Flood of tears

Here's today's treeware column on the Hurricane Katrina media coverage, with some bonus links:

Perhaps if media had done their job properly before this cataclysm, the toll would not have been so shockingly high.

Consider how, so often before, cable news treated every relatively minor hurricane as if it were a disaster movie, leading many people to believe that they could ride Katrina out.

What about how many alarmist reports there have been on hypothetical terrorist attacks and almost none, except on the beleaguered public broadcaster PBS, about the potential for a catastrophe on the Gulf Coast?

In fact, there's been almost zero coverage about the record-setting federal budget cuts — just two months ago — to the New Orleans branch of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers budget. That's who builds the dams and levees that protected the city. Yet the Bush government cut it by $71.2 million (U.S.)

Think how many resources were devoted to the so-called "War on Terror" — and so few on emergency services and evacuation procedures for vulnerable areas such as New Orleans.

In 2001, a hurricane strike on New Orleans was ranked by the Federal Emergency Management Agency as one of "the three likeliest, most catastrophic disasters'' that could hit the U.S., along with a terrorist hit on New York and an earthquake in San Francisco. Since then, the army engineers' budget has been cut by 44 per cent. Not a sound from the national media.

How about the paucity of coverage on the White House's disregard for the environment and how the recent increasing ferocity of hurricanes may be related to global warming?

Indeed, last week's news that the U.S. administration had refused to include the phrase "respect for nature" on the agenda at a United Nations summit next month received almost no attention at all. Well this time, nature commanded respect.

The question is, will media learn? In the future, will they present responsible and comprehensive coverage related to potential natural disasters, disasters whose effects could be mitigated by planning and funding, or will cable news go all out scripting "The Next Big Blow?"

Can't you imagine the graphics and theme music already?

Meanwhile, I continue to track the disaster coverage. which is totally focused on all the breaking news.

Which I suppose is a good reason to avoid questions such as:  How is it that there is such total chaos? Why is there no evidence of a coordinated emergency and/or evacuation plan?  Where is the full force of the National Guard?

No hints on that last one.

True, according to the Sun's Eric Margolis who emailed me, official claims are that half of the Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama Guard units are in fact stateside. But, says Eric:

This is disingenuous. The major combat effective guard units that can act efficiently and actually do something are in Iraq and so is much of the Guard's equipment, like Humvees, trucks, ambulances, generators, field hospitals, etc

Bush has blown $203 BILLION to date on Iraq, with another $43 b coming, while them puh folk down in Dixie live in shacks.  The storm has revealed the embarrassing underbelly of the USA.

More on what you're not seeing on TV  here and here.

Of course, pointing out these things is deemed anti-American by some, even some in Canada. Which is why I thought I would share with y'all this charming missive from a local reader:

Give us a BREAK!  Your column in this morning's star was sick, sick, sick. Did it ever occur to you that people might actually be interested in what is going on south of the border?!  You sound like a middle-aged, menopausal witch (I'd use the B word but that wouldn't be nice now would it?).  Is it professional jealousy, sour grapes, or just plain mean-spiritedness that causes you to be so cynical, unkind, obviously anti-American and biased?  At any rate, we won't be reading your column again any time soon.  You have lost every shred of credibility, not that you had much before.  This is beyond the pale.

M Jagt

Aw g'head. Use the B-word. I can deal. It's blinkered attitudes like this that helped put New Orleans into this mess in the first place. Thanks for writing.

 

 

Comments

[starboardside]

You're blaming Bush for this disaster??I know you are biased person,I guess objective journalism is not one of your strong points.Your paper must be proud of you.

[True North]

Yesterday some on-the-phone expert tried to tell Wolf Blitzer about the warnings of a New Orleans flooding disaster, But in typical CNN style, Blitzer quickly moved on to more disaster porn rather than possibly draw the line between the disaster and Bush Admin cuts to levi reinforcements.

At least Randi Rhones on Air Americal Radio (www.airamericaradio.com) is making the case (as I type) for condeming Bush for his dangeous and tragic cuts to protection of New Orleans from storm surges.

[Rob Johnson]

Apparently the local media in New Orleans have been covering this issue quite often and with great seriousness. It just seemed to not get on the national radar.

[alexander o'neill]

You're blaming Bush for this disaster??

Wow, reading trouble? Did she write "George W. Bush caused this disaster"? Or did she write something a little more nuanced, like 'George W. Bush's ill-thought-out Iraq escapade is the reason why the rescue operations are such a mess'?

[Antonia Z.]

Thanks Rob. And you're right.

According to today's Wall Street Journal, the New Orleans Times Picayune did a bang-up job of predicting this. And, as I pointed out on Sunday, so did PBS' Now with Bill Moyers.

Here's the WSJ link:
http://online.wsj.com/public/article/0,,SB112543860068627059-83CLsZu2VvpjWjYVrcXInjupAgE_20060830,00.html?mod=tff_main_tff_top

And the Times Picayune link:
http://www.nola.com/hurricane/?/washingaway/

[Antonia Z.]

