Three years ago following Hurricane Katrina, Matt Wells wrote, "Amidst the horror, American broadcast journalism just might have grown its spine back, thanks to Katrina."
Now, we know that sentiment has gone unfulfilled. Instead of being unbiased, the press partakes in BBQ at a cookout held by McCain. Instead of hosting an intelligent debate, they asked "gotcha" questions about flag pins and bitter voters. Instead of being objective, media hacks such as Charles Babington and Ron Fournier at the AP spew Republican talking points unapologetically.
Now with Gustav heading for our shores, the media suddenly remembers New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. But 3 years have passed, I've seen the lack of coverage, and I have little hope for the media.
Instead of the press growing a backbone in the wake of the horrors of Katrina, they since have backslid into sensationalist around the clock coverage of the latest Paris Hilton or Britney Spears story, sex scandals, and steroids in baseball. If I wanted to see real people embarrass themselves, I would watch reality TV. The latest convention coverage of the PUMA’s only emphasizes my point. If you’re CNN, or MSNBC, or the AP, why cover convention speeches from our politicians and others like Barney Smith when you can cover the outrage of the PUMA’S ... all three of them?
Like many of you, I have had a problem with many of the major media sources like CNN, Fox News, AP, and so on. My problem however started roughly three years ago. As I waited for news from southeast Louisiana and the rest of the Gulf Coast following Hurricane Katrina, I saw reporters on the ground covering the horror, holding our government officials and politicans accountable, and broadcasting it to the world. And then?
Nothing.
Barring the anniversary, and the occasional visit by Anderson Cooper it seems, I have very rarely heard any mention of Katrina in the news. Is it because New Orleans and the Gulf Coast are fully recovered? No. Is it because significant progress has been made and there’s no need to hold our government accountable still? Nope. Maybe there really is nothing of that much importance to cover out there that the public needs to know, is that it? Of course not.
In three years, countless numbers of significant developments (or lack thereof) have occurred here in Louisiana. And yet, despite the stories I see here or on other blogs, the corporate media refuses to pick up and run with these stories.
There are 37,000 people still living in FEMA trailers on the Gulf Coast. Where’s the news coverage?
Why do official estimates only propose replacing 25,000 affordable housing units in Louisiana when 82,000 apartments were damaged or destroyed by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita? Why aren’t journalists asking about it? Where’s the news coverage?
Why have 45% of white evacuees found work after returning to New Orleans, compared to only 12% of African-American evacuees? Why isn’t the media investigating the reasons behind this? Where’s the news coverage?
What about the continuing mental health problems of New Orleanians, as they slide into depression while dealing with home repairs and insurance hassles? Following the storm, data indicated that almost 40% of people who sought medical help were afflicted by post-traumatic stress disorder and that twenty months following the storm, anxiety cases continued to rise? Where’s the news coverage?
Why isn’t the media reporting on the lack of investigations into the response and insufficienct recovery of New Orleans? There are countless stories that the media should report on, from the reconstruction efforts for our homes, schools, and hospitals, to the poverty, to the health of the residents of the Gulf Coast, to the status of our levees and drainage systems, but the media is too caught up in sensationalist stories like Paris Hilton or PUMA’s or to whatever story would get them the most ratings today.
Today’s corporate media are an embarrassment. To ignore important news stories, whether they are about Iraq, Afghanistan, corruption in government, and to refuse to hold the government accountable in the wake of storms like Katrina, is a travesty, plain and simple.