Media must not allow ‘compassion fatigue’ to set in with tsunami tragedy

TWO columnists on this page recently went into the business of prophecy. One was Pat Brosnan, who attacked the initially proposed Government aid for tsunami victims as ‘paltry’, ‘risible’ and ‘peanuts’ and added the prophecy that by the time readers would see his column in the newspaper, the Government might have increased the sum offered.

In fact, Government re-consideration took longer than overnight, but the move from €2 million to €10m did come within days. The other prophecy related to the tsunami came from Noel Whelan.

"The sad reality," he wrote, "is that what is disturbingly described as 'disaster fatigue' will soon kick in. Our news bulletins will be dominated instead by more proximate and localised concerns. The reality of the unequal world which humankind has