The "forgotten" Gulf Coast communities in the media

[jinftl]

For right or for wrong, the news stations are in the ratings business like everyone else. What attracts viewers? "Extreme" and "real-time" events. The Friday and Friday night (even into most of the Saturday and Sunday), the cable news networks were broadcasting almost non-stop coverage from various vantage points in Ike's path. Even 10 or 20 years ago, that wouldn't have been the case...our interest in storms as a society grew alot after the 2004 Florida season and in 2005 Katrina (especially)/Rita/Wilma. People love to watch news reporters with their ubiquitous rainjackets getting tossed around. Add in the air rescues as the tides increased in Galveston....all amazing 'live' tv. People watch because they are waiting for the 'unexpected' and 'extreme'.

As soon as the 'money shots' stop, the story takes a back seat. Again, not saying this is right...just how it seems to be. The clean-up becomes a 'human interest' story confined to back pages or last stories of the night on the news...unless a famous or attractive celebrity visits a storm-ravaged location...then that becomes elevated as a news item. Note how the 'kite sailer' in fort lauderdale during fay who got smacked to the ground and then into a building was a news item...but the clean-up from storms, though, is a human interest item. Reflects our cultural bias towards 'extreme' and 'wild' and 'real time'.

When news stops being 'new', it is shoved aside. Again, for right or for wrong.

The National Media gave more attention to the death of a local rap star than they did the follow-up coverage of the terrible wide spread devastation of Ike.

Even on this thread Bridge City wasn't mention and as of Thanksgiving people were still sleeping in cars and tents. That's over two months, Folks.

I asked a non-profit group in NOLA if they would be willing to share the blue prints of homes they are building in NO with the people who lost homes from Ike.....just the blue prints , mind you...not financial help. They were down-right insulted. I was told that was for the 9th ward of NO only and the blue prints would not be shared.

I was appalled by the lack of coverage for Ike. Like they say, there is a Northeast bias since they are all based in New York and Washington, DC. Also, there was way more coverage on New Orleans than on Mississippi and surrrounding areas. Why would they not share blueprints for you guys in the Golden Triangle?

[vbhoutex]

I understand the blue prints not being shared. I don't agree with it in this situation though. It is the fact that those blue prints are probably contract documents, i.e. legal documents that are protected by copyright laws etc. They are not just drawings on a piece of paper. It took many hours and thousands of dollars to produce each page of that blue print set. Like I said I understand what is going on, but I do feel sometimes exceptions can and should be made.

[GoldenTriangle]

I can understand that.

What I couldn't understand was the attitude of "Oh my God you are asking for something that is meant just for the poor Katrina victims...how dare you!"

Maybe he hadn't heard about IKE

[Ptarmigan]

For right or for wrong, the news stations are in the ratings business like everyone else. What attracts viewers? "Extreme" and "real-time" events. The Friday and Friday night (even into most of the Saturday and Sunday), the cable news networks were broadcasting almost non-stop coverage from various vantage points in Ike's path. Even 10 or 20 years ago, that wouldn't have been the case...our interest in storms as a society grew alot after the 2004 Florida season and in 2005 Katrina (especially)/Rita/Wilma. People love to watch news reporters with their ubiquitous rainjackets getting tossed around. Add in the air rescues as the tides increased in Galveston....all amazing 'live' tv. People watch because they are waiting for the 'unexpected' and 'extreme'.

As soon as the 'money shots' stop, the story takes a back seat. Again, not saying this is right...just how it seems to be. The clean-up becomes a 'human interest' story confined to back pages or last stories of the night on the news...unless a famous or attractive celebrity visits a storm-ravaged location...then that becomes elevated as a news item. Note how the 'kite sailer' in fort lauderdale during fay who got smacked to the ground and then into a building was a news item...but the clean-up from storms, though, is a human interest item. Reflects our cultural bias towards 'extreme' and 'wild' and 'real time'.

When news stops being 'new', it is shoved aside. Again, for right or for wrong.

jinftl

Jinftl, I know what you mean. There has been no famous or attractive celebrity visting Ike ravaged areas to my knowledge. There are plenty of them from there of course. Yes, the media business obesessed with ratings, which means more advertising dollars. Ever seen The Running Man? Also, I would like to add this nation has a short attention span.

