Rachel Maddow acknowledged the controversy around Ike coverage tonight, then went on to cite a couple of really tired stories on the topic. I figured that these big news organizations must really have their hands full with Palin and the economy and bears on the loose and whatnot.....so.....
I've been sending this letter out to news organizations far and wide, such as:
MSNBC: letters@msnbc.com -- subject line "To the Editor"
NYTimes: letters@nytimes.com
AC360: http://www.cnn.com/...
Feel free to write your own. But, here's mine:
To the Editor:
I'm not understanding the news blackout on the story of Ike's aftermath in Bolivar and the barrier islands. By my count, the New York Times sent 10 reporters to the Gulf Coast following Katrina to report your first story on the storm in New Orleans, "Hurricane Katrina Slams Into Gulf Coast; Dozens are Dead."
There is a widely held expectation that hundreds, even thousands, of dead were swept to another land mass near Bolivar. The mission has so far been to search for survivors. Some have been found. The mission to search for the dead has only just begun. Yet the MSM cheerfully cite just 22 dead, and then move along to a story about a bear, or a house fire, just anything, anything else.
For more on what is informing my concern:
The AP has written one story, which was picked up on MSNBC's website, but not on TV:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/...
Watch the clip titled "Looking for Loved Ones"
http://abclocal.go.com/...
The Dallas Morning News saw fit to cover the conditions of the 1000 inmates who were left to possibly die in the Galveston jail (okay they didn't die, but that sounds like luck to me).
http://www.dallasnews.com/...
There's a lot more of this, but I'll stop there for now. Do take a look at:
http://www.jakeabby.com/...
Most of the survivors interviewed accidentally became trapped on Bolviar and did not willfully stay, as was so dismissively suggested by Chertoff immediately prior to the storm. When they issued the "certain death" notice, the only two ways off the island were already shut down----the bridge had already been washed out and the ferries had stopped running. Unless one of these poor people had a helicopter, they were toast. Nevertheless, no one has bothered to clear up the misconception that a bunch of arrogant jerks stayed behind and died for their stupid mistake. Is this belief behind the lack of reporting?
It is very difficult to understand how the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Anderson Cooper, Keith Olbermann, Rachel Maddow, et al. have not seen fit to cover this angle on the story at all---while spending time on "Hey, there's a traffic jam getting back into Houston!"
While KHOU and ABC-13 in Houston have done a good job and have produced imminently pick-up-able video, none of the national news channels have seen fit to pick these stories up.
I think this is of interest---both the story, and the refusal to cover? unwillingness to cover? discomfort with covering? blackout around? this story.
You....don't?