Be prepared to have some of your beliefs shaken. With the advent of the 2006 Hurricane Season fast upon us, we owe it to ourselves to read this story and come down from the ivory tower of judgment and start being realistic. Ginned up media emotion does not get a job done.
May 23, 2006
Katrina: What the Media Missed
By
Lou Dolinar
Remember the dozens, maybe hundreds, of rapes, murders, stabbings
and deaths resulting from official neglect at the Superdome after
Hurricane Katrina? The ones that never happened, as even the national media later admitted?
Sure, we all remember the original reporting, if not the back-pedaling.
Here's another one: Do you remember the dramatic TV footage of
National Guard helicopters landing at the Superdome as soon as Katrina
passed, dropping off tens of thousands saved from certain death? The
corpsmen running with stretchers, in an echo of M*A*S*H, carrying the
survivors to ambulances and the medical center? About how the
operation, which also included the Coast Guard, regular military units,
and local first responders, continued for more than a week?
Me neither. Except that it did happen, and got at best an
occasional, parenthetical mention in the national media. The National
Guard had its headquarters for Katrina, not just a few peacekeeping
troops, in what the media portrayed as the pit of Hell. Hell was one of
the safest places to be in New Orleans, smelly as it was. The situation
was always under control, not surprisingly because the people in
control were always there.
From the Dome, the Louisiana Guard's main command ran at least 2,500
troops who rode out the storm inside the city, a dozen emergency
shelters, 200-plus boats, dozens of high-water vehicles, 150
helicopters, and a triage and medical center that handled up to 5,000
patients (and delivered 7 babies). The Guard command headquarters also
coordinated efforts of the police, firefighters and scores of
volunteers after the storm knocked out local radio, as well as other
regular military and other state Guard units.
Jack Harrison, a spokesman for the National Guard Bureau in
Arlington, Virginia, cited "10,244 sorties flown, 88,181 passengers
moved, 18,834 cargo tons hauled, 17,411 saves" by air. Unlike the
politicians, they had a working chain of command that commandeered more
relief aid from other Guard units outside the state. From day one.
There were problems, true: FEMA melted down. Political leaders, from
the Mayor to Governor to the White House, showed "A Failure of
Initiative", as a recent House report put it. That report, along with sharply critical studies by the White House and the Senate, delve into the myriad of breakdowns, shortages and miscommunications that hampered relief efforts.
Still, by focusing on the part of the glass that was half-empty, the
national media imposed a near total blackout on the nerve center of
what may have been the largest, most successful aerial search and
rescue operation in history. [Continue reading here]
_________________________
UPDATE:
Via Jonah Goldberg at NRO (be sure to read it all):
This barely captures how badly the press
bungled Katrina coverage. Keep in mind that the most horrifying tales
of woe that captivated the press and prompted news anchors to
scream—quite literally—at federal officials occurred within the safe
zone around the Superdome where the press was operating. Shame on local
officials for fomenting fear and passing along newly minted urban
legends, but double shame on the press for recycling this stuff
uncritically. Members of the press had access to the Superdome. Why not
just run in and look for the bodies? Interview the rape victims?
Couldn’t be bothered? The major networks had hundreds of people in New
Orleans. Was there not a single intern available to fact-check? The
coverage actually cost lives. Helicopters were grounded for 24 hours in
response to media reports of sniper attacks. At least two patients died
waiting to be evacuated.
And yet, an ubiquitous media chorus
claims simultaneously that Katrina was Bush’s worst hour and the
press’s best. That faultless paragon of media scrupulousness Dan Rather
proclaimed it one of the “quintessential great moments in television
news.” Christiane Amanpour explained, “I think what’s interesting is
that it took a Katrina, you know, to bring us back to where we belong.
In other words, real journalists, real journalism, and I think that’s a
good thing.”
COMMENTS ENCOURAGED
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