A migrant boat sailing from Africa to Europe capsized in the Mediterranean Sea last week, leading to the confirmed drownings of at least 500 Pakistani refugees, as of writing. The death total may be above 750 by the time you're reading this.
There hasn't been "that" much mainstream media attention paid to this tragedy – the worst ever in the history of the Mediterranean, according to the European Union. News outlets around the world seemed much more focused on OceanGate Expedition's Titan submersible, its expedition to explore the sunken HMS Titanic, and the since-confirmed deaths of the five wealthy men who were aboard that ill-fated vessel.
While the loss of life is always sad, there was an obvious double-standard at play when examining how the international media reported on these two separate news stories, and how the public responded to them. The amount of coverage and interest devoted to the Titan since it was first reported missing last Sunday was quite staggering when considering what had just happened off the coast of Greece.
Why was this the case? First, the social status of the five people who died clearly came into play. The wealth of the individuals who perished in the Titan was well documented and reported last week, as international media outlets scrambled to tell the stories of who these billionaires were. With the cost to board OceanGate Expedition's voyage to the Titanic being around $250,000 per person, it was clear these men were incredibly wealthy. The same couldn't be said for the hundreds of refugees who drowned.
Just to make clear, our newsroom doesn't wish to downplay the deaths of the five people who were on the Titan submersible – particularly considering one of the men aboard was just 19 years old. We just wanted to point out the double standard that was at play in how the international media reported two tragic events that occurred within days of each other.
But it's clear which of the events was "more" tragic. Or at least, it should be.
