Hurricane coverage in Fort Myers

[JayR]

As someone who went through Hurricane Wilma, I was pleased with the coverage that most of the local stations in Fort Myers offered. However, the post-storm coverage was not as good as last year when Charley hit.

As of this time, I have no power; I'm typing this from work.

Did any of you get any online coverage?

 

[Markxxx]

> As someone who went through Hurricane Wilma, I was pleased
> with the coverage that most of the local stations in Fort
> Myers offered. However, the post-storm coverage was not as
> good as last year when Charley hit.
>
> As of this time, I have no power; I'm typing this from work.
>
>
> Did any of you get any online coverage?
>

I would say the post coverage is a combination of two things. One is the Katrina effect. Hurricanes produce damage but Katrina is a tough act to follow.

Second is the overabundance of storms. It was pretty pathetic, when I watched the after Rita coverage. CNN was gripping for ANYTHING that had damage to make it look newsworthy.

True hurricanes produce damage but unlike Katrina, most are regional in nature. Katrina was a true nationwide disaster. Effecting many regions. A destroyed group of homes on Marco Island, which is full of rich people anyway, lacks the human drama that makes for ratings. <P ID="signature">______________
Once I figured out the meaning of life....Then I forgot to write it down.</P>

 

[ynot2k]

> True hurricanes produce damage but unlike Katrina, most are
> regional in nature. Katrina was a true nationwide disaster.
> Effecting many regions. A destroyed group of homes on Marco
> Island, which is full of rich people anyway, lacks the human
> drama that makes for ratings.

Even though "only" 13 people died, you may want to look at the southern and southeastern parts of Florida that took serious damage, including a few million people who won't have power back until the middle of November, before talking up "human drama." You may also want to look at the people lined up for hours for gasoline or 5 bags of ice and 6 bottles of water that took FEMA much longer than they PROBABLY should have to deliver. It wasn't just rich people who took the hit, it was farmers, the middle class, and the poor who got hurt here as well.

In my mind, Katrina wasn't a "nationwide" disaster--it may have had a nationwide effect with people displaced to states all over the country, and both support and cost being borne by the rest of the nation, but the storm itself hit four states if I recall correctly. The difference here is there's no flooding, no people needing to be rescued, none of that great video that gives tv news directors that tingly warm feeling all over and makes viewers tragedy voyeurs.

It's also a pretty full news cycle, with the brouhaha over Meiers, the ongoing CIA leak investigation, and the 2000th soldier death in Iraq, so the newsroom decision-makers will most likely slide storm coverage down the schedule as "new" news pops up.

 

[Markxxx]

> > True hurricanes produce damage but unlike Katrina, most
> are
> > regional in nature. Katrina was a true nationwide
> disaster.
> > Effecting many regions. A destroyed group of homes on
> Marco
> > Island, which is full of rich people anyway, lacks the
> human
> > drama that makes for ratings.
>
> Even though "only" 13 people died, you may want to look at
> the southern and southeastern parts of Florida that took
> serious damage, including a few million people who won't
> have power back until the middle of November, before talking
> up "human drama." You may also want to look at the people
> lined up for hours for gasoline or 5 bags of ice and 6
> bottles of water that took FEMA much longer than they
> PROBABLY should have to deliver. It wasn't just rich people
> who took the hit, it was farmers, the middle class, and the
> poor who got hurt here as well.

Yes I saw that but a lot of it is just "reaching." For instance there is a LOT of gasoline. Just no power to pump it. When I lived in Florida, in the Keys, in West Palm Beach and in Naples we were told to have enough supplies to last SEVEN days. Ah how many days was this?

I thought I was wrong in my statement but then I started to examine it. For instance the networks played up the "hurt old people angle." For instance one lady was 60 and had a broken leg and lived on the 10th floor. She said it'd take her TWO HOURS to climb down the stairs. So she had to stay in her apt for the last 24 hours.

Um sorry. If she sat on each step and rested between steps it wouldn't have taken her two hours. Plus she admitted she had nothing else to do for the past 24 hours. In other words she COULD'VE gotten out. She chose not to. And the news media played this up.

The news was full of "crisis stories" Another guy was shown pushing his vehicle. When asked he admitted he had 1/2 a tank of gas. Then he said he was just going out to get gas. But then he said his work was closed. So WHY was he out there? Did he need gas? Where would he go if he got gas?

Another lady said her baby was out of milk. This was ONE day after the hurricane? She had what 7 days to GET MILK. Apparently she overlooked that.

I saw story after story of MOBLIE HOMES, very common in FL, tore up. Well yeah they are aluminum they will be tore up.

I'm not saying there isn't problems but what I'm saying is news media plays up stories without asking correct questions.

I would like to know follow ups. WHY aren't people, who have a week or more to prepare not getting basic supplies. WHY are people running to get gas that don't need it. WHY are mobile home sales going up in areas where they are bound to be destroyed. Or the big story, WHY when there is so much gasoline that gas stations don't have generators to pump it. There were only a handful of gas stations that had generators and these stations were selling gas left and right.

Why are people depending of FEMA to deliver ICE and water and food. These things (save the ice) are YOUR responsiblity. Especially since in a hurricane it isn't like it sneaks up on you.

No one likes to kick people when they are down, but the news media reaches for stories, and I'm quite liberal, but Jeb Bush was right when he said "the people of Florida were not nearly as prepared as they should've been."

So this is another reason why the coverage limits. When you see the news media presenting issues that really had no reason to be, or people whining about things they could've easily prevented it diminished the effect, thus it diminishes the ratings.

Having lived thru Andrew in 1993 and even blizzards in Chicago if you're prepared you fare decently. Not always but most of the time you do OK.

 

[miamimadman]

Your posts on this subect are quite disturbing Mark

2.5 Million people in the Tri County are still out of Power. The storm effected 20 Counties. There is total chaos & panic down here, and there you are Mark spewing your worthless words of wisdom. You have NO idea what is happening in South Florida, and I for one wish you just shut your mouth, electronically speaking!

 

[miamimadman]

Thank you for your Post

It's way worse than you could imagine. Traffic lights that have just come back on face the wrong way so people are driving into other Cars at top speeds. Concrete power poles buckled, Wooden poles flew away, the entire power grid was destroyed. We are under Curfew perhaps until Thanksgiving. The Temperature is expected to rise back into the 80's & 90's in the next few days which is predicted to make things unbearable. And Mark has the nerve to question why Ice, Power, Fuel, Water, and Food is needed. What an insensitive creep!