Explosion at fertilizer plant north of Waco, Texas

[Thundergod]

I'm trying to be nice.




Oh please. I am not insinuating that Texas was a trivial matter. Far from it. But it just makes more sense from a news standpoint that people will be all over the Boston story.
And if I recall weren't you the one who kept going on that TX was nothing more then a fire that got out of control and to put the foil hats away?

it was an accident IMO.. it doesn't make it any less of a tragedy in which more lives were lost.

The coverage is what it is because of ratings.
why does it make more sense to cover Boston?

 

[phorsenuf]

it was an accident IMO.. it doesn't make it any less of a tragedy in which more lives were lost.

The coverage is what it is because of ratings.
why does it make more sense to cover Boston?

My guess would be because it is an international story.

 

[kwelch10377]

it was an accident IMO.. it doesn't make it any less of a tragedy in which more lives were lost.

The coverage is what it is because of ratings.
why does it make more sense to cover Boston?

When was the last time a major US city and its metro area locked down in the hunt for a terrorist bombing suspect?

Not one person has said that the West Texas tragedy is any less meaningful than the Boston tragedy but the media is of course going to focus the attention on something that is affecting that most people and just because the media isn't focused on it doesn't mean people don't care.

 

[DisneyChula]

it was an accident IMO.. it doesn't make it any less of a tragedy in which more lives were lost.

The coverage is what it is because of ratings.
why does it make more sense to cover Boston?

Considering that at the time, the people responsible had not been caught I would think it would generate more public awareness that they are still out there and capable of just about anything.

I don't believe for a second that news stations don't pick and choose based on ratings, but that doesn't make one tragedy "bigger" than the other. Texas was a tragic accident, there was no manhunt going on for people responsible for the explosion. We may not have all of the answers yet, but there was not a risk of a crazy arsonist running around possibly creating more chaos. It's a shame that what happened in Boston overshadowed what happened in Texas on the news, but I don't look to the news to dictate what is more "important". If I want more information on an incident, then I go looking for it.

As for the other issue - I flip flop. Sometimes I think she is playing with posters and other times I think that I'm giving her too much credit.

 

[Thundergod]

When was the last time a major US city and its metro area locked down in the hunt for a terrorist bombing suspect?

Not one person has said that the West Texas tragedy is any less meaningful than the Boston tragedy but the media is of course going to focus the attention on something that is affecting that most people and just because the media isn't focused on it doesn't mean people don't care.

hey, you wanna stop seeing things that happened in Boston stop? Stop putting it on television.

It's getting more attention and it's an international story because our society has sunk to a level where the only thing that keeps our attention are stories like this.

 

[kwelch10377]

hey, you wanna stop seeing things that happened in Boston stop? Stop putting it on television.

It's getting more attention and it's an international story because our society has sunk to a level where the only thing that keeps our attention are stories like this.

So you are blaming the fact that people watch the news for the Boston marathon attack. Nice.

It is getting the attention because of the number of people that it impacted, just like any other news story that remains that the top of the news.

 

[Thundergod]

I'm not really trying to argue with people about these tragedies honestly.
I'm just a little dissapointed in mankind and the people that make the decisions we have to live with.


The press has no problem showing the murder of 3 people on television and repeatedly showing it. everytime it shows the footage of the blast at the marathon,whether it shows it or not, is the death of three innocent people.

How about we take this guy out and put a bullet in his head and do it on live TV? Oh, because we as a nation are not barbaric.

let's not tighten up our immigration laws, lets just let more people in and put camera everywhere and became a more heavily policed nation... Land of the free.

Let's tighten up the gun laws because everyone knows that the first people that will abide by the gun laws are felons and people who illegally have guns.


The world has gone crazy.

 

[Robbi]

No one here has said that one is more important than the other, however, if one watched the non-stop Boston coverage, I can understand how someone might feel that the Texas disaster has been blown off by the media.

 

[CPT Tripss]

it was an accident IMO.. it doesn't make it any less of a tragedy in which more lives were lost.

The coverage is what it is because of ratings.
why does it make more sense to cover Boston?

Accidents happen, nothing we can do about them, nothing more to see, now move on. :

 

[Thundergod]

So you are blaming the fact that people watch the news for the Boston marathon attack. Nice.

It is getting the attention because of the number of people that it impacted, just like any other news story that remains that the top of the news.

Who all did it impact?


this country will feel what happened in West Texas long term alot more than what happened in Boston.
More regulated agriculture industry=higher priced goods. that affects every single sole.

What happened in Boston didn't affect me, It affected those who were involved.

 

[kwelch10377]

Who all did it impact?


this country will feel what happened in West Texas long term alot more than what happened in Boston.
More regulated agriculture industry=higher priced goods. that affects every single sole.

What happened in Boston didn't affect me, It affected those who were involved.

Well me for one since I live about a mile from where the events on Friday took place and I have 2 friends who were about 20 feet away from the 1st bomb went off on Monday.

Let's see it also affected an entire major US city and the metro area by having it put on lockdown.

It affected anyone outside the Boston area who had to do business with someone in Boston on Friday

It affected runners from many states in the US and countries from around the world who were in Boston last Monday running the marathon

It has affected China, where one of the victims is from

It has affected the families of the suspects in Russia

It has affected the families of the suspects in Maryland and New Jersey.

I would say that it affected a lot of people.

 

[Lorelei Lee]

hey, you wanna stop seeing things that happened in Boston stop? Stop putting it on television.

