Western media shows death only when it is in Africa
aljazeera.com
aljazeera.com
Certainly some truth to this, but the early reporting from Italy was also very voyeurism-driven with very vivid pictures showing human suffering and death. That said, the daily mail and fox news will always show human suffering and tell stories to create fear and panic as those sell, more serious media is showing more restraint.
So it might be more a difference in reporting depending on whether it 'hits home' or not.