Obsession with reporting wild fires
Discussion
Why are wild fires so much in the news?
We get them every year when we have long spells of dry weather and they start for various reasons and often impossible to put out.
I remember the massive fire on Rhodes in the late 70s and it was just left to burn.
Not sure what makes these fires so newsworthy these days.
We get them every year when we have long spells of dry weather and they start for various reasons and often impossible to put out.
I remember the massive fire on Rhodes in the late 70s and it was just left to burn.
Not sure what makes these fires so newsworthy these days.
Wildfires are also an interesting one because in the past there were managed burns in forests to reduce the damage from a wildfire if it expanded.
As for media reporting I think you know the answer there. Driving the current agenda as always to build public acceptance of massive green levies, much of which is to go in the pockets of the rich and powerful.
As for media reporting I think you know the answer there. Driving the current agenda as always to build public acceptance of massive green levies, much of which is to go in the pockets of the rich and powerful.
Pictures are pointless without saying what time of day the forecasts are for. May not be comparing apples with apples. One may be for 1pm, the other for 7am
As to the question- it’s because summer is slow news, and there is a strong ‘human interest’ angle. Many of us have been on holiday to the Greek islands, and there are lots of UK families there at the moment. For comparison, there wasn’t much coverage of the California wild fires, as limited UK interest
FWIW, the massive bushfires in Australia in 2019/20 (the ‘black summer’) did contribute to the government’s defeat in the next election, because their response was cack handed, and the PM tried to downplay climate change as a cause. Plus he went to Hawaii on a holiday during the worst of it.
As to the question- it’s because summer is slow news, and there is a strong ‘human interest’ angle. Many of us have been on holiday to the Greek islands, and there are lots of UK families there at the moment. For comparison, there wasn’t much coverage of the California wild fires, as limited UK interest
FWIW, the massive bushfires in Australia in 2019/20 (the ‘black summer’) did contribute to the government’s defeat in the next election, because their response was cack handed, and the PM tried to downplay climate change as a cause. Plus he went to Hawaii on a holiday during the worst of it.
Pistom said:
Why are wild fires so much in the news?
We get them every year when we have long spells of dry weather and they start for various reasons and often impossible to put out.
I remember the massive fire on Rhodes in the late 70s and it was just left to burn.
Not sure what makes these fires so newsworthy these days.
You don't think an event causing thousands of people to evacuate is newsworthy?We get them every year when we have long spells of dry weather and they start for various reasons and often impossible to put out.
I remember the massive fire on Rhodes in the late 70s and it was just left to burn.
Not sure what makes these fires so newsworthy these days.
grumbledoak said:
Just another less than subtle nudge on the climate agenda, probably
It's an "emergency" now, dontcha know.
'A broadcast from June 1999 shows a red map with temperatures between 25 and 30C. A broadcast in 2010 also shows the use of different maps.'It's an "emergency" now, dontcha know.
https://factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com.32FV7W7
Evanivitch said:
Pistom said:
Why are wild fires so much in the news?
We get them every year when we have long spells of dry weather and they start for various reasons and often impossible to put out.
I remember the massive fire on Rhodes in the late 70s and it was just left to burn.
Not sure what makes these fires so newsworthy these days.
You don't think an event causing thousands of people to evacuate is newsworthy?We get them every year when we have long spells of dry weather and they start for various reasons and often impossible to put out.
I remember the massive fire on Rhodes in the late 70s and it was just left to burn.
Not sure what makes these fires so newsworthy these days.
BoRED S2upid said:
It’s the biggest bad news story happening. That and Ukraine. Obviously not going to report good news stories are they. Or our horrible weather.
This. Stressed British tourists to interview about surviving a natural disaster makes great TV, as do shots of mountains burning down for your front page.Apart from Russia's latest crimes, I can't think of a better front page. "The government are s
t" is hardly news any more. Does OP think we're missing something juicier?Rollin said:
'A broadcast from June 1999 shows a red map with temperatures between 25 and 30C. A broadcast in 2010 also shows the use of different maps.'
https://factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com.32FV7W7
Climate change deniers in making-things-up-again non-shocker. https://factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com.32FV7W7
glazbagun said:
BoRED S2upid said:
It’s the biggest bad news story happening. That and Ukraine. Obviously not going to report good news stories are they. Or our horrible weather.
This. Stressed British tourists to interview about surviving a natural disaster makes great TV, as do shots of mountains burning down for your front page.Apart from Russia's latest crimes, I can't think of a better front page. "The government are s
t" is hardly news any more. Does OP think we're missing something juicier?
Should have gone on holiday to Wales, not likely to get dry enough for a wild fire there
JagLover said:
Wildfires are also an interesting one because in the past there were managed burns in forests to reduce the damage from a wildfire if it expanded.
As for media reporting I think you know the answer there. Driving the current agenda as always to build public acceptance of massive green levies, much of which is to go in the pockets of the rich and powerful.
Last week BBC news were reporting on the out of control fires in Rhodes threatening lives while simultaneously showing video of firemen setting fires themselves to create barren areas so not out of control at all then.....in that particular area I will add.As for media reporting I think you know the answer there. Driving the current agenda as always to build public acceptance of massive green levies, much of which is to go in the pockets of the rich and powerful.
The BBC report on a news story and just flog it to death even when nothing new has happened,they have screen time to fill I guess
wisbech said:
Pictures are pointless without saying what time of day the forecasts are for. May not be comparing apples with apples. One may be for 1pm, the other for 7am
It might still be quite early, bitt I'm pretty sure the issue being highlighted is not the "actual" temperature values, which could indeed be from any time of day.The issue seems to be more that in 2017 a green background was judged sufficient, but by 2023 a harsh red background has been adopted.
And yet, the temperatures set on the dramatic red background are actually lower than the 2017 ones.
I remember the fuss made in the UK when the been changed their green weather map for a sort of olive brown. (Their basis was it was a truer representation of the actual colour of the UK)
This German colour change is unlikely to be coincidental - it has been selected deliberately to convey a message.
Having said all of that, I don't think the reporting of fires is excessive. And I don't think every natural disaster needs a rider " oh but of course we had fires in the 70s too, so it can't possibly be climate change" to go with it.
Weather just happens. Climate is the trend.
V8covin said:
Last week BBC news were reporting on the out of control fires in Rhodes threatening lives while simultaneously showing video of firemen setting fires themselves to create barren areas so not out of control at all then.....in that particular area I will add.
The BBC report on a news story and just flog it to death even when nothing new has happened,they have screen time to fill I guess
Putting in a fire break does not mean the fire is under control at all : the fire break is an attempt to stop it spreading.The BBC report on a news story and just flog it to death even when nothing new has happened,they have screen time to fill I guess
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