An Object of Beauty

I seem to blog more and more sporadically due to my work and life commitments, but, I still have things to say!

The other day, I bought a copy of Steve Martin's new book, An Object of Beauty, which is all about the New York art world.  I haven't started it yet, but the beauty of the book as an object is really impressive.

I love books, and while I can see the usefulness of e-readers, especially for travel, I really think a book should smell like a book.  It's fair to say I'm a bit of a book snob.  I have a degree in English literature, and worked in a bookstore for three years. My house is filled with books. Some of my prized possessions include books from the late 19th century/early 20th century that I inherited from my grandparents. There's a box of original Nancy Drew novels in my parents' basement that I plan to steal when I have room to display them. My mom and aunt read them when they were kids, and so did I. Books have been a constant companion, and in the face of all that history, e-books seem like blasphemy.  Or at least a soulless version of a book.

An Object of Beauty is the kind of book that demands a creative package, and the publisher delivers, as it's a piece of artwork itself.  The dust jacket mimics the texture of canvas.  The letters of the title and author look like they have been cut out of a painting. The end sheets are full-colour abstract pieces, and there are colour reproductions of modern paintings within the pages. You just wouldn't get the same experience reading it on an electronic screen.  I can only hope the content of the novel lives up to the packaging!

I'm not a luddite -- far from it. Maybe my rebellion against the e-book is really that I'm afraid of losing that tactile experience of a book. A book is still a tangible thing that hasn't been reduced to a cacophany of ones and zeros like so much of our modern lives.  You can turn the pages. Feel the texture of the paper.  Smell the ink.  Share it with a friend.  Put it on a shelf, where is becomes a part your environment.

There just isn't an ap for that.

Dissecting the Media Launch

I'm very excited about the upcoming arts & cultural event that is happening across Canada: Culture Days, otherwise known as a celebration of my favourite things.  With audience participation!  As a communications person, I made sure to attend their recent media launch on September 14th at the forks.  And in true Teri fashion, I feel like looking at how they did from every angle. I can't help but always be a critic.  After all, it's as good way to learn something. 

Considering Culture Days is a national event that has been organized by a small number of people, in a short amount time, they did great.  But things can always be done differently.

The Good

• They sent out a media advisory the week before the event and it contained lots of relevant info
• One of the attractions (which was of course mentioned in the media advisory) was a performance by an aerial dancer.  What media wouldn't want to capture that?
• They presented the conference in both English and French
• CBC is a sponsor of Culture Days, so it was pretty certain they would cover the event
• While the launch was outside, it was under the canopy at the forks, which took into account possible bad weather
• They integrated Aboriginal participation, which included a drum performance and a blessing of the event- always good when you're trying to be inclusive; especially when you're standing on sacred land
• They called arts organizations the morning of the event to make sure people from the arts & cultural community were going to come
• Media actually showed up!

The Not-so Good

• The media conference seemed pretty long at almost an hour.  Most of the media got what they needed and left, and they wouldn't have had a chance to do interviews one-on-one with organizers after.  A lost opportunity to drive your key messages home
• There didn't appear to be pool sound, and the canopy at the forks is surrounded by fountains.  That makes it a little more difficult for media people to get good audio
• There were too many talking heads.  Five people gave presentations, and they all pretty much said the same thing
• Media kits weren't ready when the media got there
• When I accidently grabbed a media kit off the information table, I got scolded.  I'm not sure if the person putting media kits together was the communications person or not, but as far as she knew, I could have been a reporter.  Being rude when you're representing an event or an organization isn't a good plan. 

All in all though, it was a good experience to be there, and of course it was great to represent for Arts & Culture in the city!

I'm sure I'll be talking more about Culture Days before the month is over, so stay tuned...

Narcissists with Low Self Esteem & Medical Centres with Major PR Issues

I have many things I would like to blog about.  But finding the time to blog is becoming harder and harder.

There's the whole Facebook is for narcissists with low self esteem story splashing across the news headlines.  Is it even possible to be a narcissist and have low self esteem?  Isn't that kind of an oxymoronic concept? And then Mr. Jian Ghomeshi points out on Q this morning that this crazy news story is based on an undergrad thesis.  The study that revealed those results had exactly 100 participants. Not exactly a representative group. This is a national news story?  I have a feeling it's more about the media's obsession with telling us how shallow and silly Facebook and social media in general is. Enough with the picking on social media and the people who use it!  This is one of those instances where it's evolve or die.  While many people use Facebook to annoy the people who follow them - Farmville users, I'm talking to you- it is possible to use Facebook for the greater good.  It's a great networking and promotional tool for instance! 

