The media blitz needs to STOP NOW!!

[Erin]

<BLOCKQUOTE class=“ip-ubbcode-quote”><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Velvet:
I started this topic last night, when they were barely giving a moment to the rescue attempts. That’s when this started. This morning, maybe they’ve changed their coverage. Did any one see WHAT I said I wanted covered?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Velvet, my only explanation for your, IMHO, misguided arguments is that you must be seeing only what you want to see (or in this case, don’t want to see). You’re choosing to obsess over what I think is a very small portion of the coverage.

Yesterday was the first day since this happened that I did not go to the barn. From 6 to 11 pm I sat and watched NBC. (I don’t have cable, and it’s the only channel I get decent reception of.) The stories were about what was currently going on, and exactly what you’ve been talking about – rescue efforts, the investigation, and the absolutely heartwrenching stories of those looking for loved ones.

I think the vehemence you feel is directed at you is because you are flat-out wrong, and those of us “disagreeing” with you are flabbergasted that you continue to ignore what everyone else seems to have seen. Sure, you’re entitled to your opinion, but your preception of the facts is just completely skewed.

As I said in my first post, I hate to see the media bashed in cases like this, especially by people who just seem to be looking for someone convenient to lash out at.

Sorry if I sound harsh, but this topic is just really pissing me off. The media is far from perfect, but in this case, I think they’re doing a pretty decent job.

[AAJumper]

I agree with you guys…I think it’s very hard to totally absorb what it is really like at the scene of any disaster from pictures and video. Even though there was tons of news coverage of the Northridge Earthquake here, it didn’t come close to what it was like to really be here and see the disaster first hand. And with the riots here, you just can’t capture the odd silence in the air (in a suburb where the violence was minimal) and shutdown of businesses when we were under curfew after dark. And I can’t even begin to imagine what it’s like for people close to this disaster.

[Brookes]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Kaori:
.
A war isn’t necessary to do that; it would be Vietnam all over again.

Kaori dear, this isn’t anything at all like Vietnam. Trust me. Vietnam had absolutely nothing to do with American freedom and the right to protect our homeland and noncombatants. Vietnam was a foreign civil conflict that we chose to stick our faces into. Yes it did deal with communisim, however there was never at any time a real threat to our country. Tuesday’s events are an obvious threat to our country’s national security. That is the difference.

Lions and Tigers and Bears, oh my!!

[beameup]

thank you for your eloquent words.
What we must remember is that we may very well be hovering on the brink of World War 3. Dear God, i hope not, as does every decent inhabitant of this planet because we have nuclear technology at our disposal, unlike anything we’ve been able to wield before, along with the prospect of a continuation of terrorist acts within our shores.
The anguish, pain and loss of life that occurred is unfathomable. I think what justifies our interest in the personal stories is that the media of television has brought citizens of this country and in fact, of this world, closer than they have ever been. Television and newspapers have become our “Village square” where we can gather close and learn the news of our global family. This is a good thing, because as we draw closer, we realize that our differences are small and our common humanity is the most important thing we have.
These past few days are mightily significant, and will have far reaching ramifications, maybe more than any of us can possible imagine. We need to record everything we can for posterity. It’s that important. And as for the coverage becoming overwhelming - well, these were terrible acts of carnage, compelling and horrifying. Maybe the very best it can do is at some point in the future, galvanize the world into putting aside murder as a political solution and exploring more humane avenues. I pray for that day.

[Jane]

<BLOCKQUOTE class=“ip-ubbcode-quote”><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>It’s up to an individual to decide when they’ve had “enough.” It’s the job of the news to make all the information available for those who want it.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Ditto! I had a friend who went to BlockBusters on tuesday night because she had had enough of watching tv since 8am that morning, and she said the store was packed.

For the past two days, I’ve turned the tv on a few times during the day, just to see if there were any new developments, but I agree with Giuliani; we need to go on with our “normal” lives, and most people in NY have.

[Heidi]

“Is too!”

“Is not!”

“See, I told you so!”

“Cause I wanna!”

“I’m always right!”

“Cause I said so!”

“see, see, d’you see what happened?!?! I told you I was right!”

[Cactuskate]

Remember many of us are not that close to the reality of the event. Yes it is our country that has been attacked. But I quite frankly have only been to NYC once, and the first place we went was at 2:00am and drove by the twin towers. My Secret Service friend I was visiting at the time did the tour. So this media coverage and this BB seem to be my best link to the emotions and the reality of it all.

If the media coverage gets too much for me, I use that lovely remote and surf for something else. However, old reruns of Frasier and Friends just pale to all of this.

I think ABC has done a particularly good job so far of NOT sensationalizing the events. Who knows what they will find to cover as time goes on. It seems when the “news” value dies down, is when they get carried away.

Meanwhile I shall return to my chair and watch on. Maybe I will get to see that wonderful picture of the exhausted worker and his wonderful dog.

And you know I haven’t gotten the least bit tired of hearing the National Anthem or the Star Spangled Banner either.

“The older I get, the better I used to be, but who the heck cares!”

