Omitted this time has been "Extremely Annoying," and here's why: For the first time in a long time I was not Extremely Annoyed by Brian Williams and NBC Nightly News.
Because, after 73 newscasts without having aired a full report out of New Orleans, Brian Williams finally aired a piece entitled
New Orleans Blues
It was about time Williams aired such a piece.
More below the fold....
This report, by Martin Savidge, who Brian Williams said is from
"our New Orleans Bureau"
was about her acute homelessness crisis which, while there's never a good time to be homeless, is particularly sad before Christmas. And Savidge also went into the demolitions controversy.
I wonder how much the input my posts on Daily Nightly with their links to relevant diaries and quoted Daily Kos comments had to do with "Nightly's" decision to air this report. I'd like to think maybe they had some influence...Or did Brian finally wake up and smell the coffee?
But what has made me the most curious is the fact that Brian has mentioned NBC's New Orleans Bureau. Because I'd had it on good authority from someone on the ground in New Orleans that NBC has closed this bureau and that New Orleans was going to be covered by means of fly-ins.
So does Brian's mentioning NBC's New Orleans Bureau mean that it's been there all along, or that it had been re-opened?
Or is this New Orleans Bureau only temporary--reopening whenever a news crew flies in to cover a story, and shutting down after they leave?
Curiouser and curiouser.
One thing I always used to do, after a long stretch when New Orleans wasn't being covered, was e-mail him a thank-you after there finally was such a report. Because I don't want to come across as a continual kvetch as well as out of courtesy and to let Williams know "Nightly" had done something right. I may even schmooze a little. So the e-mail follows:
Dear Brian,
Thanks so much for airing last night Martin Savidge's gripping piece on New Orleans' homelessness crisis and the demolitions controversy. I was surprised when you said it was out of your New Orleans Bureau because I'd been informed by someone on the ground there that it had been closed.
Back to the homeless--I hope this is an issue "Nightly" will stay on, because much more needs to be done to make affordable housing available to these people who are still in a world of hurt nearly 28 months after Katrina. And since it was the failure of the federally-maintained levees that made them homeless in the first place, the feds should step up to the plate and help out--and with something better and more permanent than those FEMA trailers which turned out to be dangerous.
And on a different topic--enjoy your game!
Louisiana 1976
However, the fact that Williams last night aired a full report out of New Orleans doesn't mean I'll be giving up my monitoring efforts regarding NBC Nightly News' coverage out of that city. I'm going to continue to keep an eye on Williams and NBC and every so often write them if I feel they missed something important that's going on in New Orleans or if too long a time has gone by without any full New Orleans coverage.