Then there is another PR story that crossed my desk this morning. A couple of weeks ago a woman in Winnipeg publicly criticized the Lakewood Medical Centre for refusing her elderly mother service because there was an unpaid cancellation fee. Original story here. Now this week, the woman has been banned from returning to the clinic.  According to the Winnipeg Free Press story: "Macduff said her mother got a letter from the clinic's manager saying they will waive her previous "no-show fee" but she must book her own medical appointments and find someone other than her daughter to accompany her to the clinic."  The clinic claims the daughter violated the "policy prohibiting violent or abusive patients and visitors" but refused to comment further.  While we as the general public don't know the full story- like what exactly the daughter did that was abusive or violent - from a PR perspective, this doesn't look good for the Lakewood Medical Centre.  In fact, it looks petty.  The woman's mother missed her appointment because she has severe dementia, a disease where you have good days and bad days.  Her daughter is the only person who can take her mother to appointments, and suddenly the 90 year old mother isn't able to have her primary caregiver there when she visits the doctor. In addition, the daughter is banned access from her own doctor. Without the clinic really explaining their position, the public can only conclude that the reason for the ban is that the woman took a public stance over doctors charging cancellation fees.  That isn't great PR for the Medical Centre.

You add that to the fact that in 2009, a doctor at the same clinic refused to treat a lesbian couple (a violation of the Canadian Charter of Rights which says you can't be discriminated against for your sexual orientation) and the Lakewood Medical Centre has a major PR problem.  If they haven't lost patients over these incidents already, they probably will.  Maybe they've weighed the consequences  of that and have decided that it's worth the risk to ban this patient. Maybe they aren't considering the Public Relations fallout at all.  Either way, they don't seem to be doing themselves any favours.

The Cube: A Po-Mo Addition to the Historic Exchange District

On my lunch break today, I went by Old Market Square to check out the newly revealed stage, dubbed 'The Cube." I'm personally a fan of architecture that challenges, and in an area of Winnipeg where the majority of the buildings are stone and brick Chicago-style architecture, the Cube, with its chain-link aluminum mesh, definitely challenges. For that reason, it's controversial among some people, but others have pointed out that with Red River College's Princess Street Campus and the renovation of the old Royal Bank tower into Red River College's new culinary institute, the Exchange is well on its way to incorporating new design with the old. And that's a good thing.

We didn't really get to see what exactly the new stage is able to do over the lunch hour, but apparently there is a laser light show tonight that will reveal more.  And upon doing further research, it really sounds like a neat structure- available as a performance space, but also a bit of an art installation itself, with the ability to entertain with or without performers.  Check out all the details here.

The Cube has the potential to become the next great Winnipeg landmark; a tourist destination for sure.  And since the Exchange itself is a place that all visitors to Winnipeg should check out, this is just another jewel to discover.  Some people may think that it's more eyesore than jewel, but they're still talking about it.  For the promotion of our city and its arts & culture scene, that's always a good thing.

Say it on the Radio

I've expressed my love of radio on this blog, especially non-commercial radio.  I'm an avid CBC listener, I'll surf KICK FM and CKUW but my heart belongs to UMFM.  It's the radio station that six or seven years ago let me take over the airwaves.  Okay, not quite.  But they gave me an in, and allowed me to discover this thing called radio.  And I loved it.  I started as a board operator on a theatre talk show.  I did a brief stint as a talk show host- Midday, the student life edition. Then came my personal crown jewel: a music show. 

I'd heard this rumour, or I read it somewhere, that commercial radio stations won't play too many songs by female artists in a row.  Whether fact or fiction, the truth was out there: it was difficult to find women on those stations.  Especially rock stations.  There are amazing female rock acts, but you wouldn't know it.  Sure, you had your Britneys and your Christinas on the pop stations, but I knew there was more. I was a fan of so many female/female-fronted acts, and  I wanted to hear them on the radio.  Which led to: I want to play them.

And Venus Envy was born.  Apparently I love a good pun.  This past year, I completed a radio doc named Winni-Pagan: Wicca on the Prairies.  I blame/thank my father for this aspect of my sense of humour.

