Abstract
The development of modern communication tools has made the media ubiquitous. The image that prevailed for much of the twentieth century, of a person devoting time to reading the daily newspaper over a cup of coffee in the morning or on the way to work, and the typical half-hour of television news in the evening, no longer exists.
The supply of news is continuous and mobile technologies play a big role in this. News is updated several times an hour, and newscasters need to constantly offer something new to keep viewers coming back, as high traffic is a sign of news success.
Analytical journalism or in-depth audiovisual works are then more likely to be consumed by a motivated audience willing to spend time on the subject. Traditional news is changing its form, and much of the media content is more like canapés without deeper insight and context.
This paper looks at the current media landscape in relation to the portrayal of human suffering, health and disease in mainstream news coverage of humanitarian crises and disaster reporting.