n Mon, Aug 29, 2011 at 9:50 AM, Tom Wolper <[email protected]> wrote:
> David Kurtz of Talking Points Memo wrote a good piece about the > hurricane and TV coverage: > > http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2011/08/keep_your_wits_about_you.php > > The main points are: > > State and local governments don't rely on TV coverage when they make > disaster plans so TV hysteria doesn't cause them to overreact. > > The storm passed over a number of major TV markets, notably DC and > NYC, and that's a reason for so much coverage. > > The National Hurricane Center has become much better in tracking the > path of hurricanes in the last couple of years, and in the case of > Irene, it was a fairly uncomplicated storm and all of the tracking > models were consistent and accurate. The science of tracking the > intensity is nowhere near as good as tracking the path so long term > projections of intensity are worthless. > Is this a response to the Ron Pauls's of the world? I have not read much criticism of the NHC, or suggestions they were overreacting to TV News hysteria. I have read criticism of public officials, but I reject that. Shutting down the subways, evacuating the shorelines, these were all responsible and prudent decisions. I thought the President, governors and mayors all handled this situation very well. Closing down the subway system because of a real (even if less than 50%) threat to public safety is smart; putting a dozen cameras and reporters on a low-lying, narrow sea wall to get dramatic images that distort what is actually happening in the region, or hyping 48 hours in advance unlikely worst case scenarios as likely, to the exclusion of focus on more likely precautions, and using on screen text and graphics that exaggerate the impact of actual events - these are not the fault of the NHS, but market driven (as opposed to public service driven) cable news. -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en
