Emotions and media

A very familiar theme: how contemporary media, especially TV, most often corrupts emotional and moral connection to others - is well captured in a comment from San Nakji quoted by Ben Rooney in The Guardian:

Our local TV news website is leading with Brad and Angie's new baby... The 3000 deaths get third billing. Now that's messed up!

The same logic put Diana's death ahead of the drowning of hundreds of refugees in the Mediterranean und so weiter ad nauseam.

And yet, sometimes the news of the death of a single individual of whom you previously know nothing may bring a reader or viewer close to tears - as in the case of stabbing of Thomas Grant, aged 19 - and maybe that's OK.