Breaking: Yemen Almost Newsworthy
BREAKING: the famine in Yemen, made possible by the use of US weapons by Saudi Arabia to target and destroy food supplies, thereby committing war crimes, is tantilisingly close to being newsworthy, WWN can confirm.
It is not yet clear what piece of journalism will push the conflict between Saudi Arabia and Yemen into the consciousness of the media consuming public, but it is believed a viral photo or video of a starving child might just do it.
“We’re making no promises on whether or not it will stay in the news for all that long, but, we’re so close to Yemen being that sad bit of news they tack on the end of the 9 o’clock news,” confirmed Eoin Gally, a media expert we spoke with.
With 7 million people, many of them women and children, at risk of famine in the Arab world’s poorest country as 3 million people have been driven from their homes, it would seem that all the elements are present for Yemen to become a genuinely engaging news item with a chance of repeating the success of the Syrian War when it comes to momentarily giving people pause for thought.
“We were so close to gaining the wider attention of the public, but then I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here started up on TV again,” explained a reporter who has seen firsthand the devastation the war is having on innocent civilians, “not to mention we’re just coming off the back of the Bake Off, and X Factor and Strictly are still going. The Premier League and the Champions League are back after the international break, Lena Dunham said something stupid, we’ve a lot to compete with”.
Matters are further complicated by who might share the blame for the outbreak of famine in Yemen, confirms social media status selection expert Paula Langan.
“This would be a cut and dry call of outrage if people could clearly blame Trump for his part in this, however, some of the problems with Yemen and Saudi Arabia can be traced back to Obama’s time in office, which could cause people to question their own outlook on things, and their political allegiances. However, instead of doing that, it’s much easier to just carry on ignoring things,” explained Langan.