The Media's Unintentional Fearmongering, Inspired by Plane Crashes...

The news of tragic accidents are always shocking, especially when it happens as rarely as plane crashes.  With solid statistics of safety, planes have surpassed cars, trains, and boats as the fast, safe way to quickly transport oneself from point A to B, even in short distances in which alternative means of travel are price competitive, and perhaps even faster and more convenient (especially given the recent toughness in airport security, combined with long lines and delays).  Even the wealthy are willing to pay a premium as well as the cost of losing coveted privacy, to get themselves to desired destinations onboard a plane.

Indeed, if anything, transporting oneself by plane has become more of a social status symbol for middle class lifestyle as the safety records of planes have become more robust and consistent.  Even as plane fares dropped with greater supply, "have ridden a plane" has become a checkmark of fundamental separation between the haves and have-nots.  And for the global-minded, flying frequently, often internationally, has become the hallmark and necessity to upkeep their globe-trotting lifestyles and the very basis of maintaining their personal identities.

It is, then, extremely newsworthy when one of those rare accidents on a plane does occur, and those high-flying middle class men and women suffers devastating consequences.  The media sells by sensationalist reporting, and a plane disaster is a perfect opportunity.  Beautiful pictures of a disintegrating plane engulfed in smoke and flames, combined with tales from passengers and witnesses, of horror, of survival, and of heroism  involving, at times, exotic locales and people...it is eye-catching and worthy of front-page headlines, capable of producing continued audiences with exaggerated updates and researches...

This was certainly the case for the Asiana flight from Seoul that crashed in San Francisco.  Burned planes, stories of horror and survival, an international population, as well famous people who were supposed to be on the plane...perfect story.  For the flyers themselves, such media sensationalism is definitely not appreciated.  The author himself is a frequent flyer who does at least 3-4 international flights a year, and the route in question, and even the exact flight was used many times in the past.  The only thing such news reports do would be to evoke a feeling of "what if I was on that plane on this day?" It is pure anxiety.

Perhaps bit intentionally, and bit unintentionally, such extensive new coverage of one single crash leads to massive effort at rethinking the safety standards of the entire airline industry, and could mean massive losses for the particular airlines involved.  Given the heavy competition of same airlines plying the same routes, and the fickleness of the wealthy consumers that are the main clientele, even one high-profile incident as such can mean huge short- and mid-term changes in transportation patterns and consumer behaviors for the destinations concerned.  

Economically, this is certainly not productive.  The media will surely gain some short-term surge in visitors from reporting the news constantly, and may perhaps get a short-term increase in revenues as a result.  But in the long-term, coverage of such news would not distinguish one media outlet from others for excellence, as all outlets will essentially be getting the same information on the incident from the same sources at the same time.  But for the entire airline service chain, the diligence of the media is a disaster for short- and perhaps long-term.  Indirect accusation and newly minted perception of lacking concern for safety will hit hard.

The airline industry, as it tumbles in the aftermath of the accident, will inevitably drag down an entire supply chain will it, both on the service and manufacturing side.  Accident means thorough investigation into the plane type and problem-causing component parts.  Firms behind them will not only have to pay for them to regain reputation, but will suffer reputational damage anyways.  And short-term decline in demand means bad times for service ranging from airport restaurants to local transport to the airports, to onboard catering and entertainment systems.

The perceived safety of planes have led to its emergence as an indispensable and unavoidable vehicle for increased globalization and migration of populations.  But its high-caliber profile also means when something bad happens, it will not be as easily overlooked or forgotten as a car or boat accident.  As many other matters, the media should not using accidents to exploiting the fundamental fragility of the human psyche.  Instead it has the responsibility to portray the accident as an "anomaly" rather than some sort of "systematic norm" on a limited scale that can easily happen again.