[Jennasis]

Just learned that my station will not allow video of the plane crashes to be shown anymore. However we continue to do live shots from ground zero, updating on the search effots etc… Our focus has mainly turned into the government response.

[Gnarly]

Watching CNN helps me grieve. Tears are healthy.

It’s sort of like going to a funeral. I hate funerals, but I learned how wonderful it is to let out your anger and pain. It’s unhealthy to marinate in it.

Turn off your TV, and your radio. Mine will stay on.

God Bless America. Did y’all hang up a flag today?

[lilblackhorse]

drat, I just posted a long reply and lost it. This morning I watched/listened to bits of the today show while I made kid’s lunches. They showed a long segment of the news that got “missed” over the last week, pre-empted by the tragedy. A track team from Wyoming that was killed in an accident, etc. Afterwords, Katie sat stunned and made some comment about how the world, or at least these folks, had continued living their lives. And then she said she wished they had balanced this other stuff essentially instead of focusing so much on this one topic.
I thought that was interesting…no one is blaming you Beezer for doing your job-I don’t honestly think that was the intention of the original poster. I think the whole topic has gotten way off the course altogether-yes, one can just turn off the tv, but it does help people to move on when it is just the breaking news being discussed instead of the same grisly photos of planes hitting buildings and people leaping out of windows. JMHO…I think that some of you have been fairly cruel in your remarks-everyone is patriotic in their own way and is dealing with the pain, anger and frustration in different ways. Lighten up.

[Sandy_M]

I had a long conversation with my brother - he and his girlfriend have several friends in NYC, one who worked in the WTC, but was in her company’s Hartford, Conn. office on Tuesday, and my brother’s most recent ex-girlfriend lives within blocks of the WTC. He said he had spoken with a friend who is a professional cameraman/film editor, etc. who had stated that he was appalled at the constant re-showing of the crashes WITHOUT sound. His point, as a professional who edits film to create effects, was that such silent repetition of these images can become desensitizing. There have already been comments about “movie special effects” - and this adds to that “unreality.”

The other news coverage may be repetitive, but probably is necessary. It would seem/be insensitive to return to soaps and the like so soon, much as a relief as that might be (i.e., a return to normalcy, if we ever can), and it is, as they say, an on-going crisis. And yes, the Buckingham Palace Changing of the Guard was very touching.

[Robby_Johnson]

Why don’t you lock the thread, Erin?

In fact, I vote we lock all of the Terrorist Attack-related threads, maybe leave one, and start filtering back to horses.

Robby

[Duffy]

I say, thank goodness we DO have photographers, reporters, etc. who are able to do their jobs, unlike in other countries. I find myself glued to CNN, but have taken breaks from time to time. I agree with others who have said that these films, photos, etc. are imperative. They will forever document this awful time in history. And we are so lucky to live in a country who allows this type of news to be known.

[pt1]

<BLOCKQUOTE class=“ip-ubbcode-quote”><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Everyone has their ass on their shoulders … <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I don’t think you need to protect Robby - he seems to be quite capable of defending himself.

[Eglinton]

Velvet…you want them to move on??? ohmygoodness Velvet people are MISSING!! Many people do not know if their families are dead or alive!!! They are showing their pictures on TV, hoping someone sees them. I don’t think they are quite ready to move on…and I am sure that they would hope people would be more interested in this disaster, and their search for loved ones, than in reruns of Friends. This is not over. It is happening right now. As many people have stated, we are VERY lucky to have access to truthful and accurate media reports, not government regulated propeganda. This is news that is always changing, there are always new developments. I, for one, am very interested. And as for those with 7th grade educations, maybe they will learn something by watching this coverage. I am sure there are many out there who have no idea where the middle east is even located. People need to learn.

[Erin]

Suggestion noted, Robby, and I might do it later on. I just think it’s too soon to try to rope these topics in, so I’m going to leave them alone for the time being.

Velvet, I’m going to address one more point… at the risk of not agreeing to disagree. Honestly, I’m not trying to argue… I’m trying to explain.

Let’s back up from 9/11 for a minute. Why do you think the Chronicle spends the money to send reporters to horse shows all over the country and the world? (Trust me, sitting at a H/J show in Podunk, Idaho, is not everyone’s idea of fun! )

Because being there is integral to being able to tell, and show, the story.

The Chronicle can and does cover some shows by phone if budget or time doesn’t allow someone to go in person. The reporters call up people who won, interview them, get photos from photographers who were there, and put a story together. But what’s missing is the details that good reporters weave into a good story. All the “news” is still there – but those intangible little details are missing.

Beezer’s paper won a Pulitzer for their stories on the riots because they were there, and were able able to make the readers understand what it was like to be there. I’m sure they could still have informed their readers about the riots without actually living through them (I’m sure they would have PREFERRED that it happened that way!) but, by being there, their stories had that something extra.

Reporters go to the scene because they want to show the scene, and they want to talk to the people who are at the scene. The fact that any news organization that can get a reporter and a camera there is allowed to do so is a GOOD thing. This means that no one single entity is able to control or skew the coverage. (A la the official government “newspapers” in countries where the press is severely restricted.)

