if you can't trust the media, then who CAN you trust? here is a disturbing realtime look at media distortion occurring right before our eyes - right now!
cnn is repeating a disgusting story all morning that implies that those who died in louisiana "had the opportunity to leave, but didn't". so, it would appear now the government talking point for the massive screw-up after katrina is "blame the victims"
susan hendricks, the newest "pretty face" all properly made up and coiffed, reads her news stories a bit better than the usual cnn bimbo barbies - but the content remains the same: regurgitating "government" propaganda without questioning the accuracy. and, so it would seem, cnn is not above misrepresenting the nytimes in its attempt to maintain the government slant that it is the fault of the victims for not leaving!
the REAL story is in what cnn is choosing to omit! to find out more, go beneath the fold
susan hendricks quotes the times article today in what she describes as a "first detailed picture" of what has happened - no picture, however, just selected quotes from the times article:
A study by The New York Times of more than 260 Louisianans who died during Hurricane Katrina or its aftermath found that almost all survived the height of the storm but died in the chaos and flooding that followed.
Of those who failed to heed evacuation orders, many were offered a ride or could have driven themselves out of danger - a finding that contrasts with earlier reports that victims were trapped by a lack of transportation. Most victims were 65 or older, but of those below that age, more than a quarter were ill or disabled.
hendrick's makes the outrageous statement
...now we are told that many survived the storm but died in the aftermath from flooding or lack of services afterward.
[and ]...many of those who died were offered a ride or could have driven themselves out of danger...
however, she conveniently omits the findings in the REST of the article by shaila dewan and janet roberts AND she conveniently neglects to mention that the quoted paragraphs refer to OTHER regions of louisiana, NOT new orleans!
the newly offered cnn states flatly spin - many failed to evacuate when told to do so were "offered a ride" or could have driven themselves out of danger!"
this brings to rise several questions:
- exactly HOW does one know that a dead victim was "offered a ride but refused" if the person who allegedly refused is dead!
- exactly WHO is claiming to have offered a ride to these victims?
- and WHY is this headline story neglecting to include these paragraphs of the NYTs article?
The results are not necessarily representative of the 1,100 people who died in the storm-ravaged part of the state. The 268 deaths examined by The Times were not chosen through a scientific or random sample, but rather were selected on the basis of which family members could be reached, and which names had been released by state officials.
Nonetheless, the study represents the most comprehensive picture to date of the Louisiana victims of Hurricane Katrina and the subsequent levee failures. The Times conducted more than 200 interviews with relatives, neighbors and friends of the victims, and culled information from local coroners and medical examiners, census data, obituaries, and news articles.
The interviews add narrative and nuance to what has been a largely anonymous or purely statistical casualty list. Relatives were able to explain that what might have been listed as a simple drowning was really a tragic end to a rescue, or that medical care just a few minutes earlier might have meant the difference between life and death.
here, once again, the new spin is to "blame the victim" instead of the pathetic government response to a very poor, black (and democratic) area of new orleans.
cnn is exhibiting negligence bordering (imho) on criminal by deliberately misrepresenting the facts of this story, which, according to the NYT is virtually impossible to discern regarding New Orleans!
In New Orleans almost three-quarters of the black victims examined by The Times and almost half the white victims lived in neighborhoods where the average income was below $43,000, the city's overall average. In New Orleans, the median income for whites is almost twice what it is for blacks. Many, if not most, were Louisiana natives, and virtually all were members of the working class - nurses, janitors, barbers, merchant marines.
[snip]
State officials have released the names of only 512 victims - fewer than half the estimated deaths in the state - and have provided just a skeletal demographic breakdown, showing that most were 65 or older, about half were black and about half were female. Despite repeated requests, neither state officials nor the coroner of Orleans Parish, where the bulk of the deaths occurred, have released causes of death, and Louisiana death certificates are not a matter of public record.
More than 60 families told The Times that they still did not know how or in some cases even where their loved ones perished. As a result, a full portrait remains impossible.
cnn neglects to mention THESE observations in the Times article they are so quick to exploit:
Many said that mandatory evacuation orders came too late, or that leaving, even with transportation, was not a simple matter for older residents. LeShawn Hains could not find a special-needs shelter for her mother, Gilda, who was on oxygen and had heart and lung trouble. Eddie Cherrie Jr. stayed behind with his mother, Onelia, who relied on a walker and blood pressure medication. "It's true nothing stopped us from leaving," he said. "But also, it's not that easy to leave with a 91-year-old woman."
They survived the storm but were later taken by helicopter to the airport, where officials separated a badly dehydrated Ms. Cherrie from her son, leaving her to die alone, he said. Mr. Cherrie said if the levees had not broken, she would have survived. "That's malfeasance," he said.
the question this cnn report raises is why cnn distorted the nytimes article to present a picture that lays the responsibility squarely on the backs of the dead instead of examining the failure of the government to react to the worst storm on record? a failure that is magnified by the rapid response of american aid to the pakistani earthquake (within 3 days). exactly who or what is cnn protecting? us? bush? fema? advertisers? their ratings? or perhaps the families of those who died from the horrible reality that THIS government simply dismissed their lives as expendable.
this story and the "scrubbing" of bush's radio/television address yesterday by the white house archives (removal of the line "...power inherent to the president") gives me extreme concern.
fortunately, change is on the wind! right now on the blitzer cnn interview with spector and feingold, spector JUST stated that he wanted feingold in the judiciary committee QUESTIONING the administration about the nsa tapping. this statement was made after spector said that the truth cannot be determined by a "soundbite". it would appear that the politicians are also awakening to the spin and distortions currently presented by mainstream media!
in these troubled times, we need to be ever vigilant - we need to hold the media accountable - we need to remain tireless in demanding the truth be told! if you are worried about the media spin, then DO something about what you've read here and there!
here is the cnn feedback link - i suggest you let them know of your dissatisfaction! and while you are at it, perhaps a letter to nytimes that their information is being incorrectly skewed might be of benefit! - and perhaps the fcc? any other ideas?