The line between covering a major news event and capitalising on it is a fluid one, open to all manner of interpretation. But whatever way you look at it, Channel Seven's Sunday Night program appears to have crossed that line with its report on actor Hugh Sheridan's dash to Nepal to find his missing brother in the wake of a devastating earthquake that has left thousands dead and a country in ruins.

In the segment, presented by Seven's national medical editor Dr Andrew Rochford, every genuine emotion was matched by a questionable technique, every act of giving was framed by the television coverage recording it, every instinct to help a family member was contrasted by an entire community in desperate need of assistance. Hopefully, the piece raised awareness and the urgent need for aid, but the means to that end appear poorly motivated.

Hugh Sheridan in Nepal on a quest for his brother's safe return.

With the death toll from the 7.8 earthquake in the Himalayan nation approaching 7000 people, a heavily promoted report that was focused on Sheridan's search for his missing brother Zachary, who had been trekking towards Mount Everest's base camp, appeared to make the tragedy a mere backdrop for the story of a missing Australian with a famous sibling. Such a distorted lens can trivialise immense loss.

Seven has confirmed that the program, through executive producer Steve Taylor, invited the former Packed to the Rafters star and his brother Tom to join a news crew heading for Nepal, but it remains unclear why they accepted. Did they need Seven's news credentials to get into the disaster zone? Was Nepal opposed to individuals flying into the country because they would add to the chaos?