Is everyone OK?

[MLeeK]

Every storm that kills ONE person or more is a devastating storm.

Still, the media DOES seem to have this great need to "outdo" themselves every time. I mean, they can't just come on and say "Well, it's no Katrina..."

Yesterday, as I was listening to the news coverage of the storm, it struck me, AGAIN, how we no longer actually HAVE news reports. We have entertainment broadcasts, "media events," but not NEWS. And at one point, it all kinda hit home, and I realized why books/movies like The Hunger Games are so popular--because that's what we're getting already in our "news" broadcasts.

Think about it. First, the national news I was watching was broadcasting much of the storm coverage from a place called "Point Pleasant, NJ." Point PLEASANT? In a Hurricane/Tropical Storm/Nor'easter/whatever-you-call-it? You can't TELL me THAT was a coincidence! Then you've got these "news" people standing out in hurricane force winds, screaming to be heard above the sound of crashing waves and wind, while bracing themselves to keep from being picked up and dashed against the nearest boulder, all so that they can tell us how much WORSE it's gonna be. In my head, I hear Walter Cronkite, and he's saying, "H*ll no, I'm not going out to report in that. I can see from HERE that the wind is blowing 100 mph, thank you very much."
I could just imagine them saying "How many do you think will die?? How many will be seriously injured, or without power for days, maybe weeks?? Call toll-free now with YOUR guesses, and you could WIN!" It's like it's all some big game to entertain those of us who are watching, and so each one MUST be bigger and more interesting, and of course, more catastrophic than the last. At one point last night, I actually laughed out loud at the absurdity when a reporter (I think it may have actually been Al Roker, don't remember), who had been on air for several minutes already, talking about how bad the winds were, how much worse it was going to get, how many could be affected, on and on, then suddenly he said, "I really don't want to alarm anyone, but..."
Seriously??? You don't want to ALARM anyone?? Then why have you just been doing your d*mnedest to frighten their socks off and make them all run and hide under their beds (assuming their beds were on a high enough hill, of course...)?

Don't get me wrong--like I said, any storm in which someone loses their life, is a serious, devastating storm, and deserves our attention. I just wish it didn't have to be made into entertainment instead of a decent, respectable news report.

</end rant>

Anyone heard from coastalconn?

You hit right to the heart of my whole rant. I knew it was bothering me, but I didn't really put together the entertainment factor. That's exactly what this is-which makes me REALLY want to call them names far beyond a$$hole. This isn't entertainment, it's peoples REALITY. LIVES. Sensationalism at it's best is what's gotten to me.
You know, I've never thought about the 'entertainment' part of it but you are so right. And that gets right to the heart of my rant. They have to make it RIVETING ENTERTAINMENT and pull in that audience.

I don't even think they need to say "well it's no Katrina, but..." It's just a devastating storm. Period. REPORT the damage and what is needed. Don't make it out to be the worst ever or into a competition. It's not and that's a bit demeaning to the thousands and thousands of people totally devastated by prior disasters. Why does it have to be bigger and better? ya know? I don't need the hype, I just need to see what has happened and what is being organized for relief efforts, where we can put in any help and that everyone is OK that we know out there. This is mother nature, don't dare her or she might just make it worse!

 

[sm4him]

Have you heard from you brother & sister-in-law in DC?

Yes, last night; haven't heard today, but they were fine, just a LOT of rain and wind. I'm sure I'd have heard if they'd discovered any major damage this morning.

 

[snowbear116 47]

Have you heard from you brother & sister-in-law in DC?

Yes, last night; haven't heard today, but they were fine, just a LOT of rain and wind. I'm sure I'd have heard if they'd discovered any major damage this morning.

Glad you heard from them. Someone on FB posted that the Capital Hill area was in pretty good shape.

 

[SCraig]

.... REPORT the damage and what is needed. ....

Don't be silly, reporters don't "Report" anything any more. They make up what is needed to put themselves in line for a Pulitzer. If someone calls them on it they just use the old "Well it was pretty hectic at the moment so I might have missed that" excuse.

The Cronkites and the Brokaws and the rest of the respected journalists are gone. All we get now are sensationalists.

 

[sm4him]

Every storm that kills ONE person or more is a devastating storm.

Still, the media DOES seem to have this great need to "outdo" themselves every time. I mean, they can't just come on and say "Well, it's no Katrina..."

Yesterday, as I was listening to the news coverage of the storm, it struck me, AGAIN, how we no longer actually HAVE news reports. We have entertainment broadcasts, "media events," but not NEWS. And at one point, it all kinda hit home, and I realized why books/movies like The Hunger Games are so popular--because that's what we're getting already in our "news" broadcasts.

Think about it. First, the national news I was watching was broadcasting much of the storm coverage from a place called "Point Pleasant, NJ." Point PLEASANT? In a Hurricane/Tropical Storm/Nor'easter/whatever-you-call-it? You can't TELL me THAT was a coincidence! Then you've got these "news" people standing out in hurricane force winds, screaming to be heard above the sound of crashing waves and wind, while bracing themselves to keep from being picked up and dashed against the nearest boulder, all so that they can tell us how much WORSE it's gonna be. In my head, I hear Walter Cronkite, and he's saying, "H*ll no, I'm not going out to report in that. I can see from HERE that the wind is blowing 100 mph, thank you very much."
I could just imagine them saying "How many do you think will die?? How many will be seriously injured, or without power for days, maybe weeks?? Call toll-free now with YOUR guesses, and you could WIN!" It's like it's all some big game to entertain those of us who are watching, and so each one MUST be bigger and more interesting, and of course, more catastrophic than the last. At one point last night, I actually laughed out loud at the absurdity when a reporter (I think it may have actually been Al Roker, don't remember), who had been on air for several minutes already, talking about how bad the winds were, how much worse it was going to get, how many could be affected, on and on, then suddenly he said, "I really don't want to alarm anyone, but..."
Seriously??? You don't want to ALARM anyone?? Then why have you just been doing your d*mnedest to frighten their socks off and make them all run and hide under their beds (assuming their beds were on a high enough hill, of course...)?