You said you don’t see the necessity of having reporters at “ground zero”… You said those reports don’t add to the impact for you. Fine and dandy. But for some of us, they do, and I’m glad the reporters are there. I hope you wouldn’t deny me my right to get the news in the way that I would prefer, just because it’s not the way you would prefer.

BTW, I don’t think anyone would hold the OJ fiasco up as an example of the media’s finest hour. But, again, it’s easy to criticize in hindsight and it’s a different story when the drama is unfolding live…

Also, why did ALL the stations have 24/7 coverage? Because it would seem ridiculous to talk about anything else. That’s why Leno, Letterman, et al were off the air last week. They couldn’t just pretend all of this wasn’t going on.

ONE more thing. I take exception to your statement that the media goes for what is “easy”… OJ, for instance. Sorry, but no news organization worth its salt is just going to decide NOT to cover that story. It’s big, it has to be covered.

But if you look a little closer, you’ll see the media trying to champion the little people sometimes… I know the Chronicle tries to do this. Yeah, they have to write about Ms. Big Bucks when she wins at Big Horse Show on Milliondollar Moe. But if someone has a good story, they’ll tell it… although I wonder sometimes if anyone actually reads those.

I’m really not trying to be argumentative, and I’ll be the first to agree that there are some real pinheads in the media. But please don’t just brush off what they do as being unnecessary without trying to understand it.

[InWhyCee]

This overload of information is not allowing anyone time to breath and adjust to the facts… This media blitz is just pushing people past what they can tolerate and is creating worse problems.

---

Excuse me, since when were you appointed Czarina of the Airwaves? As a New Yorker who lives not two miles from the attacks, and who knows people who worked in the WTC (and are safe, I’m happpy to report), I can tell you there are thousands, if not millions, of people who want EVERY BIT of information they can get.

Ask yourself: If your mother-brother-fiance was working on the 93rd Floor and is now missing, would you want to know EVERYTHING the rescue teams are doing? Would you want to get your message to ANYONE who may have seen him or her that morning?

Or, to name some of the less traumatic events we are experiencing in Manhattan, a building one block away from your apartment appears to be collapsing–do you want to know what the engineers are thinking? Do you want to know when you will be able to pass the police barricades to rescue your pets from your own apartment? Does your son or daughter work in the City and you need reassurance that it’s not completely aflame?

If YOU have a problem with media overload, TURN OFF THE DAMN TELEVISION SET (I know I have, because I was too UPSET to watch any more) and GO GIVE BLOOD… RAISE MONEY… COLLECT SUPPLIES… THANK A FIREMAN… LIGHT A CANDLE… AND PRAY.

[Trixie]

We’ve got to form a media clique!!!

Our paper is local, although the distribution’s nearly that of the Washington Times, it’s pretty much within the Washington DC/Metropolitan area, with the exception of a few places in Northern Virginia. Our editor went up to NY this weekend to take a look. Why? Because we paid him to? No, he went on his own time. He went up not because he’d get a pulitzer or any recognition for what he was writing – let’s face it, no matter how good our paper is, it’s small, and our stories probably won’t get mentioned to the big time.
However, he went up there because he wanted to understand his story and know what he was writing about. Yeah, we went to the Pentagon too (though that was easier). He said that he had some time and he wanted to see firsthand so he could report from beyond what’s on CNN, with a firsthand view of it.

If they asked me to go, I’d do it. I know I won’t win any huge awards for it, but to me, that’s irrelevant. Why do I do this job? For me it’s that taking pictures is one of the only things that makes me happy (besides riding) and writing a good story is another thing that makes me happy. It’s a rush to see my stuff in print – the good moreso than the bad. I love to write and take photos – and this is a way for me to be able to do that.

I’m with Jennasis also – none of us enjoy doing harsh news stories with sad endings. I’ve been blessed with the ability to turn off my emotions when I’m working with that stuff, but like I said before, when I go home, I feel it. And I’ll say quite articulately that it really sucks to do that job, but someone’s got to do it.

[Velvet]

I was glad to see that Washington reporter agreeing with me about the repeated images.

Okay, I’m open. Tell me about the coverage last night (that’s when I was watching) that covered the rescue attempts? All I saw (and I was channel surfing before I posted–for 2 hours) was talks with people who saw the planes crash, or who had escaped (which was interesting enough). I saw fleeting conversations with people who had missing loved ones, and montages of the attack that were constantly repeated, and filler conversations with other reports on what they were experiencing…which was usually just a marginally interesting discussion about the dust in the street and look on the faces of those leaving…and asking someone to describe something that they had just stated was “indescribable.”

Like I keep saying, maybe it’s just me…or just me alone when I’m out here.

[AAJumper]

My husband is a firefighter, so I asked him his perspective on the media and whether or not they get in the way. He said that a long time ago, he sort of thought the reporters would get in the way sometimes, but now he’s actually appreciative of their efforts to capture the scene. He really likes the great pictures that they are able to take, and appreciates that. Of course, he really likes it when they get a pic of him and it winds up in the paper.