Hurricane Gustav, the media and responsibility.

I admit I am fascinated by hurricanes. I certainly do not like that they cause damage but they are the most amazing force of nature ever. I have to say how disappointed I was in the covering of Hurricane Gustav. I watched alot of the news and almost all of the media reported that everything was fine in New Orleans. Everything is not fine. Just because the hurricane did not cause as much damage as Katrina does not mean that there is nothing worry about. I see such swings in the media that sometimes I think the media is bipolar.

Everyone knows that if the hurricane had weakened to a point where there was little damage the media would have tried to stir things up by making the authorities feel bad about evacuating. So, because they didn't have that to cause problems with they made it sound like everything is fine. There are hundreds of thousands of homes without power and many areas near where the eye hit homes and businesses were destroyed. So far, what I have seen would have made big news before Katrina. So, the only thing I can gather is that unless you top what happened before it is not news. Shock factor? What I saw of the destruction was shocking to me.

When is the media going to report news rather than make their own news?

China sent a message of sympathy to our residents of Louisiana. On the other had this illustrates the consensus by most media,

"New Orleans, by all accounts, weathered the storm and made it through Hurricane Gustav with relatively little damage, relative to the ravages of Hurricane Katrina three years earlier.". by the dailygreen.com

"Early insurance industry estimates put the expected damage to covered properties at anywhere from $2 billion to $10 billion. That's high, but well short of Katrina's $41 billion."


This was all written before they new what the real damage was. I guarantee they will write another story completely contradicting what they wrote on this day. I will look for it and post it when I see it. And I just wonder how you can say this, "$2 Billion to $10 Billion is a far cry from Katrina"? I will let you decide how to decipher that statement.

I heard this sort of thing after Katrina also. The media rode out the storm in the French Quarter. The highest point in New Orleans. This area is usually the safest place in New Orleans and has the least amount of damage. So, the media says everything is fine here, and assumes alot before anyone has even looked around the state. So what is next, the bipolar swing? As soon as residents start streaming back in the state. Then they will acknowledge and try to overplay the destruction of Gustav on the region. I already saw some of that today. I see this play out so often but yet I am surprised every time it happens.

It is interesting to me that the me that the media starts this by saying the hurricane is no big deal, then later will report on how the officials let people back in too early. It will happen. Bipolar again. This is how they make their own news. By reporting on fictitious people then rebutting their own reports.

But, we did find one report that was more balanced. Let's just see if we can hold news reporting responsible.




Our thoughts are with you, residents of Louisiana. We know that the people that incurred damage did not "Dodge a Bullet". Good luck to you all.