Don't get me wrong--like I said, any storm in which someone loses their life, is a serious, devastating storm, and deserves our attention. I just wish it didn't have to be made into entertainment instead of a decent, respectable news report.

</end rant>

Anyone heard from coastalconn?

You hit right to the heart of my whole rant. I knew it was bothering me, but I didn't really put together the entertainment factor. That's exactly what this is-which makes me REALLY want to call them names far beyond a$$hole. This isn't entertainment, it's peoples REALITY. LIVES. Sensationalism at it's best is what's gotten to me.
You know, I've never thought about the 'entertainment' part of it but you are so right. And that gets right to the heart of my rant. They have to make it RIVETING ENTERTAINMENT and pull in that audience.

I don't even think they need to say "well it's no Katrina, but..." It's just a devastating storm. Period. REPORT the damage and what is needed. Don't make it out to be the worst ever or into a competition. It's not and that's a bit demeaning to the thousands and thousands of people totally devastated by prior disasters. Why does it have to be bigger and better? ya know? I don't need the hype, I just need to see what has happened and what is being organized for relief efforts, where we can put in any help and that everyone is OK that we know out there. This is mother nature, don't dare her or she might just make it worse!

Yeah, it's annoyed me for years. It's really what KEPT me from going into journalism as a profession (well, that and a lack of confidence in my abilities, and the fact that there's no money in it unless you really rocket to the top. And the fact that you have to be willing to move around the country, when I plan to live and die right here in the green hills of east TN...), the fact that it's devolving into this sort of journalistic entertainment, and every event must be more sensational, more riveting than the last.
I miss Walter Cronkite.

 

[terri35 6]

^^ Amen to that! My husband and I keep saying, the only thing that will put an end to this "reporting live from the 100-mph wind gusts" will be after one of the reporters gets clocked in the head by flying debris. Obviously, we don't wish that on anyone, but it's hard for folks to take these storms as seriously as the first responders are pleading with them to, when reporters are out there clinging to their microphones. :er:

Stay safe, everyone! :heart:

 

[Derrel]

Here you go MLeek... is this what you'd like??? Never mind the "a$$holes" you see on TV in the big bad media, telling people to take precautions...how about this attitude...you know, that this was as you seem to put it...not a big deal...we have water in the creek, and it's 40 feet from threatening "ME", so anybody building this storm up is an "a$$hole"...



I am sure the 21 dead Americans and their families are feeling your pain with having the three bored teenagers in the house, pestering you with their whining...and the 7 million people with no electricity are probably really feelin' your suburban NY pain too...

 

[KenC]

Everything is pretty good here, at least in my corner of Philly. Some streets blocked by trees, but no power losses or flooding I've heard of. Of course we're well above the nearest creeks and rivers, so I was being optimistic about it.

What annoys me most about the coverage is not the hype, which I just ignore at this point, but the fact that while they are doing their civic duty telling people not to go out unless they have to because the conditions are really dangerous, they have their reporters standing out in it. Not only is this stupid and unnecessary, as pointed out by others here, but it also undercuts their message about the danger of being out there. One local network actually had someone standing on the boardwalk in AC at the height of the storm!

 

[MLeeK]

Here you go MLeek... is this what you'd like??? Never mind the "a$$holes" you see on TV in the big bad media, telling people to take precautions...how about this attitude...you know, that this was as you seem to put it...not a big deal...we have water in the creek, and it's 40 feet from threatening "ME", so anybody building this storm up is an "a$$hole"...

View attachment 24483

I am sure the 21 dead Americans and their families are feeling your pain with having the three bored teenagers in the house, pestering you with their whining...and the 7 million people with no electricity are probably really feelin' your suburban NY pain too...

My bored teenagers are totally irrelevant to my rant. THEY HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. You seem to have missed where I said we had it easy here. WE HAVE NO BEARING ON THE NEWS. THat was just me saying we're all ok. Notice the big space betwween paragraphs? OH! WAIT! Must be I should have made a new post for the rant so you would know that my life isn't related to what I am watching on the news.
Really, Derrel. You are FAR more intelligent than that.
My rant is about the news reporters making this out as if it's far worse than Katrina. TOTALLY SEPARATE FROM MY NOTE THAT WE ARE OK.


And on a totally UNRELATED NOTE (disclaimer!!!)
WHY anyone would be bothered to read anything LiLo has to say is beyond me. She's the epitome of stupid in wayyyy to many ways.

 

[MSnowy]

Things are fine in my part of MA. Was going to post some pictures here puts thing have gotten a little heavy here. So check them out here http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/off-topic-chat/304314-day-after-sandy.html

 

[Rick58]

All good here. We lost power last night around 11 and just got it back tonight around 7.
Better then the two week we were out with last years ice storm.

No damage other then a bunch of leaves.

 

[unpopular]

I'd like to see wall street wiped off the face of the earth. but that's just me.

 

[IByte]

I'd like to see wall street wiped off the face of the earth. but that's just me.

Lol we all go back to zero!

 

[bentcountershaft]

I'd like to see wall street wiped off the face of the earth. but that's just me.

I'm sure it isn't just you, but I need an opportunity to cash out first.

 

[pgriz]

Unpopular, you do know that the rats would just go to another ship, don't you?