2y ago

Sunken boat killing hundreds overshadowed by Titan submersible coverage

www.nbcnews.com A tale of two disasters: Missing Titanic sub captivates the world days after deadly migrant shipwreck

A fishing boat crowded with migrants traveling from Libya to Italy sank in Greek waters last week. While hundreds are still missing and feared dead, it has garnered far less attention and resources than the Titan rescue efforts for five people.

World News @lemmy.world

www.nbcnews.com /news/rcna90336

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60 comments

While fucked up, it's disinguinuous suggest that the news is blowing up only due to the fact that they're billionaires. While large boat disasters are fairly uncommon, how often do you hear of a submarine disaster. Especially one where the inhabitants are missing but potentially on a timer - trapped in a submarine with no way to open from the inside, many peoples ultimate fear. The story writes itself, pile on what seems to be a neglectful company and you've got a story people are going to be invested in. I don't think the coverage or the search and rescue would be any different if it were a scientific submarine with scientists.
- It would absolutely be different if it were scientists. The memes about billionaires and the sub are all over the place. Bezos should go on a sub and explore the titanic too and all that shit.
- While I don't necessarily disagree with you. It would be interesting to know what would happen if each one of those 50 immigrants paid $250,000 to be on that boat. I don't think money had nothing to do with it.
- This is effectively saying, "This article is correct but for the wrong reasons". People aren't angry about why hundreds of migrants dying isn't newsworthy. They're angry that it's not newsworthy.
  I'm frankly surprised that not enough people find it disgusting that the EU passively killing hundreds of refugees is less interesting because the EU does so regularly.
  
  People like novelty. That's not too surprising. Additionally, a growing share of people in the EU don't want migrants to come. Empathy is declining.
  
  Because immigrants die in stupid ways all the time. A shit in your toilet is not newsworthy. A shit on your kitchen table is.
- It's not just the news-worthiness. It's the way how 6+ different countries mobilized to rescue them. That was a result of precisely being rich fucks.
- The Thai cave boys are another good example. They were rural third-worlders, but it still became a sensation. It just has to be bloody and dramatic to attract attention. A story like "people on boat drown again" is too mundane, it becomes a statistic instead of a tragedy.
  What's really irksome is that these rich guys that pay people to put them weird but often already-explored places get called "explorers".
  
  Rich people think spending money is what makes them special.
  My favorite lately is the rise of the 'world traveler' who treats travel as a moral imperative that elevates them above those who can't or don't have the means to spend 5-6 figures per year on international vacations.
- I think this is a rather disingenuous read of the situation. The drama of the situation should not overshadow the gravity of the difference between the number of human beings in question, it's disturbing that anyone would find this even remotely acceptable because it's more dramatic. And that's not to mention the discrepancy in response and spending on each issue. It's a true indictment of our societies.
  
  agree 🙏
  
  There are people dying all the time, so the ones that are "news worthy" (i.e. attention grabbing) are the unique ones with stories that set them apart, and often it's more relatable when it effects fewer people so it's less abstract. I don't think it's an indictment of our societies, it just plays off of how our brains work.
- The problem is lack of coverage for the migrants, who are seen as "less valuable people"
  
  I would argue that they are more valuable then people who have it made but ya
  
  In 2022 there were nearly 50,000 automobile fatalities in the US. There isn't a big story about all of them because, frankly, they're common.
  But 5 people died in a submarine. That's news because it's different.
  
  The migrant boat sank in the Mediterranean off the coast of Greece. While a tragedy, it’s largely irrelevant to the US news. It’s not like it was a migrant boat from South America going to the US. Those do happen and they become huge news here.
  The Titan submersible happened off the coast of Canada and the US and Canadian coast guards were involved. The company running the excursions is American. That’s a lot more relevant to US news.
  Looking at European news, the BBC has been covering the migrant boat disaster. It’s been reported in US news too. ABC started covering it over a week ago when it first happened.
  It’s also just common, which makes it less newsworthy. Another boat sank in the Mediterranean off the coast of Italy in February. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-64776621
  When things become common, they’re no longer as newsworthy.
- Also it's unfair to compare it to the migrant story. Most Americans and Europeans are very hateful towards people from MENA so they are either indifferent or supportive of such "accidents". Obviously they are going to care more about some rich idiots literally crushed by their own hubris.
  
  That's entirely the point. That shouldn't be the case.
- Yeah, having a shittily built submarine for a billionaire to visit the most famous shipwreck in the world while then joining those who died there 100 years ago, is a pretty unique story that we'll now always remember whenever we talk about the titanic.
  
