Tsunami and the CNN Effect

In USA Today’s article entitled ‘Tsunami donors creative in giving’, Edward Iwata (2005) reports that philanthropies done by various ‘industries, charities and celebrities’ are using ‘marketing creativity’ and ‘business smarts’ to ‘raise cash and goods’ for the 2004 tsunami tragedy at Sumatra, Indonesia. Various parties use various ways to contribute to the tsunami funds. Airlines donated ‘frequent flier-type miles’ to UNICEF, the Red Cross, and the Salvation Army, while Starbucks gives $2 for each pound of Sumatran coffee sold and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres raised $1million for “Ellen’s Tsunami Relief Fund” from companies such like Yahoo and Toyota (Iwata 2005). A total $241 billion sourced from foundations, estates, corporations and individuals have been received by non-profits (Iwata 2005).

the December 26, 2004 tsunami in Acheh, Indonesia (Source: SCIAF 2004)

Amazing, isn’t it? How the abundance of donations and help pour in so generously? This is what we call the ‘CNN effect’, which refers to the Cable News Network who provides 24-hour news coverage. According to Robinson (1999), CNN effect is ‘the idea that real-time communications technology’ could elicit ‘major responses’ from political elites and domestic audiences to global events; while Belknap (2002) stated that real-time coverage resulted in ‘immediate public awareness’.

(Source: International Tsunami Museum Story 2007)

The 2004 tsunami incident in Indonesia made headlines worldwide. Stories and ‘heart-wrenching media images of the disaster touched everyone’ (Iwata 2005). All these moved and urged the public to contribute to the tsunami donations – a CNN effect. All those ‘media blitz prompted unprecedented generosity’ (Shah 2005). To emphasise how big the impact of the CNN effect had on the 2004 tsunami, a comparison can be made between the tsunami and the 18-year Uganda war. For the tsunami, an average of US$500 was donated per person, while for the Uganda war, only an average of 50 cents was donated per person (Shah 2005).


The comparison shows that the CNN effect is exclusive to certain disasters only. Media coverage is regarded as ‘selective and stereotyped’ by many aid agencies (Shah 2005). We are only concerned with matters and news that receive wide media circulation. Former US Secretary of State James Baker said, “All too often, television is what determines what is a crisis” (Livingston 1997). The 2004 tsunami garnered vast media coverage that lasted longer than any other modern history disasters (Shah 2005). What about other disasters that happened across the globe? An immense amount of donations that flooded in after the tsunami worried the aid workers that donations and media attention will be diverted away from the world’s ‘hidden disasters’ (Shah 2005).

the Uganda war (Source: Raquel Evita 2009)

In a way, I think that the CNN effect is a good phenomena – it generates great publicity to raise awareness, funds and support from the public for unfortunate disasters which leaves its victims in dire need of help. However, the effect is also selective – that would mean victims of other disasters that also need the same help but are not “selected” will be neglected and receive less help from the public. According to Shah (2005), disasters that are “forgotten” will often become chronic. Therefore, as a caring society, we should be more observant and lookout for other disasters that need our support. We must not rely on the mainstream media only and must not focus on only one disaster.


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References


Belknap, MH 2002, 'The CNN Effect: Strategic Enabler or Operational Risk?', Parameters, vol. 32, no. 3, pp. 100-114.


Iwata, E 2005, 'Tsunami donors creative in giving', USA Today, 17 January, viewed 17 June 2010, <http://www.usatoday.com/money/2005-01-17-creative-giving-cover_x.htm>.

Livingston, S 1997, Clarifying the CNN Effect: An Examination of Media Effects According to Type of Military Intervention, Research Paper R-18, viewed 17 June 2010, <http://genocidewatch.org/images/1997ClarifyingtheCNNEffect-Livingston.pdf>.

Robinson, P 1999, 'The CNN effect: can the news media drive foreign policy?', Review of international studies, vol. 25, no. 2, pp. 301-309. 


Shah, A 2005, Media and Natural Disasters, viewed 17 June 2010, <http://www.globalissues.org/article/568/media-and-natural-disasters>.