The recent crises affecting Australia, New Zealand and Japan, and the Arab Spring uprisings across the Middle East, have not only made world news headlines but have also been a major benchmark of how we deal with such news in a world driven by ‘now news’ and digital technology.

The difference with these crises compared to those in previous years is the speed and immediacy with which the news has spread, thanks to Twitter, Facebook and other online news outlets.  It’s a sad but undeniable truth that good news travels fast online, but bad news travels faster.  With all these disasters the wider public has embraced and owned social media. Read more »