Media & Culture: The BBC does Haitian Cholera

The media coverage surrounding the cholera epidemic in Haiti details the suffering and challenges which the Haitian population faces in this national crisis. In my evaluation of the BBC reports of the disease outbreak, the BBC’s coverage has not largely contributed to either the creation of the conditions in Haiti, nor much of its assistance in its aftermath. Rather, the BBC’s media coverage is generally politically neutral as is its role to serve as a medium for information exchange and ideally, not as a venue for judgement and slanted political dialogue.

Philip Gourevich discussed how foreign intervention can escalate crises in his article, “Alms Dealers”. Gourevich illustrates the challenges and ethical dilemmas which occur as a result of humanitarian aid. Gourevich lists several humanitarian missions such as in Biafra and in Sierra Leone, both in which humanitarian aid contributed to an increase in violence. He states that in consideration of these results, one must question whether the good deeds outweigh the negative side-effects which occur despite humanitarian good intention. Unlike the crises Gourevich examines, in the case of Haiti, the crisis is not of violent conflict nature, it is disease ridden. Therefore, the role of the media does not directly affect the outcome of the outbreak. Unlike terrorists who increase their violent crimes to attract media attention, the disease is not cognitive and not influenced by media in the same way. The BBC should not be evaluated in terms of affecting change in the news they report but by how holistically and accurately they report on their topics.

The BBC does describe the symptomatic effects that the cholera outbreak has had on the population however, they also include much more political and social information as well as academic studies to substantiate their reports. One of the reports made by the BBC discusses the failure of humanitarian aid to make good on their promises for billions of dollars which remain at large. Their discussion also includes findings from a study which is much like Gourevich’s article on humanitarian aid organizations, claiming that some:

undermine the capacity of the state
have no accountability to people they serve
do not always work in under-served areas when asked to by government
lack coordination
are top-down and top-heavy

The BBC’s inclusion of this study opens up the discussion on Haiti to a broader debate and academic evaluation of humanitarian aid at large. This reaches beyond the typical two-dimensional news reporting which depicts diseased and helpless looking people and footage of crying babies.

The BBC also released another report which fleshes out the epidemic in terms of the disease’s origin and the political context in which the disease was introduced. In this report, the BBC reveals that the cholera outbreak was thought to have been originated from the UN Peacekeeping troops from Nepal. The report claims that a French disease expert has traced back the cholera strain to the Nepalese troops who have been stationed in Haiti since 2004 to alleviate socio-political distress. This report provides some context and depth with which to understand the complexity of the outbreak in Haiti. Although the BBC report does not specifically discuss the effects which UN troops have in foreign countries, this report does leave the reader with information which lends the reader to question whether foreign aid is creating more harm than good in the countries they occupy. The BBC’s account of the cholera outbreak in Haiti is very informative and provides for fruitful discussion while remaining neutral. The coverage examines the fundamental causes including Haiti’s infrastructure, for the cholera outbreak and its spread across the country. It is not the role of the media to solve political problems but to thoroughly and objectively report information to the masses and the BBC has done a credible job on this subject.

Sources:

Anonymous
22, Oct. 2010 Scores die in Haiti cholera outbreak

BBC news http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11608551, accessed Feb.10, 2011.

23, Oct. 2010 Haiti: Cholera slows but fears of spread remain

BBC news http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11622523, accessed Feb.11, 2011.

10, Nov. 2010 Haiti: Cholera confirmed in Port-au-Prince

BBC news http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11721995, accessed Feb.11, 2011.

16, Nov. 2010. Haiti cholera reaches Dominican Republic

BBC news http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11771109, accessed Feb.12, 2011.

8, Dec. 2010 Haiti cholera: UN Peacekeepers to blame, report says

BBC news http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11943902, accessed Feb.12, 2011.

Doyle, Mark