Somalia Guatemala Pakistan South Sudan Which crises are reported on and which are not Close-up 21 June 2023 We spoke to cultural scientist Dr. Ladislaus Ludescher about how media coverage of a crisis can affect people's willingness to donate. Study: reporting in the news In a long-term study, Dr. Ludescher analyzed all reports in the Tagesschau main editions from 2022 and illustrates the subordinate role the Global South plays in Western reporting. As an example, we have listed the data on eight different countries from this study. Some were reported on little or not at all - even though crises affecting many thousands of people occurred in these countries: Pakistan: flood disaster affecting 33 million people Somalia: Drought and famine crisis, terrorist attacks in the capital Guatemala: Tropical storm “Julia”, half of all children malnourished South Sudan: Floods, 8 million people starving Malawi: Tropical storm “Ana”, cholera outbreak In an interview: Dr. Ladislaus Ludescher Dr. Ludescher, you have been investigating media reporting in Germany for many years. Is there balanced reporting in relation to crises? Unfortunately, the answer to this question is clearly no. The decisive factor for reporting is the question of where a crisis occurs and whether people from the so-called West are affected or feel the effects. Can you give us examples that illustrate the media's neglect of the Global South? Although around 85 percent of the world's population live in the Global South, less than 15 percent of media attention in the so-called leading media is focused on them. The network of correspondents is much less dense in the Global South. The ARD television studio in Prague, for example, consists of two correspondents who are responsible for two countries (the Czech Republic and Slovakia) with around 16 million inhabitants. The corresponding ARD television studio in Nairobi (Kenya) also consists of two correspondents, but they are responsible for 38 countries in Africa with around 870 million inhabitants. What reasons do you see for this discrepancy? Are we simply not interested in the Global South? It's human nature to be interested first in what is perhaps geographically or culturally closer to you. However, it is also difficult to take an interest in something that you have not heard of because it is simply not reported on. The “media discourse circle” certainly plays an important role: the individual media often report on an event because the competing media report on it, thereby helping to stabilize the discourse on the respective topic, which in turn leads to other media jumping on the respective news bandwagon. How do you see the development of crisis reporting? Is there any improvement in sight? Unfortunately, the current trend is negative. As a result of the coronavirus pandemic and the war in Ukraine, reporting on the Global South has been pushed even further into the background over the past three years. Dr. Ludescher, thank you for the interview! Thank you It is thanks to donors like you that we can take action quickly in disaster situations and not lose sight of the crisis areas even when the media no longer reports on them! We would be delighted if you would continue to support action medeor's work in war and crisis regions worldwide with your donation.