I'm doing my radio show right now, grooving to the music as it travels outward on invisible waves.  I have no idea how many people may be listening on any given night, but it doesn't really matter.  I'll get a call occasionally.  Or an email.  A request for a song name or more information. Kind words about the show.  And it's enough, to know that someone is listening and possibly discovering a new artist or song.

My personal music collection has definitely slanted towards the xx side of things, but it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make.  Especially since, I pretty much love or at least strongly like everything I play on my show. Now for the shameless self promotion: check it out, Thursdays on 101.5 FM in Winnipeg or www.umfm.com.  Become a fan on Facebook, just search Venus Envy.

Watch This Space

Just a little note to tell you, dear reader, that I have not abandoned my blog.  I'm just taking a bit of a break post-school, pre-career.  So stay tuned for more of The Slant Perspective.  I've got some interesting posts brewing, including one on my two favourite ad campaigns currently running on television. *Insert suspense here*

In the meantime... check out one of these fab shows: Glee, Lost, Buffy the Vampire Slayer on DVD, Battlestar Galactica on DVD, True Blood and/or The United States of Tara.  That'll keep you busy!

The Importance of Editing

This is too good to pass up. 

I've had it drilled into me that typos can cost you big time. Money. Credibility. And sure, sometimes we think-  no big deal, there are no auto-fails in the real world.  Wrong.

Major auto-fail.  I just wish the headline was better.

Penguin reprints book, peppered with an error, wants it taken with grain of salt

Thanks to @WinnipegEats @jenettemartens

The Great HPV Vaccine Debate

I wanted to include a sample of some journalistic writing on my blog, so I thought I'd post a story on a well-debated topic: the HPV vaccine. While I first wrote this article over a year ago, the topic is still controversial, and I believe, still relevant. It’s one of the journalistic pieces I'm most proud of from my time in Creative Communications and it first appeared in an issue of The Projector, Red River College's student newspaper. I won the Eric and Jack Wells Award for Excellence in Journalism (2009) for this story.

***

When Gardasil was first approved by Health Canada in July of 2006, many people were excited at the prospect of a vaccine that could lower the incidence of cervical cancer in women. Others questioned the necessity of the vaccine when we already have an effective way of managing cervical cancer in Canada. As provincial governments across the country begin to implement vaccination programs for female grade 6 students, the questions continue. With people on both sides of the debate, it would seem that there are still no clear answers.

According to Merck Frosst Canada Ltd, makers of Gardasil, the vaccine offers protection against four types of the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) which causes “70 per cent of cervical cancer and 90 per cent of genital warts.” Gardasil requires a prescription and is administered in three doses: an initial dose followed by one at two months and one at six months. Each dose costs approximately $135 and is not covered by PharmaCare or Manitoba Health. Some insurance companies have plans that provide full or partial coverage. Women with private health insurance can contact their insurance provider to find out if the vaccine is covered. The Red River College student benefits plan does not cover the vaccine.

HPV is a common virus with over 100 strains, some which are sexually transmitted. The Public Health Agency of Canada (Public Health) says that “75 per cent of sexually active Canadians will have a sexually transmitted HPV infection at some point in their lifetime.” Often, a person exhibits no symptoms and the body’s immune system fights off the infection on its own. In some cases, the virus can remain in a person’s body and if it is a high-risk strain, that is when problems occur. These problems include genital warts, abnormal cervical cells, and vaginal and cervical cancer. Condoms provide some protection from HPV, but the virus can still be transmitted by contact with exposed skin that the condom doesn’t cover. Health Canada, which approved the use of Gardasil for girls and women ages nine to 26, views the vaccine as “a new prevention method…that is expected to at least complement and augment the prevention of cervical cancer, through the existing screening program in Canada.”

The fact that Canada has an existing screening program is one of the reasons groups like The Canadian Women’s Health Network (CWHN) has raised questions about the vaccine. “We’re not necessarily against the vaccine but we feel that more questions need to be asked,” says Ellen Reynolds, director of communications for CWHN. “What’s the rush when there is no epidemic of cervical cancer in Canada?” Reynolds’ concern is that Gardasil vaccination programs will overshadow traditional screening programs. “With all this attention and marketing focused on the vaccine, it may be promoting a false sense of security among young women who may not think they need Pap screening,” she says. “There are other strains of HPV that are linked with cervical cancer that the vaccine does not cover.”

