TV stations 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 [or unfolding] doom….
(Katrina’s coming, Katrina’s coming, The iPINIONS Journal, August 29, 2005)
Well, we found out yesterday that there is at least one event that can compete with natural disasters for TV ratings: a royal wedding.
In fact, this led to the spectacle of American TV anchors pretending to report on the tornadoes that devastated the so-called “tornado alley” in the Southern United States from London with Buckingham Palace looking like a gilded elephant over their shoulders.
When all was said and done, coverage of this natural disaster, which killed over 340, injured thousands, and destroyed thousands of homes, paled in comparison to coverage of the escapist fare that played out in London yesterday. British officials are boasting that over two billion people tuned in to watch the royal wedding. But given that half the world was asleep during the ceremony, the actual viewership was probably half that number.
It would be remiss of me not to note, however, that at least one news anchor got his priorities straight:
As I left New York for London last night, I was haunted by one thing: the radar image I had seen on the Weather Channel before departing. It showed an active tornado over the top of Tuscaloosa, Alabama… I landed in London, [Friday] morning their time, and checked my Blackberry before we taxied off the runway. I saw the death toll: 83 and climbing. Before long, it was posted at 172… I kept thinking of the four-inch Royal Wedding briefing binder in my bag—I had devoted the night flight to studying it—a global media event outside my area of expertise…
But for now, for us, for this story, one of us had to go back and lead a separate coverage team—as the death toll grows. Three hours after arriving in London, I was in the departure lounge for British Airways flight 177 to JFK.
(NBC News anchor Brian Williams, The Daily Nightly, Friday 29, 2011)
Alas, there can be no greater indictment of his profession than the fact that he was the only one among his peers who had the presence of mind to do what, after all, was the only proper and professional thing to do in this case.
Indeed, it shall redound to the eternal shame of network anchors Katie Couric of CBS and Diane Sawyer of ABC that they chose to sit back in London to parrot platitudes about this royal wedding instead of joining Williams in Alabama to report on the human tragedy unfolding there. Although, to be fair, perhaps these two women decided that covering this fairytale was more inside their area of expertise….
Anyway, I’m sure the “just wed” royal couple will forgive me for praying far more for relief to come to those affected by these tornadoes than for them to live happily ever after.