The News Who Cried Wolf

I am now used to the news covering nothing as if it is something.  That's why it takes a while for real news to sink in.  When the Tsunami hit, I heard that it had happened.  But it took a while to realize how big it was that happened.  The same for the coverage of Katrina.

I live in Seattle.  A few years ago there was an earthquake.  It was very small, we felt it and that was about it.  But on the news there were live feeds throughout the region at people's homes.  Reporters were pointing to cracks in people's pavement.  Yes, cracks.  Small, hard to see, not noteworthy cracks.  With reports like this, it's hard to know when something has really happened.

The 24 hour news cycle is crap.  Hours and hours of hypernews.  Everything is a crisis.  Everything is urgent.  So when something urgent happens, it's up to us figure out if it really is major news.

And then there is this new thing of "Red States" and "Blue States."  Now not only is everything urgent, but it's also partisan.  Even hurricanes.  When I hear that Bush is not responding well to a crisis, I have to figure out if its a reflex statement (something, anything, happens and its the other side's fault) or if something is really going on.

We are not served by either the hypernews or the partisanship.  It is as if the newroom is devoid of thinking editors, and now it's up to us to contextualize the news ourselves.  But since we are not privy to all of the information, it's about impossible for us to be our news editors.

Today the gravity of Katrina hit.  And the only reason that it did not hit sooner is because I have learned to distrust images and reports from the media.

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