Another opportunity for the media to act stupid.

Quickie · #1 08-25-2011, 08:35 AM

Hurricane Irene.

Bring out the reporters in the wet weather.

East Coast Braces For Category 3 Irene After Hurricane Slams Bahamas | FoxNews.com

fenderhutz · #2 08-25-2011, 08:37 AM

Uh dude. This is going to be a serious event for the East Coast. 115 MPH sustained winds isn't a little "rattle" like a 5.9 earthquake. There is a pretty good chance people will die and it will cause millions if not billions of damage on the coastal areas.

Sarcasm fail. Sorry.

Quickie · #3 08-25-2011, 08:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fenderhutz

Uh dude. This is going to be a serious event for the East Coast. 115 MPH sustained winds isn't a little "rattle" like a 5.9 earthquake. There is a pretty good chance people will die and it will cuase millions if not billions of damage on the coastal areas.

Sarcasm fail. Sorry.

No. Sensationalism fail. My heart goes out to those in danger as it always has. Don't try to change the meaning of my post please.

PSPookie · #4 08-25-2011, 08:49 AM

I'm keeping an eye on it but trying not to buy into the hype.

My day job is as a power line engineer and my area of responsibility is Savannah. I'm also taking a vacation in Myrtle Beach in about a week. I think it's fair to say that I have some vested interest in how this unfolds.

But I agree that the level of sensationalism in the news in general is getting out of hand. Reporters standing in the rain is stupid.

Hey, I guess you run a little thin on material when you try to broadcast 24/7.

Quickie · #5 08-25-2011, 08:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PSPookie

Hey, I guess you run a little thin on material when you try to broadcast 24/7.

Exactly. I recently noticed that MSNBC doesn't have news 24hrs over the weekend. I guess the world takes the weekend off also?

fenderhutz · #6 08-25-2011, 08:51 AM

Yeah that whole walking into the wind during a hurricane is kinda funny.

"AS YOU CAN SEE, IT'S LIKE TRY TO STAND UP IN A MOVING PICKUP TRUCK GOING 85 MILES AN HOUR"

Because that's safe to do lol.

MatticusMania · #7 08-25-2011, 09:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Quickie

No. Sensationalism fail. My heart goes out to those in danger as it always has. Don't try to change the meaning of my post please.

Please do expound upon the meaning of:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Quickie

Hurricane Irene.

Bring out the reporters in the wet weather.

East Coast Braces For Category 3 Irene After Hurricane Slams Bahamas | FoxNews.com

Quickie · #8 08-25-2011, 10:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MatticusMania

Please do expound upon the meaning of:

Pretty clear to me Matticus. Don't like the media sensationalism of any kind of bad news.

OldDog52 · #9 08-25-2011, 10:14 AM

It is not sensationalism when the story involves major risk to life and property by natural disaster, and one that's predictable, for millions of people. What do you want them to do? "Hurricane to hit east coast. Now a story about a talking dog!"

Sensationalism would be the Casey Anthony story, which affects basically nobody but gets wide coverage for prurient reasons.

Quickie · #10 08-25-2011, 10:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OldDog52

It is not sensationalism when the story involves major risk to life and property for millions..

You're right.

Standing out in the storm for "sensationalism" is however......

Relic · #11 08-25-2011, 10:17 AM

yeah I dont think this is sensationalism in this case but I'll have to agree with Quickie in that we're kinda jaded by the media these days. Every storm is the "storm of the century", it's just that this one may actually be just that...

OldDog52 · #12 08-25-2011, 10:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Quickie

You're right.

Standing out in the storm for "sensationalism" is however......

Would it be sensationalism if they ran footage of the storm but without a reporter in the shot? I guess I'm not getting the distinction. Visual media requires pictures. Reporters are there to convey the story. In the case of a looming natural disaster they are not making up the story for ratings. Arguably they're doing a public service if the images convince some nimrod to take shelter or evacuate who would otherwise not pay any attention to the warnings.

