Bimbisar Irom (Murrow College of Communication) will talk about the Western media coverage of the ongoing Rohingya refugee crisis that originated in Myanmar and has now spilled over into the neighboring countries of Bangladesh, India, Thailand, and Malaysia.  The presentation will explore media coverage of “distant suffering” as a cultural product that draws on earlier iconographies, ideologies, and relationships of dominance.  How does the media build proximity and distance between spectators and people they will never meet? This central question will be explored by examining cross platform media artifacts, including Reuters’ Pulitzer-winning photographs and cutting-edge virtual reality coverage such as the VR documentary, I am Rohingya. Read about Irom in this Murrow College article.

Verification of attendance available.