Nepal, Sept. 1 -- Last weekend, I came across a video on social media that has been pricking my brain ever since.

The video showed a reporter standing in front of a helicopter at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, his boom mic raised. The rotors had already started turning, their noise swallowing the conversation. The pilot kept glancing at his watch; perhaps he was in a hurry. The reporter, however, kept asking questions to the pilot, trying to hold him there for one more quote.

Perhaps the reporter had booked a chartered flight. Perhaps it is okay to take such an interview during times of normalcy. But these are not ordinary times. The country is still looking desperately for thousands missing since last week's deadly flood...