How long do we remember a catastrofee after watching it on TV and reading about it in the newspaper,

I'd say we forget about it after a week, unless it's really impacting, like the Japan nuclear one. The main reason being the mass media makes money trying to keep our interest on the news of the day

Sometimes the things that we watched for an extended period of time is embedded in our minds and sometimes it stays there forever good or bad. To protect myself, I carefully guard what I watch and listen too. I am not too sure how to get people engaged in the Global arena.