It was funny that a single ship could get stuck with such a huge impact on the global shipping industry, so people were tuned in. And you could follow day by day with the plans and attempts made to dig out the ship. Great, simple fodder for the 24-hour news cycle, and memes probably made people more engaged with the story.

With the Houthis it's a big, complex geopolitical mess, and all the oxygen in the room is being taken up by the war in Gaza. No big countermoves have been made so all there is to be done is report on the strikes when they happen, the threats made by various powers, and speculate if the US is going to intervene in some significant way.

The Ever Given was an acute issue, and acute issues are attention grabbing. The attacks in the Red Sea are a progression of a war that the average person in the west doesn't really understand that's been going on for 9 years.

One of my favorites

It's the difference between "Atlanta Airport shut down indefinitely, all flights cancelled until further notice" and "Bad weather in Atlanta, all flights delayed". Both are newsworthy, but the latter doesn't generate as many headlines. Not to downplay the violence in the Red Sea, obviously it's a lot more serious than bad weather, but I think the analogy is ok.

that might be what parent is mentioning : this alternative route was sold to the news-viewing public as absolutely impossible and untenable when producing profit over time -- they were told that the suez canal was of vital importance and that trade must halt until it was cleared.

and now suddenly, not much time afterwards, the threat of violence has prompted the realization that there are clear and viable alternatives to the suez canal.

the 180 on the importance of the canal feels telling, but I don't know how. I presume it's an effort to keep public opinion from desiring a strong military response in the area. It feels like election-time stalling so that "Cleaning up the Red Sea" can be a political talking point during election season -- but I hate to be so cynical as to think we're ignoring a global political partner for the sake of a politician having an ace up their sleeve during debates.

> With each day that the Ever Given container ship remains stuck in the Suez Canal, the cost of the disruption grows more consequential. After days of failed efforts to move the mammoth ship, shipowners began rerouting ships bound for the Suez Canal around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope, adding weeks to their journeys and burning additional fuel — a cost ultimately borne by consumers. When deciding whether to divert, a shipping company must consider the cost of sitting for days outside the canal versus the added time of steaming around Africa. It is not an easy choice.

Today the Red Sea crisis is front page news, and their story leads with:

> They can send their vessels through the Red Sea if they are willing to risk attacks by the Houthi militia in Yemen and to bear the cost of sharply higher insurance premiums. Or they can sail an extra 4,000 miles around Africa, adding 10 days in each direction and burning considerably more fuel. Neither option is appealing and both raise costs — expenses that analysts said could ultimately be borne by consumers through higher prices on the goods they buy.

Basically the same, even using the exact same phrase about consumers. This was just one example, but when I look at coverage of Ever Given I see a general attitude of "damn this is terrible timing, supply chains were just starting to recover from the pandemic, this will cause a lot of problems". Nobody was declaring the end of the world or that "trade must halt". Today I don't see anyone downplaying the situation, at most I see a little bit less front-page placement because of the nature of the story.

Not sure about what sources you follow, but the ones I am following scream about a full blown global crisis. Here is for example the explainer from the Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/dec/19/red-sea-shi...

At the same time many defence analyst is astonished by the appearent dithering of the US Navy over the issue. In fact the more fringe elements are talking about that the recent incapacitation of the US SecDef might be the reason behind the inaction.

The situation here is much harder for the press to explain, has been going back and forth for a couple of weeks at least now (ie not tied to a single specific event with pictures), and is relatively new. The "omg" pieces will come out in a couple of weeks if this continues, don't worry.

2) in my opinion sympathy for a certain religion in these times

I think you and I subscribe to different media sources and this is your warning sign that yours are too sensationalistic.

If it's not entertaining nobody gives a crap