This link is to a news report from "Russia Today". Russia, eg: the supposed "great enemy", the war-mongering militant nation that allegedly bullies its smaller neighbours, threatens world peace, and persecutes minorities (including LGBT people).
Some, or all of these may be true - and yet RT often demonstrates a frankness and basic humanity I'm yet to see in Western mainstream news media. I've seen several examples of it, this particular report is not just a flash in the pan. Also in stark contrast, RT welcome journalists of extremely varied backgrounds and opinions, and unlike Western media (certainly the more Right-wing stations, and more so in America) those journalists are actually allowed to speak at length without the constant interruptions of a host who wishes to aggrandise him/herself, or steer the programme in the direction demanded by producers. Eg: say something they don't like on Fox News, they will simply talk over you, or cut you off. I for one was brought up to believe that only wrong-doers need fear or suppress the truth; ergo a news service that censors its guests or picks and chooses which arguments are put forward, has a clear agenda, and is almost certainly unreliable.
Whatever your thoughts, I hope most of us would agree there is something fundamentally wrong with terrorist atrocities in the West being considered important/newsworthy, but the lives of those lost in the Middle East and Africa (every single day) somehow matter less. And if you agree with that much, the next question is obviously "why do our news channels not cover those stories?" The reason is simply the Right-wing press WANT you to feel that way. They want Westerners to feel we are more important and somehow higher up the evolutionary scale, even if only on a very subtle/subconscious level. And it's worked! In fact, it's worked so well, and we've become so insular and selfish within our capitalist/celebrity driven cultures, we no longer give a crap what's happening to people up the road or in the next borough, let alone people from another continent. Those who do care are usually powerless to enact any change whatsoever any way.
Of course, the single greatest cause of the imbalance is our media's desire to inspire fear, with tragic news closer to home. Fear is the singular best friend to austere and unpopular, warlike governments. After all, a populous in fear needs strong, unapologetic "leadership" to take "decisive" and often objectionable action, whereas a calm/relaxed populous will naturally begin to lean more Left-wing. Happiness paves the way for tolerance, but fear can be wheeled out to justify just about any oppressive action, at any given time. In essence, it really is as simple as that.
Pointing out this imbalance doesn't diminish the significance of horrific terror attacks such as those in Brussels or Paris last year; it only illustrates how and why we are reminded of certain tragedies every single day, whilst others are omitted. The answers to such simple questions can often make analysis of complex/shadowy geopolitics a lot more straightforward - you find yourself less easily distracted.
