After reading Julia Gaffield’s “Haiti’s Declaration of Independence: Digging for Lost Documents in the Archives of the Atlantic World,” I couldn’t help but to think of how her accomplishment became world famous. Reading her passage about how the “story quickly spread around the world, broadcast on news networks and printed in over 50 national and international news sources,” I was curious as to why the story picked up. She’s made it known that the devastating earthquake was just weeks before her discovery, and we all know that the earthquake made major news (I don’t personally know a single person who wasn’t aware of the disaster in Haiti). But I’m still curious as to why this find made international fame. My basic knowledge of businesses is telling me that whatever will make more profit will be made more important. But why was Haitian news profitable? Was it because of the (at the time) recent earthquake and death toll? Was it because of the involvement of many other countries in the making of the document? Is it the fascinating and compelling story of a lost document being found? Perhaps the adventure of discovery?
(Buzzfeed.com)
When I read Gaffield’s section about her discovery becoming international attention I had been reminded of the TIME MAGAZINE comparison. Though one can find it on any other website, Buzzfeed has popularized the comparison of American versus the rest of the world’s TIME Magazine covers. What you are able to see is that the cover of Burma’s President, Thein Sein, is replaced with New Jersey’s governor Chris Christie. “Reinventing College” replaces “Reinventing India” and a large photo of Mitt Romney replaces a cover with the title “Pakistan’s Darkest Heart.” Though the obvious answer might be that the audience is different in the case of one cover that graces the rest of the world ‘s magazine, “The Tragedy of English Football.” Why would Americans be interested in English Football? They wouldn’t. So that cover wouldn’t make money. So they don’t print that cover, they print a more relevant one. But does that mean Americans aren’t interested in the Egyptian Revolution? Fine, American’s don’t care about England’s football or Queen, but the covers still printed in Asia. It still printed in the Middle East and Africa. It strikes me curious as to what the reasoning is on what is considered news “worthy” and what isn’t. So that still begs the question as to why the story of Haiti’s lost document gained such grand importance. It’s a fascinating thought that I urge all my classmates to think about the next time they read the headlines of any news.
Works cited:
Gaffield, Julia. “Haiti’s Declaration of Independence: Digging for Lost Documents in the Archives of the Atlantic World.” The Appendix 2, no. 1 (January 2014)
Schwartz, Hunter. “Time Magazine Covers In The U.S. Vs. The Rest Of The World.” Buzzfeed.com (July 2013)