For several weeks, the Ukraine war has dominated the news cycle. The conflict certainly deserves heavy news coverage, but is the public missing out on other important news stories that have a more direct impact on their daily lives – because of the focus on Ukraine?

Here are opinions from students in a Media and Democracy course at St. Bonaventure University.

O’brien Dailey:

The Ukraine War or Russo-Ukrainian War has been dominating airwaves and newswires for what will be two months in the coming weeks. Though the war is important and should be covered, we can’t forget about what else is going on in the world. We can’t forget because if we do the news we forgot about or didn’t choose to cover because we gave all our time to one event, no matter how significant, will come back to haunt us.

There are a few stories that I wish would be covered more on a daily basis, along with The Ukraine War. One example may seem obvious: the COVID-19 pandemic.

While I am tired of seeing news about the pandemic as most are, I still believe we have to make sure the public is informed regularly on the matter. We still have to stay informed on COVID-19 because it’s still causing harm, and it’s changing, such as with its variants, so we need to be informed so we might be ready for anything.

I also hope that coverage of the frequent supply shortages becomes more prevalent so that more people understand why things are costing as much right now. Another reason I want them to be informed is so that they do their part in helping keep prices down if they know what’s going on. 

Everyone should be informed about the Ukraine war no matter the circumstance. People still, however, should be informed about other news that’s just as important.

Patrick Meisenzahl:

While the news cycle has been dominated in recent weeks by coverage of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, stories that affect the day-to-day lives of the average American are being overlooked.

One such story is the exponential rising of gas prices over the last year. This is an issue that has real effects on the average American. The causes should be carefully examined and explored by the media in hopes of finding a way to bring the prices down to normal levels.

Unfortunately, in the news coverage I’ve seen on the topic, everything is related to and explained by the sanctions imposed on Russia because of the Ukraine war. Gas prices were rising to unseen levels before these sanctions were imposed and were up nearly 70 cents per gallon before Vladimir Putin even invaded Ukraine, according to the Washington Post. The average American would like to know the cause of this.

News stories on forms of entertainment and escapism have been lacking because of constant coverage of the Ukraine war. The Winter Olympics and annual March Madness NCAA basketball tournament are usually important elements of the daily news cycle during this time of year. These events help uplift the average American and are great for boosting morale across the country. Unfortunately, their coverage has been reduced as well.

Categories: Jandoli Institute, Media