The death of the seven men and women aboard the space shuttle Columbia is a tragedy felt all around the world. The media attention that these seven people are receiving is fitting. They were pioneers, advancing our knowledge of space, and they deserve all the recognition that people are willing to give.
 
But what makes one death more newsworthy than another? Studies have shown that the American media is more apt to focus on events that concern Americans (although all tragedies throughout the world should concern all people) or other developed nations. Media also tend to focus on events that conform to prevailing ideas about what the world is like and is not too difficult to understand. Basically, people do not want to be bothered with having to learn about a complicated issue when they can simply indulge in celebrity boxing matches and fashion news.
 
The news these past few days has been inundated with results from polls that asked people to supply the reaction that they had to the Columbia disaster. Yes, we all feel for the family and friends of the deceased. Where is the risk in having the same opinion every one else will have? Network television is eating this disaster up. Not only is it easy to understand, but it is virtually devoid of controversy, which is a jackpot for network news.
 
Why don’t we have the same reaction to, say, the 40 people who were killed in an explosion in Nigeria yesterday. Or why don’t we answer polls about our reaction to the 42 men, women and children who were burned to death on a train in Zimbabwe on Sunday? Most of us probably didn’t even know these tragedies occurred. The reason we don’t know is because the media has chosen instead to focus on “Joe Millionaire’s” guilty conscience and Michael Jackson’s ever — thinning nose.
 
Research has also shown that had the two tragedies mentioned above occurred in Great Britain, they would have received substantial media attention, and we would all be calling Fox News to put our two cents in because we are conscientious, God-fearing Americans and it makes us feel good to describe our reaction to disaster to a voice-mail recording.
 
This is not to say that there is anything wrong with feeling sorrow at the loss of an obviously irreplaceable group of individuals. But many of us need to learn that there is no difference between tragedy that occurs in America and tragedy that occurs across intangible lines that appear only in maps.
 
Through the guidance of the media, people decide what issues are important and which are not. It is in the best interest of those controlling the media to sway our attention towards trivial issues such as those of celebrity scandal and sports. When our focus is elsewhere, they are free from public scrutiny.
 
We should empower ourselves by making our own decisions about what is important in the world. A thing such as the gross mistreatment of women under the Taliban went largely unnoticed. Maybe if we had given it more weight and consideration, we would have had a better understanding of how deep their corruption went and further tragedy could have been avoided.

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