The earth quakes and the story resonates

When natural tragedies like the recent quake in China occur, the mainstream media begins the counting game. Hourly updates of the death tolls dominate the main site of the major news outlets.

I know I find myself checking regularly to see what the toll is up to now. The tragic number seems to resonate the scale of the disaster.

What I liked about the May 12 and May 14 blog on "China Rises" blog is that it told the story from a different angle. The pictures offered more variety than the current national narrative US networks have been following. It didn't just show the injured being taken away by paramedics but instead showed Premier Wen Jiabao visiting the injured and recovery crews working through the night to find people.

The two articles also swayed away from the body count type article and looked at the effects the people were having on the ground. This is a key aspect of this blogging site and I think it is their unique selling point. They report from the ground and share with the reader what is really happening.

The first line of the May 12 blog "After quake, mobile networks burdened" begins:

"A disaster strikes, and everyone reaches for the phone to call loved ones."

This anecdotal lead pulls the reader in, creates a point of common interest and understanding and brings the scale of the disaster into perspective. People wanted to know their families were safe.

The May 14th blog "Keep an eye on the Sichuan dams" was also insightful as it brought up an issue I had not come across in the mainstream media.

The problem being discussed; the danger of the Sichuan dams.

The blogger Tim Johnson predicted some of the coverage we are going to be looking at over the next couple of weeks. I thought this was a useful piece of analysis to get from a journalist who has been following these issues and can offer the reader context.

Will the dam infrastructure hold and what is the long-term damage?

Will there be inquiries into the poor infrastructure of the public school buildings?

I also liked the way this blog offered a link to a Reuter’s story and then has an update on May 15 offering an alternative view written by Reuter’s staff.

There is also a link to an eyewitness account. This is always a nice feature to include in a natural tragedy like this. It offers the reader a human angle to focus on and sums up the damage of the quake effectively.