The long shadow of Everest
On 26th April 2015 Nepal hit the international headlines as a 7.8 earthquake near Lamjung devastated much of the countries cities and countryside. Whilst initial reports concerned Kathmandu itself, after several hours news starts coming in regarding different districts. It became known Sindhupalchowk, Rasuwa and Gorkha have been hit very hard indeed. Kathmandu was alive with rumours of aftershocks, bigger earthquakes from another 7 even up to 13. This game of Chinese whispers in a time of limited resources is extremely dangerous. It led to thousands of families staying outside due to fears of more but non-existent powerful aftershocks. Tundikel was abuzz with contrasting rumours, to stay outsides or go insides, to flee the country or stay. But if you had turned to the international news to look for answers or to hear an interview with a geologist discussing future seismic activity you would have been sorely disappointed, unless that is you wanted extensive coverage on Everest. Whilst the tragedy in Everest was undoubtedly horrible, the focus of the media should have been on the districts of Nepal, where the biggest numbers of lives were at risk.
Mount Everest, Sagarthmatha or Chomollunga, call it what you will but it is clear it plays a major role both in the image of Nepal at home and abroad. The third pole and race to ascend brought Nepal to the world’s attention on 1953 when Tenzing Norgay and Edmond Hillary reached its peak. Since then year round, often the only time in the year, the international medias spotlight turns to the activities of Everest Base Camp and higher. The combination of the world’s highest peak coupled with the extreme costs of climbing create an excitement that is palatable around the world. This has meant to Everest getting linked with Nepal, therefore focus is often upon Everest and the April earthquake was no different.
The International media descended upon Kathmandu and reports worldwide showered the damage to the iconic Durbar Squares and Dhauraha and showed a country in Chaos. However, as with any news coverage of Nepal, it was not complete without a mention of Mount Everest. The news of an avalanche on the world’s highest peak is always guaranteed to warrant extensive coverage. However what followed was an over-reporting regarding foreign climbers trapped on Everest and the potential that climbing season might be called off. Despite at this time, with no phone reception and limited internet, international TV was the only information access point for many. Instead of finding International news coverage as a beacon of knowledge, giving clear updates of the rescue and the potential of aftershocks.
The focus of the media on foreign tourists in Nepal and how they were effective, while of interest to viewers back home, is hardly the most effective form of journalism. This was the same in the October snowstorm in Annapurna where numerous foreign trekkers and Nepalis were caught up in the storm. Following the disaster interviews conducted were manly of tourists, thus minimizing the voice of Nepali’s. Also in the time of a crisis it is important to hear from experts and academics that are both knowledgeable and informed about the subject matter at hand. I highly doubt that the insights of a tourist following both the quake and storm would be as useful as that of an expert.
Media coverage follows the same patterns and frameworks for covering disasters worldwide. After starting with some initial pictures of the worst hit areas and basic coverage, the media look for interesting points about the country. It helps keep interest and linking a tragedy on Everest is certainly of a higher interest to a Western market, it is much nicer to interspace footage of the tragedy in Kathmandu, with pictures of the 3rd pole. But it is not the job of the media to focus on the interesting news, but rather all news. This focus on reporting solely what viewers back in the West wanted to see, not what the people in Nepal needed to see meant that the media was not able to either effectively inform or instruct citizens in a time of need.
