Don't look now, but it's another natural disaster... and you all know what that means.
Yep, that's right, Tropical Cyclone Marcia has reached a Category 5.
Cue the 24 hr rolling television coverage.
Networks 7, 9 and 10, I'm looking at YOU. The ABC is also guilty of this, albeit to a lesser extent.
While there's no denying that TV coverage is essential in getting warnings out to those in the "at risk" areas and keeping the rest of us up to date with developments, there is nothing more irritating than seeing the same video footage playing on a constant loop.
Remember the Cyclone Yasi reports? How many times did we see the same piece of awning ripping off a building and flying up the main street? Or how about the 2011 Brissie floods? I swear, if I'd seen that loop of that same wheelie bin floating down the river, just one more time... OMFG!
Sex sells, as they say, but obviously it's natural disasters that get the TV ratings.
But honestly, if nothing new has happened in the last hour, I'm really NOT interested in seeing footage shot last night (AGAIN), combined with a scrolling news ticker and a misleading "Live coverage" label in the top corner of the screen.
Please return us to our regularly scheduled programmes.
I'm more than happy for you to cut into a show with "Breaking News"... so long as it's actually breaking news and not another rerun of events that happened yesterday, that you've already televised ad nauseam.
In the meantime of course, it's Marcia, Marcia, Marcia. (see what I did there?)
I have family and friends in the path of Marcia, and I can only pray they will be safe.
It does seem like the media has forgotten all about the NT. They're facing Cyclone Lam, but if the networks are to be believed, it seems to be only a second thought to Cyclone Marcia. I hope everyone in the NT stays safe too.
Oh well, I have a portable hard drive full of movies I can watch. So. Very. Glad.
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