Interesting Article on Superdome, Convention Center

[M:SteveO]

According to this article, the death toll at both places was a combined 10. I was shocked by this figure, considering what we've been hearing in the media for the past month. With the overall death toll much lower than expected in New Orleans, do you think the media, and gov't officials, jumped the gun a little bit when it comes to this? The article also mentions that all the claims of murders and rapes are largely unsubstantiated and false. I just thought it was very interesting considering what was reported early on.

http://www.nola.com/newslogs/tporle...ola_tporleans/archives/2005_09_26.html#082732

 

[Qwackertoo]

As bad as it sounds, I think the mainstream media (ABC, CBS, NBC) were disappointed the death toll in New Orleans was greatly less than was estimated. And yes I think they tended to focus on the worst of the worst and captialized on it at every opportunity.

Deana

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Without reading the article..I think it was smart of the media to "hype" of the convention center and Superdome.

I am very pleased the death toll was only 10. Hard to say without knowing who these people were and what they're ailments were if being at these locations had everything, only partially, or really nothing to do with their deaths.

I am very very happy that the overall death toll appears to be only a fraction of what the estimates were.

As botched as everything ended up being--it actually showed that what did happen....did result in a more positive human outcome than initially expected.

Hurricanes suck, hindsight is 20/20, and the news media...probably is a bit bummed....b/c the less deaths...the more difficult the next phase of coverage that will begin in a few months--that of the very in depth "problem solvers" style news stories that will come out in the magazines.

 

[Geoff_M]

I saw the story, but didn't say anything because I figured it might run afoul of the powers-that-be.

The urge to report a story heard second-hand as a first person account is a strong force in human nature. Without it we would have little folklore or any urban legends in our culture. However, I think that the media clearly reported unsubstantiated rumors as fact way too freely. However, I realize that applying journalistic standards to such stories gets a lot harder when government officials are freely dispensing them personally. My urban legend meter went off when I started hearing the supposed first-hand eyewitness reports about the supposed slain girl laying lifeless in one of the Convention Center bathrooms. The problem was that the eyewitness' descriptions varied wildly.

The media didn't do anyone any favors, besides themselves, by hyping the situation. They may have served a purpose by initially bridging a communications gap about the people at the Convention Center, but beyond that I don't think it served any measurable purpose. The hyping overly alarmed people watching the reports and undoubtedly distressed the family members of people at those locations. It also may have actually delayed the relief efforts for the people stuck at the dome and center. Remember that the reason the Red Cross was prevented from rendering aid was due to the perceived danger of the situation (reinforced by the hyped reports). Additionally, the leaders of the National Guard said, because of the reported environment, they didn't want to approach the Convention Center until they could do so with "overhelming numbers" as not to endanger civilians by inviting gun battles with the roving gangs that were reported to be running rampant at the center.

 

[bsnyder]

Powerline has more on this, and some questions that should be asked, of the media's performance in the disaster:

It's time for some accountability here. The conventional wisdom is that no one performed particularly well in the aftermath of Katrina--not local, state or federal authorities, and not considerable numbers of private citizens. But it now appears clear that the worst performance of all was turned in by the mainstream media. Congress should promptly investigate, and try to get to the bottom of the following questions:

* How did so many false rumors come to be reported as fact?
* Do news outlets have any procedures in place to avoid this kind of mis-reporting? If so, why did their procedures fail so miserably?
* To what extent were the false rumors honest mistakes, and to what extent were they deliberate fabrications?
* To the extent that the false reports were deliberate, did the press pass them on through sheer negligence, or did some reporters participate in deliberate fabrication?
* Did the widespread breakdown in accurate reporting stem only from a failure to follow proper journalistic standards, or did it also reflect a deliberate effort to damage the Bush administration by passing on unconfirmed rumors as fact?
* In deciding what stories to report, did the news media consider the likelihood that passing on false rumors would damage the rescue effort?

It is vitally important to get to the bottom of these questions, so that future natural disasters are not similarly mis-reported.

 

[Geoff_M]

Bet,

That'll probably push the envelope here....

I don't think there's much evidence for personal agendas in the reporting. For heaven's sake there was little difference in the stories being reported by Fox News and NPR during that time period as each outlet seemed to race for the most outrageous human suffering story.

However, one site I read quipped that they know why the rest of the bodies weren't found.... They said obviuosly these were the victims of the cannabalism that at least one commentator had reported hearing about!

 

[Wish I lived in Fl]

The article also mentions that all the claims of murders and rapes are largely unsubstantiated and false. I just thought it was very interesting considering what was reported early on.

QUOTE]

I am glad that those claims were largely unsubstantiated. Think they were being used as an excuse not to help evacuees.