According to Public Health, while cervical cancer is “the second most common form of cancer in women worldwide,” it is only “the eleventh most frequently diagnosed cancer among Canadian women.” CancerCare Manitoba reports that “most women who are diagnosed with cervical cancer have never had a Pap test or haven’t had one in over 5 years.”

“Cervical cancer develops over a long period of time,” says Anita, a public health nurse at Nine Circles Community Health Centre who declined to give her last name. “With regular Pap tests, a doctor should be able to catch changes to the cervical cells before it turns into a cancer.”

Mixed opinions on Gardasil aren’t limited to health professionals. Many women have strong opinions about the vaccine and the drug company that targets them.

“I think that the advertising for Gardasil has been extremely aggressive, which turns me off,” says Elizabeth Stregger, 27. “I doubt that HPV would be the first health issue women identified as being important to them.... I also see it as part of a trend of making sexual issues ‘women's issues,’ and therefore women's responsibilities. HPV will become something women are responsible for, just like birth control.”

Rhonda Varnes, 24, thinks the vaccine is a good thing. “I decided a few months ago to have the shots done,” she says. “I chose this because my grandma suffered from cervical cancer and my ex-fiance had been cheating on me. I figured you never know and I don’t want to end up getting HPV down the line somewhere. It’s just another way to protect [yourself] from one STD at the very least."

Other women expressed confusion about the information available to them in making an educated decision, something that is a major concern for Reynolds and the CWHN. “We want more unbiased public health information out there on the vaccine,” she says. “Most of the information is coming directly from the drug company. People shouldn’t be pressured by marketing; they need to take a step back and make the decision for themselves.”

©Teri Stevens 2009

Bookworms Unite!

I love to read. I usually have a bunch of books on the go, though I try to limit myself to one piece of fiction at a time so I don't get completely confused. I used to work in a bookstore, where people asked for my opinion on books all the time. These days, I don't get to talk about books much, so I thought I'd share some of my recent reads with you, dear reader. I've had a busy year, finishing an intense education program, so lately, I've been looking for fluff. The novel equivalent of a candy bar. That means lots of genre fiction and mass market paperbacks. My reading list isn't for everyone, but summer is coming up, and who doesn't love a breezy beach read?

I am currently reading:

The Torn Skirt by Rebecca Godfrey

What the Dog Saw: And Other Adventures by Malcolm Gladwell

The books I've read since January (that I remember):

We So Seldom Look on Love by Barbara Gowdy

The Harper Connelly Mysteries by Charlaine Harris: Grave Sight, Grave Secret, Grave Surprise and An Ice Cold Grave

Long Lost by Harlan Coben

ON/IN/AT- 3 books by Tegan and Sara

6 volumes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 in graphic novel form

Coraline by Neil Gaiman

206 Bones by Kathy Reichs

Candy Girl by Diablo Cody

There might be more, but 20 books is pretty good!

As for what's up next: I just bought Generation A by Douglas Coupland and hope to get my hands on Caught by Harlan Coben if my mother lets me borrow it. And of course, there is a new Sookie Stackhouse novel around the corner- Dead in the Family by Charlaine Harris. It’s coming out May 4th and I can hardly wait!

Hot Thespians in Action!

I have an article in this month's awesome new Winnipeg magazine, Sandbox.  It's on the Winnipeg theatre troupe Hot Thespian Action, who just happen to be doing a best-of show at the Winnipeg Comedy Festival on April 9 at 8pm at the Gas Station Theatre.  Check out the article here to find out how they come up with their wacky, hilarious, and insightful sketch comedy!

Looking forward, Looking back

I've been thinking about transitions a lot lately.  With a little less than two weeks of CreComm classes and about 12 assignments to go, it's sinking in that a major life project of mine is coming to an end.  Sure, there are three weeks of work placement and grad, but as of April 9th the training wheels are coming off, and into the "real world" we go.

There is definitely excitement.  There is fear.  And there will be some tears.  I think all of us have become very attached to the people we see every day, the only people who truly understand why we've been cranky CreComm monsters for the last 16+ months. And there is always a friendly neighborhood instructor there if we run into trouble. School has become a safe place and it's hard to leave.

But leave we will, and we'll do some more learning by doing, and we'll thrive because this program has molded us into people who can pretty much handle anything.

I've taken a meandering path to where I am now.  I look back on the last decade and my head spins at everything I've learned, not only in halls of education, but in coffee shops, and living rooms, and work places.  I've had some truly awesome experiences, and I know that I've only scratched the surface. 

