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Last week, Puerto Rico was without safe drinking water or electricity, but blanket news coverage of Queen Elizabeth IIs funeral has raised questions about how networks should prioritise their content.
On Monday last week, hurricane Fiona left Puerto Rico without drinking water or power. By the early hours of Tuesday, two people had died.
Heavy rain destroyed large swathes of Puerto Rican land, with forecasters predicting it to continue for several days.
The island then dealt with up to 30 inches of rainfall, which increases the risk of flash floods, landslides, and the destruction of urban areas.
A 58-year-old man was killed after the water of an overflowing river swept him away. Another man, just 30, died in a generator fire.
Hurricane Fiona has devastated the country just days before the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Maria – a category 5 storm that Puerto Rico is still struggling to recover from.
President Biden declared a national emergency in the US territory, and the National Guard has deployed 600 soldiers throughout Puerto Rico.
These statistics are shocking, not least because you may be hearing them for the first time.
News coverage of the event – specifically in the US and the UK – has been piecemeal. Instead, Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral blanketed major networks for the entirety of Monday.
Though it may be a landmark historical moment for Britain, the Queen’s passing has minimal news value.
After a 10 day mourning period, in which social media, television, and digital billboards have been consumed by it, it’s safe to assume virtually everyone in the UK – and much of the Western world – is aware of Elizabeth II’s death.
But hurricane Fiona is – as many have pointed out – a huge ongoing news story. Hundreds of thousands are suffering with minimal help from the international community.
Ana Navarro, a Nicaraguan American political strategist, criticised the blanket coverage of the Queen’s funeral on Monday.
‘Folks, I respect the Queen as much as the next person. I offer my condolences to the Brits and all who loved her,’ she shared in a tweet.
‘But can I please get some news and footage of the effects of Fiona on Puerto Rico? For those who need reminding, they are American citizens in distress.’