EDIT: I am not claiming they never exaggerate the potential damage or whatnot in something like a hurricane. But again, if they downplay the potential impact and it turns out to be worse than expected, they'll be accused of not conveying the potential true impact.

MatticusMania · #13 08-25-2011, 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Quickie

Pretty clear to me Matticus. Don't like the media sensationalism of any kind of bad news.

You should probably stop following the news then... thats all they ever do. In fact, thats how they get paid.

Bob Lee (QSC) · #14 08-25-2011, 11:03 AM

Modern TV "news" gathering pretty much requires that the reporter deliver his or her story from the scene, or nearby, or somewhere outside of the studio, whether doing so is relevent or not.

Severe approaching weather should be reported, but I agree that it's often sensationalized over the top by the electronic media.

Quickie · #15 08-28-2011, 10:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob Lee (QSC)

Modern TV "news" gathering pretty much requires that the reporter deliver his or her story from the scene, or nearby, or somewhere outside of the studio, whether doing so is relevent or not.

Severe approaching weather should be reported, but I agree that it's often sensationalized over the top by the electronic media.

He delivered it "from the scene".

Tucker Barnes Drenched In 'Probably The Remnants Of Raw Sewage' During Hurricane Irene Coverage (VIDEO)

Stinsok · #16 08-28-2011, 10:23 AM

I was watching some guy that looked like he was seriously fighting the wind. The camera was jerking all around. Some guy casually walked behind him unaffected.

Chebass88 · #17 08-28-2011, 10:32 AM

Definite over-hype by the media. Chebass' method for storm preparedness:

1. Make sure you have water and food, candles and batteries.
2. Secure your house and everything around your house that *might* get relocated by force.
3. Only worry about things you can affect.
4. Pour a whiskey and relax.
5. During and after the storm - STAY HOME!! Don't go out joy-riding (especially after item 5).

I'm not making light of the seriousness - but a fully-made up female reporter trying to opine on her thoughts of a hurricane from a beach while it is going on? Fail. I know it is raining severely - I can look out my windows and see it directly!

PSPookie - a very large tree fell a couple of blocks from our house. It fell ONTO the power lines and snapped the pole in half, and the transformer fell. It was exactly in the middle of the block. We walked by this morning and talked with one of the neighbors there. The power company promised restoration of power by September 4th. Question - do they secure that power line (de-energize), or is it still live? Are there ways to selectively turn off a single block like that?

stratovani · #18 08-28-2011, 10:50 AM

In my opinion I think it's kind of cool to be able to see what's going on elsewhere during a major storm. There's a lot more to this world than little old Spencer, sensationalism or no sensationalism.

AnchorHoy · #19 08-28-2011, 10:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chebass88

Question - do they secure that power line (de-energize), or is it still live?

I've seen it go both ways. We had one of our trees (since removed) hang a BIG limb on a power line once and the tree guys removed it without shutting off the power

My impression is that it's a judgement call made by the crew on the scene

Quote:

Are there ways to selectively turn off a single block like that?

To the best of my knowledge every place you see a transformer up on a pole is also a shut-off point but in that particular case it must be done manually by a lineman with a "chicken stick"

Real Deal techs feel free to clarify on this point

hbarcat · #20 08-28-2011, 09:19 PM

The accusation that the collective news media treats every bad weather event as the event of the century while awaiting its arrival is an accurate one, IMO. Most of the time they end up telling us how fortunate we are that it wasn't as bad as they feared.

But what is the long term consequence of such repeated over the top predictions to bad weather events? I think it makes the public more likely to become complacent about upcoming bad weather and for people to assume that the predictions for potential catastrophe are highly exaggerated. This isn't in the public's best interest.

And yes, it's ridiculous to see some reporter standing on an otherwise deserted street corner in the wind and rain pointing out that it's windy and raining while we get to see a traffic sign flapping back and forth like a flag.