Ortt's rant of the day... the media

[MGC]

Dereck, The national media will only cary events that will make them money. Alex was just a grazing blow to NC, nobody lives there so there was no coverage. Money rules dude......MGC

[HurricaneBill]

The problem with this particular hurricane was that there was no build up to it,it seemingly came out of nowhere.Since it was not a storm that traveled for hundreds if not thousanads of miles there was no bulid up to it & hence not only the media but lots of folks were caught napping.I'm sure if it wouldve been tracked for at least 4-5 days it would have gotten much more attention,but thats just the way things are I guess.

That's why there was far less media hype for Bob in 1991 than there was for Gloria in 1985. Gloria was a CV storm and had to make a long trek.

Bob pretty much "flared up" and hit New England.

Another storm that probably had little time for media was Opal, although she probably got "breaking news" coverage.

[SwampDawg]

It's all about the money....when are people going to realize this. The media generally just cares about what's going to bring viewers or a listenership. More viewers=better ratings. Oh...and about government run content on media outlets...that's all we need, the government controlling another part of our life. Fortunate for our area in Louisiana, our stations are usually pretty good at covering storm situations.

http://www.kmrc1430.com

[Derek Ortt]

Opal made sure that OJ was old news immediately after the verdict. Even Dan Rather was in Panama City for the landfall (CBS looked quite foolish trying to show the landfall live as they kept losing their signal and John Roberts seemed frozen each time)

[Carolina_survivor]

Dereck, The national media will only cary events that will make them money. Alex was just a grazing blow to NC, nobody lives there so there was no coverage. Money rules dude......MGC

Lots of people, lots of money involved -- 5,000 tourists evacuated -- many whose cars were flooded. Maybe we should offer the network brass a free vacation in the Outer Banks...this week, in a flooded out cottage.

here's an excerpt from local media. Full story at http://www.reflector.com -- scroll down to Storm Forces evacuation story:

The evacuations were set to begin early today, but it was unclear how many would be ferried out. State officials estimated between 6,000 and 8,000, while Hyde County put the number at 4,000 to 4,500.

George Sullivan of the state Division of Emergency Management said keeping tourists on the island would hinder cleanup and recovery efforts by the about 800 full-time residents.

“You can’t repair a cottage with a family living in it,” Sullivan said. “We need to get them out so they can make repairs.”

About 300 cars belonging to tourists were damaged by flooding and are not running, Sullivan said, adding that authorities will use school buses to transport those people off the island.

[Scott_inVA]

Scott's Rant

Yikes

I've only been in broadcasting for 31 years and while not a shill for media...especially when it comes to svr wx coverage...but I do understand the process and how it's done.

Alex was an *irrelevant* story deserving nothing more than a cursory mention on national news. As an aside, I have a friend in Wrightsville Beach who received minor surge as the TC approached, saw nothing over 35MPH and received ~0.40" rain. In fact, she's ticked at me b/c I OVERCOOKED the storm. The number of persons actually affected by Alex was astonishingly small. The story DID receive extensive regional coverage from Norfolk to Charleston but it is folly to think news nets will devote time to something affecting so few people. We were not hit by a mac truck...overall property damage is minor, no injuries or fatalities I'm aware of...I've been through SVRs that produced more damage than did Alex. If one lives on barrier islands and one doesn't keep themself informed, that's not the medias fault. There was ample notice.

The terror alert, by contrast, is a significant story everyone needs to be aware of and understand. Pretend you're a ND...what do people want to hear? A serious threat of terrorism in the US or a minor hurricane brushing a vacation resort.

I don't care about Kobe but that stuff attracts viewers and is of interest. Don't blame the media for that, blame the millions of people who get off on that crap.

The way to "prevent" the media from "making" stories is to not watch or listen. Ratings fall and content changes. But that won't happen. "State run" media? Ummm...no thank you. They tried that in the USSR and Iraq and it did not work.



My spin
Scott

[Derek Ortt]

If I were a coastal resident and not in the field of trop met (I am a coastal resident but in the field), I would want to be made quite aware of the dangers of a rapid intensifying storm. To me, that is much more real than a terrorist attack

[jlauderdal]

If I were a coastal resident and not in the field of trop met (I am a coastal resident but in the field), I would want to be made quite aware of the dangers of a rapid intensifying storm. To me, that is much more real than a terrorist attack

I am with my sofla neighbor Ortt on this one. Terrorism is more exciting and has the potential to kill more people but hurricanes affect a many more people and advanced warning can actually lessen the affect on those concerned. We cant talk terrosim all we want but what are you going to do to lessen the effects. There isn't anything you can do except hope you aren't in the worng place at the wrong time. You cant evacuate so you are stuck. Sorry folks, those are the facts.

[Scott_inVA]

This borders on OT which I don't do.

Media programs to their audience. Media understands viewers go to local outlets for LOCAL weather (notable exception is TWC). Alex was a small LOCAL event covered by local media. Alex was not Camille...get over it.

Similar concept for tornado outbreaks. If there is a TOR in your area you don't go to CNN...you go to reliable LOCAL media that covers it better. It takes a major outbreak (ie: 5/3/99 OKC outbreak) for national b/c that was an extreme event. Alex was not.

TPC and most *reliable* local media go to pains to balance avoidance of "cry wolf" with the "path of least regret". Reliable media overall does...or tries to do...a good job. But there will always be bitching if any svr event is over-honked or if there's one dope out there who goes on TV whining "gee...nobody told me". If you don't do this for a living, you do not understand how thankless the work really is.


Here's a challenge, folks. Go to Walmart and ask 10 random people what they care more about: terrorism or knowing more about Hurricane Alex. If you find two people (20%) who say Alex, I will eat a lint sandwich.

I'm done with the topic but please, argue among yourselves.

Scott

[SwampDawg]

Could not have said it better Scott.

http://www.kmrc1430.com

[mitchell]

Derecho- I agree with you completely...I just spoke with a friend who lives in Buxton, NC and asked if she had thought about evacuating. They certainly don't need the media hype to know the difference between a storm such as Alex and one such as Isabel. Vacationers had every opportunity to know that the area was under watches and warnings for an extraordinarlily long time. This was not a huge media story because in general, frequent events such as a cat1/2 storms brushing the outer banks happen too frequently to be deserving of hype. If they were hyped, then it would detract from the far more dangerous events such as Isabel where a large sized, major hurricane is bearing down on a shore-perpendicular track. My 2 cents