News outlets cover natural disasters purportedly as a public service. But there’s no denying that such coverage is a ratings boon for their bottom line – catering as it does to the perverse thrill of suspense that keeps us fixated on the hype of impending doom….
[But] Americans are blessed with the technology, escape routes to inland shelters and other emergency management resources to gauge and withstand hurricanes with virtually no loss of life.
(Katrina’s coming, Katrina’s coming, The iPINIONS Journal, August 29, 2005)
This quote speaks volumes. Which is why the only reason I’m bothering to comment on the looming landfall of Hurricane Isaac (in the United States) is to inject a little perspective on the coverage it’s getting.
The American media are giving the impression that the biggest threat Isaac poses is to the Republican National Convention, which is scheduled to convene in Tampa on Monday. Whereas, at worst, delegates might have to navigate torrential rains commuting between their hurricane-proof hotels and the hurricane-proof convention center.
Meanwhile, long before its outer bands reach Florida, Isaac will be causing devastation truly worthy of this media hype down in the Caribbean. But far too little coverage is being given to this fact..
In the aftermath of that January 2010 earthquake, the American media covered plans for Haiti’s recovery as a cause celebre. Therefore, if only out of a sense of moral obligation, you’d think the media would be showing commensurate interest in the fate of hundreds of thousands of Haitians still squatting in tent cities there.
Not to mention the tragic irony that these poor Haitians, many of whom have no clue about their impending doom, will be serving as shock absorbers for Isaac’s wrath, ensuring that when or if it lands in Florida the impact will be greatly diminished.
Yet most news outlets are hyping Isaac as if it were a cat-5 hurricane making a beeline for Tampa with no layover in the Caribbean. I gather CNN is a notable exception; unfortunately, virtually nobody in the United States watches that network anymore.
Of course, apropos of my opening quote, if Isaac were to devastate Haiti, even mom-and-pop stations from as far away as Maine would be tagging along as the American media swarm in like flies to shit to provide 24/7 coverage. I just urge them to provide a little more coverage now to prompt relief agencies and ordinary Americans alike to act to limit the loss of life and protect what little property poor Haitians have left.
Related commentaries:
Katrina’s coming…
Haiti…