Before getting into the usual circus of shame, kudos to the local reporters in New Orleans, Mobile, and surrounding areas who are risking a lot to keep their local communities informed about the situation on the ground. They are doing an excellent job.
If only the cable news outlets (and a few carpetbagging reporters from out of the markets) were as respectful.
1) The largest storm of all is the barrage of pretty young blonde things that turned up to sit in the anchor chairs to report/hype the news. The Fox Blonde effect has definitely entrenched itself at MSNBC as well. The -only- exception was one anchor who actually lived in the affected area and could actually provide some context. Most of the rest managed little more than getting all bug-eyed and read what was put in front of them. CNN is the only one bucking the trend... barely.
2) A few small holes in the roof of the Superdome, as reported by their OWN reporters on the ground, does not translate into "massive hole torn in roof of Superdome" as CNN and MSNBC were putting on their crawls earlier today. Some networks even wasted time building on this hyped report by asking their reporters if they saw panic and mass evacuations of the Superdome at the height of the storm. Most of the reporters seems surprised by the question, which was answered confidently with a universal "no."
3) Brian Andrews needs to take his dog and pony Fear Factor show back to Miami. At one point, Andrews' staged reporting was belied when one news channel ran his tape a bit early, which allowed viewers to watch this guy set up his supposedly "spontaneous" shot with him heading out from the hotel into the weather outside. 5, 4, 3, 2 went the countdown followed by him being "shocked" by the sheer force of the wind, as the dope dashed back and forth in the street, hid behind a mailbox, and got blown onto his face.
Anderson Cooper moronically stood out over the Mississippi River by a barge that was almost banging into his dock or boardwalk. Not once, twice, but four times Cooper commented on a crane hook that was freely blowing all over the place and could have easily smashed into him or the platform he was standing on. He then sees some folks outside standing into the wind (perhaps playing Brian Andrews), and viewers get to watch the CNN anchor in Atlanta criticize these people for being reckless and thickheaded for standing out in the dangerous storm... now back to you Anderson, standing out in the dangerous storm... Anderson, aren't those OTHER people stupid?
Some of the other tapes sent to CNN featured anorexic sweet young things in lil ponchos and baseball caps (what is with the baseball caps) being blown all over parking lots yelling at viewers that the weather is terrible and they should stay inside. Dangerous weather, but not dangerous enough for them.
Just once I'd like to see some reporter nearly swept out to sea, conked on the head, or blown into another zip code. Only then (after the networks cover it as the major story of the day) might they think twice about pulling moronic stunts which, themselves, only lead viewers to try exactly the same thing. A responsible reporter would tell viewers "it's dangerous as hell, I'm not going out there, and you shouldn't either."
4) News channels should not determine the extent of damage based solely on the footage they receive from their own reporters. After making suggestions the entire city of New Orleans would be under 20 feet of water yesterday, today's early reports suggested New Orleans got to breathe a sigh of relief because the storm veered to the east, wrecking Mississippi and Alabama instead. This was based on a lot of reports from those in downtown New Orleans who were somewhat safer than those out in the suburbs. I somehow think things are going to be far, far worse than what their own camera crews have brought them.
Those looking for the best reports should try and find them from streaming local stations, because that is where the real story is.
If only the cable news outlets (and a few carpetbagging reporters from out of the markets) were as respectful.
1) The largest storm of all is the barrage of pretty young blonde things that turned up to sit in the anchor chairs to report/hype the news. The Fox Blonde effect has definitely entrenched itself at MSNBC as well. The -only- exception was one anchor who actually lived in the affected area and could actually provide some context. Most of the rest managed little more than getting all bug-eyed and read what was put in front of them. CNN is the only one bucking the trend... barely.
2) A few small holes in the roof of the Superdome, as reported by their OWN reporters on the ground, does not translate into "massive hole torn in roof of Superdome" as CNN and MSNBC were putting on their crawls earlier today. Some networks even wasted time building on this hyped report by asking their reporters if they saw panic and mass evacuations of the Superdome at the height of the storm. Most of the reporters seems surprised by the question, which was answered confidently with a universal "no."
3) Brian Andrews needs to take his dog and pony Fear Factor show back to Miami. At one point, Andrews' staged reporting was belied when one news channel ran his tape a bit early, which allowed viewers to watch this guy set up his supposedly "spontaneous" shot with him heading out from the hotel into the weather outside. 5, 4, 3, 2 went the countdown followed by him being "shocked" by the sheer force of the wind, as the dope dashed back and forth in the street, hid behind a mailbox, and got blown onto his face.
Anderson Cooper moronically stood out over the Mississippi River by a barge that was almost banging into his dock or boardwalk. Not once, twice, but four times Cooper commented on a crane hook that was freely blowing all over the place and could have easily smashed into him or the platform he was standing on. He then sees some folks outside standing into the wind (perhaps playing Brian Andrews), and viewers get to watch the CNN anchor in Atlanta criticize these people for being reckless and thickheaded for standing out in the dangerous storm... now back to you Anderson, standing out in the dangerous storm... Anderson, aren't those OTHER people stupid?
Some of the other tapes sent to CNN featured anorexic sweet young things in lil ponchos and baseball caps (what is with the baseball caps) being blown all over parking lots yelling at viewers that the weather is terrible and they should stay inside. Dangerous weather, but not dangerous enough for them.
Just once I'd like to see some reporter nearly swept out to sea, conked on the head, or blown into another zip code. Only then (after the networks cover it as the major story of the day) might they think twice about pulling moronic stunts which, themselves, only lead viewers to try exactly the same thing. A responsible reporter would tell viewers "it's dangerous as hell, I'm not going out there, and you shouldn't either."
4) News channels should not determine the extent of damage based solely on the footage they receive from their own reporters. After making suggestions the entire city of New Orleans would be under 20 feet of water yesterday, today's early reports suggested New Orleans got to breathe a sigh of relief because the storm veered to the east, wrecking Mississippi and Alabama instead. This was based on a lot of reports from those in downtown New Orleans who were somewhat safer than those out in the suburbs. I somehow think things are going to be far, far worse than what their own camera crews have brought them.
Those looking for the best reports should try and find them from streaming local stations, because that is where the real story is.
