Monday, May 20, 2013

The Arrogance of the Networks

This is what the people in Oklahoma were faced with today.  The devastation was terrible, and countless people, who survived, were left homeless.

So, naturally, tomorrow dozens of network newspeople will descend upon the community, snarling traffic, occupying dozens of hotel rooms, pestering search and rescue workers and shoving microphones into shocked, tearful faces and asking inane questions and just generally making nuisances of themselves?

Will someone tell me why these network people think they need to go to Oklahoma?  Don't they have local news people living there and covering the story with live feed to New York? Is Matt Lauer, for instance, going to do a better job of describing the devastation than a local news anchor who has lived there for years?

I really wish that hotel owners would turn the out-of-town news people away, at least until there are no more local victims who need shelter.  I also wish they would be refused interviews with families whose members are lost.  Surely, the people of Oklahoma are not so desperate for their 15 minutes of fame that they would seek out television cameras in order to tell the same sad stories over and over. 

It's just disgusting. And it happens every single time there's a disaster somewhere.

And, when will the criticism start?  " The rescue people didn't do enough."  " The governor didn't respond quickly enough."  "Where's Fema?"  Where's the Red Cross?"   President Obama didn't call a press conference early enough, and then, when he did speak, he didn't say the right things." And, of course, the usual cry, "there wasn't enough warning."   And, on and on and on.

You know I'm right.  Stay  tuned.

9 comments:

Word Tosser said...

I. could. not. agree. with. you. more.....
You are sooooooooooooo right..

Margie's Musings said...

Of course you're right. Bob used to work for FEMA and sometimes when they arrived there were no hotel rooms left because the media was there first by helicopter.

Bob also volunteered for Red Cross for 12 years. They were there just as soon as they could get there. They often woke Bob in the middle of the night to alert him to pack.

Olga said...

Sadly, you are all too right. What a tragedy for the people of Oklahoma.

savannah said...

of course you're right, darlin! sadly, we don't run the networks, BUT what we can do is forgo watching tv news and let your LOCAL affiliate know why! read the story, use the net to pick up OK stations and watch their coverage. xoxoxxo

Anonymous said...

You are right Betty. It is "disgusting", and the same thing happens here in the UK every time there is some tragic event.

Anonymous said...

It happens everywhere there is a disaster.

The networks fly their people in to get the stories first, they're not thinking about taking up space or causing traffic issues.

chlost said...

Oh, yeah, you are right. And how sad that we have all seen it so many times that we can predict it. Every disaster, the same, just plug in a new location and a few new faces, but the pain, the suffering, and the exploitation are the same. Thanks for calling it like it is.

Peggy said...

That is SUCH a good point, well made. The reporters should NOT have such a large footprint especially if there are hundreds being made homeless and could do with those rooms.

patsy said...

the media should take a page out of GB's book and do a fly over.