  There’s a real irony in naming your submarine after a shipwreck, neglecting all safety devices like the shipwreck, and talking about how the hull was indestructible.
  
  The ticking timer is news gold, it creates a real sense of tension…
  
  you're right - if those on the sub do happen to have met their end, at least it was done in pursuit of their dream?
- Yeah.
  The awful truth is that migrants drowning on the sea crossing to Europe or to the UK is mundane. It happens regularly, so it's not news. A sub drowning near the Titanic is newsworthy.
  News = man bites dog. Dog bites man = not news.
- I think the issue is the resources dedicated to each disaster. I don't know if all the immigrants died though, so there may not have been a point in rescuing them at all.
  
  There have been plenty of resources dedicated to rescuing the migrants. Over 100 have been rescued.
  A big issue in the news coverage is that the migrant boat sank in the Ionian Sea in the Mediterranean. The Titan submersible was off the coast of Canada. So the news coverage in America largely focused on the thing happening near America. Same with the search and rescue. The US and Canadian coast guards were deployed for the search.
  The Greek coast guard ran the search and rescue for the migrant boat since it happened off the coast of Greece.

Ya well tragic shit happens all the time. We’re desensitized to it. This submarine is interesting and the circumstances are kind of like a movie. Of course media will cover it more. It’s what people are interested in.
- Yeah, the titanic situation involved submarines, suspense, radar, underwater drones, etc.
  The suspense was key, too. A race against the clock of oxygen running out. What happens if the drone finds them, but can't free them? Stuff like that made it a very unique story.
  So of course people are more interested in that one.
- More to your point, the reason we are so interested is in the uniqueness of the situation. For the North Americans this the Titanic is culturally significant. For Europe, the migrant issue is local news. The problem is that our news is blended.

Won't someone think of the poor billionaires?
- I'm really loving your username! Was reading that book to the kids yesterday and they too are enjoying it.
  
  Haha, glad to hear it. It amuses me too!

There are always migrant ships from North Africa traversing North across the Mediterranean that have issues or sink vs a unique one-off sub disaster

Unfortunately where I live we hear weekly in the news of these immigrants boats.
Can't do much as a small community, except sending help as soon as we know another one sunk.

Irelevant comparison. Must have missed the part where the chilean miners and the cave kids were billionaires too. That's why people cared about those stories. It's not getting coverage cause of the people on it. It's getting coverage because of how idiotic the whole situation was.

tl;dr:
Greek authorities have so far recovered the bodies of at least 81 people, and more than 100 passengers have been rescued, including Pakistanis, Egyptians, Syrians, Afghans and Palestinians. Survivors and the United Nations have said hundreds were aboard the boat and many are still missing and feared dead. If a death toll in the hundreds was confirmed, it would be among the worst shipwrecks recorded in the Mediterranean. Greek authorities have further been criticized for not acting to rescue the migrants, even though a coast guard vessel escorted the trawler for hours. International maritime law dictates that authorities are obligated to conduct immediate rescue operations - with or without an explicit plea for help. Artist Oliver Jeffers shared his feelings with a cartoon on Tuesday, which marked World Refugee Day.
I am a bot in training. Suggestions?

Yeah, but what was their net worth? ^/s

I think because they were potentially still alive, it sparks interest around the world.
And the memes are people making fun of a foolish decision by rich people.

Less people on earth means we will hit the Co2 goals faster.
- Ah the Genghis Khan method of environmentalism.
- No it does not, 70% of emissions is by corporations
  
  Wrong. Humans are the cause. And corporations does not generate more than the farmers. Less humans and less farms equals lower co2 emissions. #facts

They found a debris field near the titanic recently. It was a catastrophic failure. RIP to those on board.
- If you mean the OceanGate submarine, it seemingly spectacularly imploded after its carbon fiber structure gave in to various microfractures. If that really is what happened, the water pressure killed the crew faster than their brains would've processed anything.
  
  The pressure does not kill. Whales live down there. It’s the compressibility of water. At this depth it’s about 4% compressed. The cabin has 1 atmosphere of pressure, the water around it about 100. Through a microfracture water shoots in at the speed of sound in water (3x speed of sound in air) - that’s about 100 bars. That’s like a water jet cutter. It rips the microfracture open. Within a tenth of a second they get pressed to death by the compressibility of water.

Well, perhaps other billionaires will see how these folks have been treated, and decide that they'd rather be remembered for doing something great for society, rather than pursuing individual/deadly hobbies.
- You don't become a billionaire without being cool with exploiting people. Modern society rewards antisocial behavior.

This is news about news, one of the most useless kinds of news. Pass.

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