Who chooses the news?

Yes, and MU makes the lead story one night. Makes you wonder doesn't it?

I think it depends on which version of which media we access.

It also reflects what is seen as important to those accessing that particular media source.

Don't get me started.

I have been quite a nuisance posting how I think the media, especially t.v. is very poor, especially on world news.

The BBC is so lazy I feel it has very little use any more. Sky is almost as bad of late. Aljazeera is better by far.

They think we are happy as customers to have hours of live coverage over the Pristorius case but no news on say the mass killings going on in Sudan. Surely a good news station would take a pride in covering 'all news' with diversity not popularism as happens now.

It is not very kind to say but the hours of coverage given to the recent plane disappearance which could only show repeat after repeat of 'no news' used up so much airspace that could have given us new news coverage, whilst updating if and when necessary. It seems to me that the road of lazy journalism is easy to take and they get away with it.

Do what I do. Listen to the World Service half the night. You'll get it all then. But you won't remember any of it in the morning.

Jings.

Do you know, this is true. If I watch TV or read a paper I soak up information. If I listen to the radio I loose interest and find my mind has wandered off.

Weird isn't it.

Yep! Happens to me with the Today programme. I could kick myself afterwards. Just can't keep my brain on it.

MicElf hopefully no news is good news re the schoolgirls. If the worst had happened I think we would have heard by now. I don't think they are as likely to massacre girls - just get them away from the "evil" western education?

BBC news an hour ago. About 40 of them have managed to escape, so there are still 190 missing.

Channel 4 had a big piece on this. The were in a video link with a Nigerian security expert. Although that sounds like a contradiction in terms.

I imagine if the same thing had happened to European girls, there would be massive, hour-by-hour, coverage. It seems it is deemed by most of our media that some people are definitely less newsworthy than others.

It would be an uncommon event in this country.Sadly not so in Nigeria.

I am guessing that they focused on the Ukraine shooting because they feel this could destabilise the area and lead to global repercussions.

Yes.

I had heard this story too, being another who can spend hours listening to the World Service during the night.

Channel 4 has a lot more about all sorts of stories like the Nigerian girls (as you point out ,*petra*) and the killings in South Sudan than the BBC, but still too much about Oscar Pistorius - why is that such a big story here as opposed to other things happening in the world?

they seem to have forgotten this

I think it's just the "celeb. culture". All women's magazines are full of celeb.s as are tv mag.s. The doctor's waiting room has stacks of these . I heard someone (can't remember who) being interviewed and talking about "the people" and what "they" want. -Thanks, Powers- that- be. We people are not a homogeneous mass.

Oscar P. is a celeb. Those poor girls are anonymous.

jingl I heard a brief report on the news, that Assad has again used chemicals on his people just last week. It was so brief and so bland I nearly missed it. It appears they have not all been handed over as agreed.

Now there's a surprise.

most recent chemical attack

It has been reported today in the Washington Post that these girls have been sold into slavery in Chad and the Cameroon for $12 to be sexual slaves (aka 'wives') of extremist Islamicist members of Boku Haram.

Whilst not independently verified, when did this stop reporting being aired I to other non independently verified events?