 

[M:SteveO]

I find it funny, but not surprising, that the media doesn't even report this good news. Nowhere is it the top story that the death toll was greatly exaggerated or that accused rapes didn't really occur. The only place where articles like this get written or read are secondary, local papers, like this article, or on blogs. The media just doesn't report on good news like this. To me, it should be the number one story for days considering that the stories of "10,000 Dead" and "Rapes of Babies in the Superdome" were the number one stories for weeks and turned out to be completely false. But you can bet the media won't relent and admit they were wrong (that goes for all news media sources).

 

[jgmklmhem]

I find it funny, but not surprising, that the media doesn't even report this good news. Nowhere is it the top story that the death toll was greatly exaggerated or that accused rapes didn't really occur. The only place where articles like this get written or read are secondary, local papers, like this article, or on blogs. The media just doesn't report on good news like this. To me, it should be the number one story for days considering that the stories of "10,000 Dead" and "Rapes of Babies in the Superdome" were the number one stories for weeks and turned out to be completely false. But you can bet the media won't relent and admit they were wrong (that goes for all news media sources).

Doom and Gloom sell and for whatever reason they always will. People and that means all of us since we are the viewers are the reason they always post the bad. How many hours of CNN/Fox/MSNBC did we all watch for Katrina. Now compare that to the hours spent watching Rita coverage. Since Rita thank goodness was much less damaging (property and people wise)...I can gurantee it is being covered less and we are watching less.

 

[Saphire]

Right after Katrina I questioned the integrity of the media and said I watched hardly any news coverage at all on TV because I felt the media was manipulating me. They show only what they want me to see. Well, I was promptly scolded for that view. Yet now, we are finally questioning what was real, exaggerated or fabricated. To think the media may actually be disappointed in the low death toll is appalling, and one reason I have no interest in watching them. Yes, I question their integrity.

 

[NeverEnufWDW]

Right after Katrina I questioned the integrity of the media and said I watched hardly any news coverage at all on TV because I felt the media was manipulating me. They show only what they want me to see. Well, I was promptly scolded for that view. Yet now, we are finally questioning what was real, exaggerated or fabricated. To think the media may actually be disappointed in the low death toll is appalling, and one reason I have no interest in watching them. Yes, I question their integrity.

"Don't want to be an American idiot....."

 

[Saphire]

"One nation controlled by the media.

Information age of hysteria."

 

[Charade]

"One nation controlled by the media.

Information age of hysteria."

And they say GWB is evil.

 

[NJBlackBerry]

And he was personally responsible for the 10,000 deaths.

 

[DawnCt1]

I find it funny, but not surprising, that the media doesn't even report this good news. Nowhere is it the top story that the death toll was greatly exaggerated or that accused rapes didn't really occur. The only place where articles like this get written or read are secondary, local papers, like this article, or on blogs. The media just doesn't report on good news like this. To me, it should be the number one story for days considering that the stories of "10,000 Dead" and "Rapes of Babies in the Superdome" were the number one stories for weeks and turned out to be completely false. But you can bet the media won't relent and admit they were wrong (that goes for all news media sources).

They won't report it because they would have to indict themselves for false reporting, passing on rumors, perpetuating urban legends and removing the onus from President Bush that they were so quick to saddle on him. The lies are incredible. I do believe that it impacted the willingness of rescuers and volunteers to get into the area. It could have impacted the willingness of donors to give money. That is the biggest scandal of the hurricanes. The media's distorted reporting.

 

[Tigger_Magic]

Sadly much of the MSM is "stuck on stupid." (Thank you, General Honore!)

 

[Grog]

And they say GWB is evil.

Well, it was his weather machine that caused all this

 

[jgmklmhem]

Well, it was his weather machine that caused all this

I thought it was Sean Connery's

 

[Grog]

I thought it was Sean Connery's

It's actually owned by Halliburton, but they rent it out from time to time. I think Dr. Evil has it this weekend.

 

[Kermit]

I was disappointed by the coverage before the hurricane even made landfall, and it just got worse and worse. Not only was it completely unnecessary to make stuff up about the people in the Super Dome and convention center, but there were things that the media could have done to really help people. Evacuees wanted good information about their neighborhoods. National newscasters could have gotten into helicopters with a local newscaster who knew the area and flown around and showed which neighborhoods had flood damage, which had wind damage, and which were perfectly fine. While some areas were almost completely devestated, there were many people who escaped with only a little roof and fence damage. It would have been wonderful if those people could have gotten that information.

Instead, national newscasters who knew NOTHING about the areas they were covering flew around and looked for the most astonishing damage they could find and set the footage to sad music. I even saw one guy flying past what was clearly a 2-story self-storage unit, as indicated by a series of garage-type doors on the lower level. The wall had ripped off the second story. The newscaster was talking about the horrible damage and saying things like, "Wow! Look at that! It's a bike on top of a couch!" Well, it was a self-storage unit. It probably had a bike on top of a couch before the storm.