I just heard a reporter on CNN announce a bunch of different websites where people can look for news of missing loved ones. None of them official. She concluded that, if you're searching for someone, you have to go to all of the sites because, wait for it, no official site has been set up.

Imagine.

[True North]

Yes Starboardside - the fiasco in New Orleans IS Bush related - his admin has been starving the Southeast Louisiana Urban Flood Control Project to feed his Iraq folly.

Check it out -
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001051313

[scanner]

Is Bush to blame for the Hurricane? Well perhaps a certain (Westborough) Baptist Church would have it so, but perhaps he is to blame for the mess at FEMA. Read this Washinton Post article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/29/AR2005082901445_pf.html

[Antonia Z.]

That's true, True North.

Indeed, Starboard's favourite Canadian newspaper The National Post today published a Reuters story which reports that the Iraq War "now costs more per month'' than did the Vietnam War. That's $5.6B US a month, or about $186 million US a day.

http://today.reuters.com/business/newsarticle.aspx?type=tnBusinessNews&storyID=nN30297215

I wonder if the taxpayers of Louisiana and Mississippi feel they're getting their money's worth.

[Neil]

"I wonder if the taxpayers of Louisiana and Mississippi feel they're getting their money's worth."

Who cares. I certainly don't because I don't vote nor pay tax in either of these States. Americans voted Bush in, he is their President, so deal with it

[mr]

I wonder if the millions of Iraqis who dipped their finger in the ink feel they're getting their money's worth?

[Adam in Whitby]

Prediction:

When there's something of a lull in the minute-to-minute coverage of Katarina, Drudge, Fox et al. will sit back and cherry pick their favorite examples of "left" and "Democrat" blame-gaming on this. And they will accuse their opponents of "turning the crisis political." Antonia, you may even get another invite to O'Reilly as an example of said blame-gamers.

Bush's opponents will rage and fume and point out (rightly) that the Repubs also have been known to turn crises political. But it won't stick anywhere near as much as the sight of Bush enemies waiting all of twenty minutes before blaming him for Katarina, global warming, the National Guard shortage, etc etc. The sheer volume and multiplicity of these attacks will blunt them, and Bush will look stalwart and assured next to his "hysterical" accusers.

Why can't Bush haters understand this? You can't beat him, or even make him look bad, by simpling running down a list of his mistakes -- if THAT worked, we'd have rushed to the polls this summer to throw out another ineffective leader fond of slashing budgets.

[Peter Marmorek]

"Why is there no evidence of a coordinated emergency and/or evacuation plan?"

I kept looking at those pictures of highways clogged on one side and thinking, "Why don't they open both sides? Keep one lane for emergency vehicles if you need to, but use the highways while you have them!"

Instead we got coordinated prayer days from the governor....

[Bill-Muskoka]

What a joke. The U.S. Government knew Katrina's path they had ample time to activate National Guard units, ample time to have food and supplies on standby, ready to roll, ample time to institute exvacuation, and what happened?

What is being said? 'We are going to act!'

Global National reported, last night, that Canadians are trying to just get some bureaucrat in Washington to return their calls offering assistance. The segment was spawned from some meathead whiner, probably Bill O'Reilly on Fox, about 'Where is the world when the U.S. needs help!' Well, the world is right there and willing, but the morons running things apparently can't use telephones.

Premier McGuinty has Hydro One crews ready to role. We have our fine DART team ready to go. Vancouver's Emergency Rescue Team...ready to go. Just need someone to authroize it lest they be shot at the border as terrorists, eh?

The images of people trapped atop buildings seems to be those of the poorest who could not afford to evacuate, probably do not own a vehicle, etc. What a total proof that the Great American government can wag a war for oil in a soveriegn foregn nation, but cares less about their own citizens. Hypocrites!

Kudos to New Orleans Mayor for ordering an evacuation order...at least one person in authority had the courage to act before the disaster hit.

[JM]

May I recommend a book on this topic by one of the best writers on the planet, John McPhee, called 'The Control of Nature'. The title is at least partly ironic- he makes it clear that we humans, arrogant little twerps that we are, really have _no_ control of nature, we can at most hope to nudge it a bit around the edges. The book is a lesson to both the "we can do anything" engineer mentality, _and_ the "humans are destroying the planet" mentality. Nature barely 'knows' we exist. It will not be long before mankind will be seen as what it was- a two-bit flash in the pan outfit.

[Bill-Muskoka]

Regarding JM's post,

Perhaps all the people for and against man's responsibiltiy in how we affect nature should read Michael Crichton's (pronounced by MC as 'Crick-ton, not like our former PM, nor is it Crighton) book 'State of Fear'.

Then, after you have formed your opinion, or found support for your pre-determined position, you can particpate in the debate.discussion, etc. at Crichton's website:

http://www.crichton-official.com/messageboard.html

The website has been active for quite a while and people from all over the world participate.