Here's to the next adventure!

Heart Songs

I am a lover of music, and every once in a while I get completely obsessed with a musical artist.  I spent my teens listening to Our Lady Peace, studying their lyrics like poetry and creating art inspired by their songs. I discovered Tegan and Sara on Much Music, back before popular music became synthetic and when Much Music was cool.  I found myself in their songs, and that obsession has stuck with me to this day. 

In university, I owned a couple of CDs by Tori Amos, but I hadn't listened to them much. Then a friend of mine got me to hear her music in a new way, and I fell in love.  Her music was the soundtrack to many nights punctuated with good conversation, red wine and candle light.

There have been other bands of course, like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Metric.  But most recently, it's been Florence + The Machine. I first downloaded Rabbit Heart (Raise it Up) last May. I listened to it at work and needed more.  Her powerhouse voice and music that is orchestral and confessional at the same time.  It pulls you through this emotional journey. I'm still hooked.

Here is a taste:


Florence + The Machine - Drumming Song

Florence and The Machine

MySpace Music Videos

Independence

We're excited!

There is a time-honoured tradition in the Creative Communications program at Red River College. Every year, the second-year students undertake a year-long project, one that lets us apply our skills to a project of our choosing.  Some plan elaborate events, or produce promotional videos.  Others write books or create documentaries. Or a fashion line, a website, a band...

Well, the projects have been handed in and now it's time to celebrate, to show the world just how diverse and talented the Creative Communications class of 2010 is.

(I might be slightly biased since I'm one of them, but if you can't show pride on your own blog, then where can you?)

The presentations start tomorrow at 9am at the Park Theatre, which is a funky little place on South Osborne -- 698 Osborne to be exact. They run Wednesday and Thursday from 9-4, and 9-12 on Friday. 

Come and see the future of Winnipeg's communications industry!

This Addiction is Televised: An Ode to Battlestar Galactica

When I'm super busy, the one thing I still make time for is some escapism. Mostly in the form of must-see TV. I think it's because, no matter how busy I am and how crazy my life is, I need to unwind, and when you're exhausted, melting into the couch and tuning in doesn't involve much energy.


Of course, most of the shows I watch -- at least the ones I love -- aren't exactly shows designed to be escapist. Case in point: I've been re-watching the final season of Battlestar Galactica (BSG), which has been hailed by many (including Joss Whedon, ie: god) as the best show on television. Even though it's been almost a year since the series ended, if you've never seen it, now is as good a time as any to jump on board. The entire series is on DVD, and it's the kind of show you're going to want to watch obsessively from beginning to end.

BSG, like Lost (another fave of mine), takes place in a universe with a deep mythology and a rich history. It’s science fiction at its best: using a futuristic universe to tell stories that use metaphor to comment on our world.

When the series begins, the Twelve Colonies -- twelve worlds that are similar to earth, each inhabited by millions of people -- are destroyed by the Cylons: robot-like creatures who were created by humans and then rebelled against them. The Cylons had disappeared for decades, but reappeared to bomb the colonies with a new trick: a portion of them now look human.


With the entire human race almost extinct, the survivors (who happened to be in space during the attack) flee from the Cylons and set out to find a new planet where they can start again.


At its core, the show is really about the characters. There is the hard as nails commander who loves his crew, the female president who becomes president on the same day she finds out she's dying of cancer, the hot-head pilot who has a special destiny, and the exiled prodigal son who returns to his father's fleet. To name a few. Then there are all the Cylons, who may be closer to being human than they're made out to be.


Confused? Well, yes, it's hard to explain in a couple paragraphs. Read the Wikipedia article for some clarity or this blog post on why BSG is the best show ever. And trust me! Just watch it.


You don't have to commit right out of the gate. Battlestar Galactica started as a three-hour miniseries. Watch that first. You’ll know by the end of those three hours if you're going to like the series. You'll probably be completely addicted.

What's Japanese for oops?

So of course, Toyota has been in the news recently for all the wrong reasons.  This whole thing has made me a little sad, because I am a Toyota owner and I love my car.  I haven't been a fan of their crisis management however.  They've dropped the ball- keeping secrets, taking too long to respond, not seeming apologetic etc.

I remember in the first few days after the news hit, I saw an advertisement by a bunch of dealers in some American city.  It didn't acknowledge the problem and it flaunted Toyota's safety record as a selling point.  Not the correct strategy.  There was even a Toyota product placement in an episode of Bones that week.  It was a little desperate, and clearly slipped in at the last moment.

