Something worries me deeply about Rita

[SammyBlue]

The Hurricanes have already pushed the Iraq War off the front page. Storms are much more important, news worthy wise to the MSM, than our soldiers getting killed, maimed and blown up. Hell, war is just like Game Cube, Xbox and PS2 make it out to be. . .painless, everyone has more lives than 1 and when you die, your body just disappears. What, it doesn't happen that way?

But, what's got me more upset is the memory of the the American people. How many people will forget Katrina and the fuck ups by the Bush Administration when Rita makes landfall? We'll be bombarded with Rita 24-7, and Katrina will be forgotten, which means that all those poor black people will be forgotten (again), their plight will be pushed under the carpet (again) and they will get screwed harder than before (again).

This has me worried because CNN, MSGOP and most of the network news organizations are barely mentioning Katrina anymore, or the effects on NOLA. It's like it never happened.

But, this is typical, for what I can see:

One the left side of the column is the news story, the right the Iraq war. . .which one got more air play (in parentheses is the answer)?

Scott Peterson v. Iraq War (Scott Peterson)
Michael Jackson v. Iraq War (Michael Jackson)
Gay Marriage v. Iraq War (Gay Marriage)
Roberts v. Iraq War (Neither, MSM loves both)
Britney's Baby v. Iraq War (The talentless slut's baby)
Kate Moss v. Iraq War (Kate Moss)
Katrina v. Iraq War (Katrina, at least until Rita hits)
Rita v. Iraq War (Rita 24/7, Katrina forgotten, Iraq War gone)
Afganistan v. Iraq War (We have a war in Afganistan?)

Notice the problem? Rita will push Katrina away, and those affected by Katrina will be forgotten, much like the Media has forgotten about the Iraq and Afganistan Wars.

I hope I'm wrong, but I haven't been yet.

[hlthe2b]

1. Well, perhaps that's why the "winds of fate..." let the levies go"

once again. Mother Nature is mad and wants to maintain the focus on the evidence of Bush*'s unforgiveable negligent mass homicide....:shrug:

[HamdenRice]

2. Dude, you ignored the BIGGEST and most important story of all ...

Missing White Girls. Even Paul Krugman in today's NYT column had a smart alek comment:

"But Kartina did more than physical damage: it was a blow to our self-image as a nation. Maybe people will quickly forget the horrible scenes from the Superdome, and the frustration of wondering why no help had arrived, once cable TV returns to nonstop coverge of missing white women."

[SammyBlue]

5. Yeah, I forgot, and kidnapped Mexican American women in Nuevo Laredo

Gets NO airplay whatsoever. But, there's no racism in the United States.

Pretty White girl get kidnapped = big story.
Pretty White woman fakes her kidnapping = sweeps week wet dream.
Mexican women kidnapped in Nuevo Laredo = :boring:
Iraq and Afganistan War = more :puffpiece: from MSM to divert attention

:banghead: :banghead: :cry: :cry: :shrug: :shrug: :grr: :grr: :grr: :wtf: :wtf: :wtf: :mad: :mad: :mad:

[HamdenRice]

6. CBS morning news actually broke away from Katrina ...

the thursday or friday after the storm when the crisis was at its peak, to go back to covering people looking behind hotels and on beaches of Aruba for that missing white girl. They actually think the story is that important.

There are also hundreds of missing women -- mostly black, poor, elderly -- still in New Orleans.

Think about it -- hundreds of missing people in NO, and they can still take one missing white girl in Aruba seriously.

[bullimiami]

3. every action and every consequence will be compared to katrina

it will just amplify the failure that was the katrina response.

for instance, they are showing on the news, the military evacuating a hospital.
The impression is not, gee, what a good job they are doing now. but rather, this was what was needed before and bush was the one in control of these resources.

[enid602]

4. agenda

As we know, Bush tends to push his agenda even more vigorously during times of crisis, hoping to slip some new things in under the radar. I read here yesterday that he is using this week to cruelly slash all domestic spending in the budget.

[aquart]

7. Will YOU forget Katrina? I won't.

Don't have such contempt for your neighbors. They're as human as you are.

[0rganism]

8. cost-benefit thinking

Imagine you're a program director for a major news organization...

Celebrity success coverage is cheap and popular, and the reporters occasionally get to attend gala balls and awards ceremonies, thus enhancing their own standing as potential celebrities. Doubleplus good.

Celebrity trials are cheaper and popular, without the awards ceremonies. Still a winner, but maybe not quite as lucrative.

Individual crimes are cheap and popular, and if the reporters get to pack in a vacation to Aruba in the process, so much the better. Very little risk involved, and there's an opportunity to get in some lip service to "investigative" reporting. You'll at least break even.

Weather coverage is usually pretty cheap and reasonably safe, even for the jackasses doing on-site storm coverage. Before it gets too ugly, they can just hop into a chopper and get out, leaving a few cheap remote webcams behind if they want "live" footage. Not quite as safe, still pretty cheap, and everyone wants to know so you pretty much have to cover it. The worse the storm, the better your ratings. At worst, it's a necessary hardship, and at best, it can be almost as good as a celebrity trial.

War coverage is not a winner. Interest can run high, but risks are much more immediate. Already there have been more press casualties in occupied Iraq than during the entire Vietnam War. Plus, in a situation where emotions are heightened and opinions sharply divided, you'll always be pissing off someone with your coverage, and maybe everyone. Reporters and cameramen can get themselves killed, or their careers can be severely set back for excessive candor. Hey, maybe there's a Pulitzer prize waiting at the end of the rainbow, but they'll still want to be alive to collect. Meanwhile, you're paying for reporters' overseas billets and (if you're nice) their body armor.

So it's no surprise that war coverage takes a back seat to everything else. Your advertisers want audience share above all else, and as a program executive your job is to deliver audience to advertisers. If you're headlining with war coverage while your competition is covering the Oscars, you may as well kiss your job goodbye.