wife’s colleagues, a veteran of dozens of catastrophes and crises, is amazed by the (relative) calm and absence of looting. She reports storefront windows broken, but the goods behind intact. She’s seldom seen a crisis so under control.
Most journalists I know are keenly aware of the impact of their work on public opinion and policy. Donations and immigration relief have happened so quickly and so generously in part because of the quick and impassioned reporting on the ground. But looters and thugs on the front page only bolsters impressions that Haitians are ungovernable. This is a tragedy if untrue.
via Messaging, the media, and Haiti – Chris Blattman.
It’s important to have a good filter to determine what the media is and is not reporting. This helps us get a more accurate view of what is happening.