[Ptarmigan]

I understand the blue prints not being shared. I don't agree with it in this situation though. It is the fact that those blue prints are probably contract documents, i.e. legal documents that are protected by copyright laws etc. They are not just drawings on a piece of paper. It took many hours and thousands of dollars to produce each page of that blue print set. Like I said I understand what is going on, but I do feel sometimes exceptions can and should be made.

It is true that blueprints are kept confidential between the company and client. Speaking of blueprints, some companies are so reckless they will just dump them into a trash can and some homeless guy could find them, like with the Freedom Tower. I have seen how blueprints are made, very tedious and costly at times.

[vbhoutex]

I can understand that.

What I couldn't understand was the attitude of "Oh my God you are asking for something that is meant just for the poor Katrina victims...how dare you!"

Maybe he hadn't heard about IKE

You would think that someone connected with the ravages of Katrina would at least be compassionate towards those that were ravaged by Ike!!!!

[Tampa Bay Hurricane]

Similar to 2005, this was a very bad year for the Gulf Coast. Ike
and Gustav were both devastating in terms of surge (especially Ike)
and wind (110-130 mph is no joke). Gustav was similar in gulf
track to Katrina, and Ike similar to Rita, although landfall locations were
slightly different. Prayers to all people affected.

Media/News People need to learn compassion. They should be doing follow
up stories on the recovery efforts for months, not just for hours after the
hurricane.

[southerngale]

The National Media gave more attention to the death of a local rap star than they did the follow-up coverage of the terrible wide spread devastation of Ike.

Even on this thread Bridge City wasn't mention and as of Thanksgiving people were still sleeping in cars and tents. That's over two months, Folks.

I asked a non-profit group in NOLA if they would be willing to share the blue prints of homes they are building in NO with the people who lost homes from Ike.....just the blue prints , mind you...not financial help. They were down-right insulted. I was told that was for the 9th ward of NO only and the blue prints would not be shared.

Just yesterday, I was talking to some friends who lived in Bridge City and lost everything. They had 5 feet of water in their house. They have two small children. Bridge City was completely under water, but it's not as big or "important" as NOLA, so you don't hear about it on the news. The same with other surrounding communities hit hard by Ike. I guess I'm not surprised... the same thing happened when Rita hit us.

For those not familiar with the area, Bridge City is in the Beaumont/Port Arthur metropolitan area, between Port Arthur and Orange, just east of Beaumont.

I have given up on the national media. For the reasons stated in this thread and other reasons... just nothing for me to respect regarding them.

[bvigal]

Wouldn't you think it would be interesting to people from elsewhere to see a map showing how far from the GOM Bridge City is, and then a followup story on some of the families and how they are coping 2 1/2 months later?

It's a sad commentary on our society that the 'Jerry Springer'-type shows have become dominant and the news media has followed the sensationalism for money. If they use that excuse ($$) then we can expect more pundit soundbites and increasingly shocking and gory video. I watch so much less tv than I did just a few short years ago!

Do you remember the show On The Road With Charles Kuralt? It had great ratings, and was human interest. I miss those type of programs, but guess I'm in the minority of viewers...

[gtalum]

Just yesterday, I was talking to some friends who lived in Bridge City and lost everything. They had 5 feet of water in their house. They have two small children. Bridge City was completely under water, but it's not as big or "important" as NOLA, so you don't hear about it on the news. The same with other surrounding communities hit hard by Ike. I guess I'm not surprised... the same thing happened when Rita hit us.

For those not familiar with the area, Bridge City is in the Beaumont/Port Arthur metropolitan area, between Port Arthur and Orange, just east of Beaumont.

I have given up on the national media. For the reasons stated in this thread and other reasons... just nothing for me to respect regarding them.

How many people there died? New Orleans was a much bigger story because of the large number of deaths and the fact that a major American city was taken completely off the grid for months.

[Ptarmigan]

How many people there died? New Orleans was a much bigger story because of the large number of deaths and the fact that a major American city was taken completely off the grid for months.

In Texas, at least 46 people died from Ike, mostly in Galveston County. There are people still missing.

[gtalum]

In Texas, at least 46 people died from Ike, mostly in Galveston County. There are people still missing.

That's my point. Ike was a disaster for the folks directly affected, without a doubt. But the scale of the disaster overall is much smaller than that of Katrina was. That's why the media has moved on. There's no conspiracy.