[agumonkey]

It's a bit awkward indeed. Even as French I felt it was improper to have so much contrast between media coverage and people response. I believe it's partly due to the fact that the middle east has been at war for so long it doesn't shock people much anymore, while for Paris it was some kind of a first.

[jacquesm]

That's exactly why it happens. The news outlets will report the unusual with a lot more energy than something that - very unfortunately - happens several times per year. Proximity to the news outlets main audience is another large factor.

[agumonkey]

There was a bit more than media dynamics at play. People somehow treated Paris like an old family aunt that shouldn't be touched. Nice but a bit out of place considering the silence treatment on countries of lesser glow.

[jacquesm]

That's because 'Paris' is something special on the world stage, Istanbul (for no good reasons, it's a beautiful city) less so.

I think a good comparison is with Mexico, drug cartels murdering people hardly makes the news, even if the numbers are comparable or exceed the attacks in Paris. People more or less expect that sort of thing from that particular region so it is not considered newsworthy to the same degree.

[dogma1138]

It's not only that Turkey is a much more frequent receiver of such acts mainly due to ongoing conflict with the Kurdish minority.

Bombings in Ireland were also not that heavily reported on in the West, yes world wide web didn't really exist back then but the main media usually reported it as a footnote unless it was really an extreme event.

When Israel was averaging one suicide bombing every 3 days in the late 90's and early 2000's it seems that in the west it only reached the headlines once the death count came to 30 or so or as far as the US media goes when ever Americans were either targeted or were otherwise casualties of the event.