How many times have we had to endure the scenes of the planes hitting the World Trade Centre? What about the families of all the people who died at that time? They have to watch their loved-ones' deaths over and over even now, more than 7 years later.

Or how about Kim Phuc? It's been 35 years since she was photographed running after being burned in a napalm attack in Vietnam but she has to endure seeing that photo and all the news articles about it year after year.

It's news, which is what their jobs are. There have been disturbing images for as long as there has been photojournalism and there will continue to be. As TP has said, if you don't like it turn the TV off.

agreed. news of this type should disturb and god help us all if it didn't.
don't watch the idiot box, go out and enjoy life with family and friends, reaffirm you are alive and well and be grateful.

You can't be serious with this comment surely? People are living in Australia, I guess it's so much easier to group everyone as Australian than to list the nationality of all those who help that happen to live here and call Australia home...

Her neice is in England, so the comment is a valid one for a kid who's not in Australia.

Exactly. An English 8 year old, who is hearing about the fires over there and knows that I live there but I'm not an Australian. She just wondered why they don't want everyone to help not just Australians.

Agreed, but in my opinion images cease to be news when they're ran in slow motion with Coldplay's latest sobfest lilting in the background.

I think you let it get to you. I have spent hours watching TV and have not heard one comment about Aussie spirit or pride. Community yes! It might be true that a flavour of all that after a bush fire is fairly Australian. They probably would pull together better than say Californians after fires there - but I am not sure if the devastation has ever been as bad there.

To be honest, I think that Australians do have a vague sense, or more accurately flavour of character that sometimes Europeans haven't, (and of course some do). It's a function of the way the nation built so quickly in so short a time in fairly harsh conditions. Living in the bush can be tough - in a routine sort of way - in the way living in Shropshire isn't.

I don't get upset by that.

I think it is a valid point, but it is clear it was misinterpreted(!) Australian is just a collective noun. Frankly I think the usage is just a media habit.

Ive spent very little time watching The TV coverage, and have heard it several times. By the feedback on this thread so have others.

What bugs me personally about it, is we are raising our kids here, I dont want their heads pumped full of this narrow minded jingo stuff. Luckily they have been overseas, but how many aussie kids here never get that chance and actually start to believe "only aussies would react this way" . type raves.

i think they are just trying to whip up more emotion, to the point now its almost exploiting the images, showing very little respect IMO.

Fair enough, I can understand an eight year old being confused by the term.

If this happened in any other country in the world, for example, the UK it would read 'Britons pull together' or in the USA 'Americans pull together'.

Education is key. In my view, an overseas trip may not help as much as a family environment. Remember that 'narrow-minded' people will always have their time and day. The only time to worry is when everyone you know personally is like that - then it is time to sort out a new career, or a move etc..

It's quite possible assuming there are no losses this weekend that by next week, this might come off the boil......and the stories will focus on the rehab period.

The whole sensationalism within journalism of all kinds, TV being prevalent, is way too much these days... I find I turn the telly off (well used to, I don't actually have a telly that picks up local TV stations anymore)... its like (although not always) that the TV station is making everything worse..

Em x

Funny how when John Howard was in power the Cronulla riots were his fault a/c "Nationilism"and Aussie Pride.
Now the pathetic actor,notice how he cries Crocodile tears only when the TV crews are filming him,e.g. Vic fires or a bloke fainting in a church,is all Aussie Spirit etc.
Tearing up on cue and thinking that Australia believes in you is pathetic KDudd.

yes, that's what we did, gets too much esp when they are showing the same clips again and again in different reports!

In our local newspaper in Adelaide yesterday, there was a whole separate pull out section on what has happened in Victoria, along with more pictures of burned out streets etc etc. Then there was a separate article about what the identification teams are finding inside some of the burned out houses.
I'm sorry but there comes a point where I don't want to hear about charred babies and people huddled together and so badly burned that their bodies have fused together!!!
This sort of media reporting is just too much information - yes we know what happened to those poor people who could not get out of their homes but we don't need the gory descriptive details
It's just wrong....