NPR’s “Compassion Fatigue”

Jeffrey Dvorkin, National Public Radio‘s ombudsman, suggests that some news outlets are starting to avoid coverage of the Mideast because they’re tired of being “battered” by media monitors on both sides:

Most ombudsmen can attest that coverage of this subject draws constant allegations of bias. Anecdotally, I am told that some news organizations are now so battered that they tend to avoid the story as much as possible. Some of my colleagues at other news organizations say they report the story only when the outrages from one side or the other are too appalling to ignore.

At the same time, listeners and readers complain that the Palestinian-Israeli conflict gets too much coverage. They admit to “compassion fatigue” from weighing the claims and counter-claims of the two sides, and from following the reports of journalists who generally are unable or unwilling to determine which side has the high moral ground.