When Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 dropped off the radar nearly three weeks ago, U.S. news outlets went into full coverage mode, devoting hours and hours of coverage every day to its disappearance. Far from informing people and clarifying the situation, however, much of the coverage became tabloid-like to the extent that now, media criticism is coming from all directions.

From the Right:
Fox News' Bill O'Reilly last week ranted about the "unbelievable" cable news coverage
Read the article/watch the video here

From the Left:
MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski yesterday suggested journalists return to "news school" because of rampant on-air speculation
Read the article/watch the video here

And there was humor:
Comedy Central's Jon Stewart piled on to skewer CNN's theories on black holes, supernatural causes and psychics
Watch the video here

The only certainties in the case of the missing Malaysian Airlines plane are that it was a human tragedy — and that American news coverage generally couldn't have been more pathetic in the face of uncertain facts, endless news cycles to fill and the battle for ratings.

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Photo courtesy of Reuters