It's getting more attention and it's an international story because our society has sunk to a level where the only thing that keeps our attention are stories like this.

Yeah, let's not put the story on TV. Let's let the whole City of Boston wonder why they can't get into Copley Square. let's let them wonder why they're under lock down during the manhunt. Let's let those of us with friends and business associates stay in the dark about why we can't reach our colleagues. Let's let two terrorists get away with murder because we don't want to put their photos on the news and on social media like Facebook. And let's bury the heroism of first responders on the back page of the paper, shall we?

I have no doubt that the tragedy in West, Texas would have been a bigger story if it had not happened the same week as Boston. It's a terrible, horrible accident. But it happened in a small town, affecting mostly the people who live in the area, and the bombings in Boston affected a major city during an international event.

I actually felt sorry for Matt Lauer Friday morning. They sent him to Texas to cover the factory story. Who would have known that developments in Boston would take the turn that they did, with a live manhunt on Friday? Poor Matt didn't get the airtime to fully explore his story.

 

[DisneyChula]

Who all did it impact?


this country will feel what happened in West Texas long term alot more than what happened in Boston.
More regulated agriculture industry=higher priced goods. that affects every single sole.

What happened in Boston didn't affect me, It affected those who were involved.

Seriously? So you know how the explosion will personally affect every single soul, but you also know that nothing that stems from the Boston tragedy could possibly affect every single person in one way or another? Ok then.

 

[A_Princess'_Daddy]

Let's tighten up the gun laws because everyone knows that the first people that will abide by the gun laws are felons and people who illegally have guns.

I am so tired of this line of logic. By that reasoning, why have any laws at all? I get that it's a cute and catchy soundbite and all, but it's so fundamentally flawed as an argument that it does nothing to further intelligent debate.

 

[phorsenuf]

I am so tired of this line of logic. By that reasoning, why have any laws at all? I get that it's a cute and catchy soundbite and all, but it's so fundamentally flawed as an argument that it does nothing to further intelligent debate.

And has nothing to do with this conversation.

 

[Lorelei Lee]

Who all did it impact?


this country will feel what happened in West Texas long term alot more than what happened in Boston.
More regulated agriculture industry=higher priced goods. that affects every single sole.

What happened in Boston didn't affect me, It affected those who were involved.

Your speculation that this accident will lead to more agricultural regulation is just that -- speculation. Agricultural regulation affects us all, true, but indirectly. If I'm paying $.30 more for a loaf of bread next year I am not going to think "Oh, yeah, prices went up because of that fertilizer explosion in Texas." Just not going to happen.


Boston is a major city and was hosting an international event. The bombing affected the the marathon, which attracted participants and fans from all over the world. Many people not connected with the marathon have business and social ties to the city (I do a lot of business there, for example). Boston is also symbolic, in a way that a small town in Texas is not, because of its history -- you could say that the American Revolution originated in Boston (though I know you'd get an argument from the people of Philadelphia and Virginia).

I live in the NYC area, where we've been living with "See something, say something" for almost 12 years now. Very effective, in light of what we saw on the news back then ...Think we shouldn't have put 9/11 on TV?

 

[kwelch10377]

Something else to add as to why there was also so much more coverage about Boston because there was constant new information to provide and it was an ongoing story. There has been very little information that the media has about the West, Texas explosion.

 

[MickeySP]

More coverage because one was a terribly horrific accident, the other was an act of terrorism that will affect how some life is conducted in this country.

We now know that planes aren't are only danger. We know now that the guy in the airport who says "Can you watch my bags while I get ...?" may not be a fellow traveler. That the person who leaves Starbucks or Dunks an accidently left his backpack/briefcase, may not have done it accidently. That the innocent baby faced college student may be more deadly than the convicted felon we let out on parole

The difference is accident vs cold blooded murder.

I find it absolutley disgusting that any group on either side will use this to further their arguement.

 

[Robbi]

Something else to add as to why there was also so much more coverage about Boston because there was constant new information to provide and it was an ongoing story. There has been very little information that the media has about the West, Texas explosion.

There actually has been new information if people look for it. You're right though that there has not been a lot of national news because the media has not covered it.

More coverage because one was a terribly horrific accident, the other was an act of terrorism that will affect how some life is conducted in this country.

We now know that planes aren't are only danger. We know now that the guy in the airport who says "Can you watch my bags while I get ...?" may not be a fellow traveler. That the person who leaves Starbucks or Dunks an accidently left his backpack/briefcase, may not have done it accidently. That the innocent baby faced college student may be more deadly than the convicted felon we let out on parole

The difference is accident vs cold blooded murder.

I find it absolutley disgusting that any group on either side will use this to further their arguement.

We've known this for a long time. For example, the suicide bombers in Israel.

 

[hopemax]

I think the big reason the coverage was so focused on Boston was simply because after the shootout in Watertown, people believed the capture was "imminent." If there was no news about the identities and locations of the individuals in Boston but there was the possibility of hours of "is the fertilizer plant going to blow!?!" they would have covered the events in West. The "sensational" events in West happened too quickly.

As for regulations. The problem doesn't sound like there wasn't enough regulation. But regulation is pretty meaningless if insufficient funds are allocated to independent inspection and enforcement. I would hope we would see the need to hire more inspectors (financed by greater fines for violators), so there isn't so much of a gap between inspections. But I'm pretty sure how that conversation is going to go.