This week I finally saw something from Toyota that made me happy.  It was another ad, but this one acknowledged the problems, and acknowledged that the company is going to have to earn the trust of the public back. It was completely on-message in terms of crisis communications.



Toyota will bounce back from this.  It will probably take some time. Hopefully they've learned some lessons from the whole ordeal.  Transparency is the key to trust, and the three rules of crisis communication are: tell the truth, tell it first and tell it all.

Good vs. Evil and the Publicity Stunt

I was driving to school this morning and listening to CBC Radio One, which is my usual routine.  This morning Marcie Markusa was interviewing a man who is going to spend 36 hours on the street starting today to raise awareness about homelessness and the work of the Lighthouse Mission.

Near the end of the interview, she asked the man if he was worried his Outdoor Challenge would be perceived as a publicity stunt. The context was clear: publicity stunts are bad.

Publicity Stunt. What does that even mean? The definition of a publicity stunt, according to Wikipedia is "a planned event designed to attract the public's attention to the event's organizers or their cause."  How is that bad exactly?  It's a tool that PR people use all the time, and journalists cover them all the time.  The guy from Lighthouse Mission wouldn't have been on CBC talking about this event if it wasn't an interesting story from the perspective of the media. 

Whenever you hold an event of any kind, and the purpose is getting exposure, you need to add an element of uniqueness to fulfill your goals.  It's like icing on a cake, that extra something special that sets you apart.  If you don't have that factor, you're just another one of ten million people raising money for Haiti. For example.

Why are publicity stunts perceived as bad?  I'm not sure what Markusa was really going for.  After all, in the next five minutes after the interview, she promotes two other special events, including one that she is involved in.  As a local media celebrity, her presence at an event ensures that the CBC, at the very least, is going to cover it.  Throw in the fact that she is going to be performing a dance with four differently-abled girls and you've got something most news media will cover, ie: a publicity stunt.

Perhaps it's the word "stunt" that is the problem, giving the whole concept an iffy vibe.  Stunts are dangerous, so a true publicity stunt perhaps includes some aspect of unethical behavior or poor taste.   Maybe it's people doing something just for the sake of getting attention for themselves, not for a cause or an organization.  Something an ethical PR person would never be involved in.

I find it interesting when certain words or phrases get a negative connotation attached to them, for no apparent reason. When you dig a bit deeper, you often find that the popular perception isn't always the correct one.

Where is the line?

I've been thinking a lot about the media coverage of the earthquake in Haiti lately, so I was interested by the letter of the day on CBC Radio's Q  yesterday, which raised some interesting questions.  Some similar questions popped up in this blog post from Lisa Rundle, producer of Q's media panel:

"The first image I saw after Haiti's disastrous earthquake was of a stunned and injured young girl, just rescued from the rubble of her home or school -- it wasn't clear. I wondered who took the picture and how it might have felt to be documented in a moment like that.

Those are always the questions with news photos, but some are saying that the coverage of Haiti has crossed the line, showing more dead bodies and more gruesome injuries than ever before, and without the same degree of reverence you'd get covering disasters closer to home. Some critics are calling it "disaster porn," suggesting there's a kind of numb pleasure in watching the suffering of others."

A couple of interesting questions are brought up here.  What is happening in Haiti is terrible, and we've been able to witness that in real time and in graphic detail.  There is no hiding from the 24 hour news machine, and since the quake, it's been all about Haiti all the time. While it's important for the world to recognize the severity of the situation, it's a lot to take, having images of death and destruction bombarding you every day.

The letter that was read on the air asked if we would find the coverage disrespectful, exploitative and even obscene if a disaster of a similar magnitude happened in North America, and if it was your neighbours or your family being photographed lying dead in the street.  I wonder. Are we more comfortable with viewing these terrible images because we can tell ourselves that it's happening to someone else who is really far away?

Do we derive pleasure from watching all the suffering?  I have a hard time wrapping my mind around that, but then, we as a species certainly seem to get some sort of joy out of imagining our own destruction, if the string of apocalyptic films that have hit cinemas in the last decade are any indication. Does this extend to witnessing real-life destruction?  Is it like a car crash, we just can't look away?  And at what point does all the viewing become exploitative? How would you feel if you were experiencing the worst moments of your life and every news agency in the world wanted a piece of you?