media

Dominic Stevenson, senior media officer at The Fostering Network, writes: The internet, or sections of it, has found a new outrage – and while it will only last as long as the others, we wanted to put in our tuppence worth on this one.

World events are now so accessible and immediate – coming into our homes through live television and the internet (as well as radio and newspapers) – it is as well to remember the impact that seeing a disaster can have on our children. At one time, before live coverage of world events, the most shocking pictures we saw were stills of starving children in Africa, usually shown to raise money for famine relief, which were shocking enough. Now, through satellite television, we can witness disasters across the world as they unfold, with the effect that we are closer, more involved, than we ever used to be and they have greater impact and stress on us. Censoring of the news is usually left to the carer or parent.