YouTube Gets A Glimpse Of Turkey’s 7.2 Magnitude Earthquake
In an age when a video camera is in the hands of every other person, it’s hard for something significant to occur without being captured on film. Throw YouTube in the mix and it becomes even harder for what is captured to not be shared. This is the backdrop therefore for the viral video that emerged on YouTube showcasing the devastation of the 7.2 magnitude earthquake that shook Eastern Turkey on Sunday.
The capturing of such devastation on film for some is cynical, but for many it is seen as necessary—an agent delivering news. The earthquake which shook Turkey on Sunday is expected to produce fatalities in the thousands and so far more than 1000 people have been confirmed dead. For the families of those people who lost their lives, the devastation of the earthquake on Sunday being captured on film is little comfort. And perhaps the only useful purpose such footage can serve is to mobilize help for the suffering.
On a larger scale, the recording and instant uploading of such a video shows the spirit of the times we are living in. Just a few weeks ago Twitter was boasting about being faster than an earthquake that struck Virginia. This was seen by most as distasteful and a mockery of serious and potentially life threatening events.
And that is precisely where the fulcrum of any meaningful debate about the ‘instant-capture’ culture must begin. Real journalism is measured, compassionate, and delivered with a view to inform. The arbitrary recording of a devastating event such as an earthquake can never be considered real journalism or real news.
I won’t show the video that captured the devastation on Sunday, but I would invite you to leave a comment or two about how YouTube should treat such videos.
(Source: sitetrail.com)
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