OK, so now we find out that:
A) The murders, rapes and other assorted brutalities that Fox, CNN, MSNBC, USA Today, the NYT, and the rest of the major media told us about in the aftermath of Katrina never really happened. It was all just vapor.
And
B) That reports of the violence, including stories of armed thugs shooting at aid helicopters, played into the delays in getting help to the people who needed it.
In short: The media lied and people died.
And for all the liberals who want to rush to defend the media with claims that "They were proceeding with the best information they had," and "They were doing the best they could under very difficult conditions," and "It was a mistake, not a lie," please remember how well you accepted those explanations during the WMD and Nigerian yellow cake coverage.
Now that the shoe is on the other foot, will you attack the media with the same ferocity as you did the Bush administration? Or will you fall back on the old standby, partisan hypocrisy?
Like I need to even ask the question.
But don't feel too guilty. Those stories taught me something that up until now, I didn't want to believe. You see, I believed the accounts coming from New Orleans. And that means that if institutionalized racism exist within the mainstream media, but it's in me too.
I'm a bigot.
Because I know just how incompetent and biased the mainstream media can be. I've seen it time after time, in stories that I have some knowledge of, particularly in nuclear power related articles. And considering the national exposure given to some of the more recent journalistic embarrassments, like Dan Rather's entire career, I should have known to take the media reports with a grain of salt.
But I didn't; I bought into the crap they were putting out completely.
That's something I'm going to have to think about for awhile.
Posted by Rich at September 28, 2005 1:25 AM | TrackBackDon't beat yourself up too hard; institutionalized racism is everywhere.
But "the media lied and people died"? Who died as a result of those stories?
Of course any liberal or conservative with common sense is going to be upset about this. On one hand it's a testament to the failures of communication and the emotions and frustration resulting from the botched response. On the other hand, it's just another example of the MSM's rush to feed more news into the 24-hour cycle without verifying the sources, thus perpetuating the dumbed-down "talking points" version of news.
As for the Bush administration, the failures of his upper level cabinet members to leave their vacations to deal with a national disaster remain atrocious. Yes, there are screw-ups at every level, but at least the local and state authorities showed up.
The fact that Bush now wants to put national disaster response under the control of the Pentagon speaks to the failures of his much-touted and -funded Homeland Security, and FEMA administration. Seems like if they had good leaders they would be viable disaster-response organizations.
Posted by: Ariadne on September 28, 2005 8:02 AMAnd for all the liberals who want to rush to defend the media with claims that "They were proceeding with the best information they had," and "They were doing the best they could under very difficult conditions," and "It was a mistake, not a lie,"
Who is saying this?
Posted by: Chris Wage on September 28, 2005 8:51 AMshameless plug:
I already did, a few hours before you.
http://standardmischief.com/2005/09/27/so-who-from-the-press-is-going-to-resign/
Posted by: Standard Mischief on September 28, 2005 9:51 AMThere slugging it out over on Knoxblab on the same topic.
http://funhouserock.com/funhouse/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1328
Posted by: Matt on September 28, 2005 11:05 AMAriadne, it can't be taken both ways. Either the response to Katrina was delayed and therefore people suffered and died unecessarily, or it was timely, and no extra lives were lost. And since it is almost universally agreed (except by me) that the response was delayed, causing extra death and suffering, then the architects of that delay are culpable. And so I can say "The media lied and people died."
The chain of logic is identical to that used by folks who claim the War in Iraq was based on lies, and that was the real point of the first part of the post. Not that the media killed people by spreading godawful rumors, but that the charge being leveled against them by some idiots on the right (Limbaugh and Mike Brown to name two) is just as specious as the charges laid against the Bush administration about the justifications (note the usage of the plural; there were more than one) for the Iraqi war.
As for the second part of the post, thanks, but I'm still bugged by how readily I swallowed the swill. I expect better from myself.
Posted by: rich on September 28, 2005 6:18 PMI'm trying to follow the logic here, but the media are not the architects of national disaster relief. The corpses bear testament to lives unnecessarily lost, though you have to look to find them since the Bush administration petitioned the MSM not to show them. So the truth lies betwixt.
Anyway, you're right. It's swill any way you slice (stir?) it.
Posted by: Ariadne on September 28, 2005 6:26 PMI don't think you believing the stories implies racism. Would you have believed the stories if the alleged looters and shooters were white? If so, then you are not racist.
Posted by: exhelodrvr on September 29, 2005 11:47 AM