tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2772956368752433326.post4223469289928958612..comments2024-03-29T05:23:06.618-04:00Comments on Ramona's Voices: Six Things Media Personalities Could and Should Avoid when Covering a DisasterRamona Grigghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07160614050077886238noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2772956368752433326.post-79382053159304547632013-07-31T09:49:53.982-04:002013-07-31T09:49:53.982-04:00Family Guy did a great bit on it.Family Guy did a great bit on it.Cthulhu0818noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2772956368752433326.post-63264594514903951132013-07-31T09:49:22.312-04:002013-07-31T09:49:22.312-04:00I'm with you. How about they just STFU for a ...I'm with you. How about they just STFU for a while and let the story develop, instead of forcing it into places it won't go?<br />If you HAVE to have 24/7 coverage, put the camera on a stand, and pan it back and forth across the scene of destruction, and give an update every couple of hours.Cthulhu0818noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2772956368752433326.post-6735064606491974252013-07-31T09:47:49.783-04:002013-07-31T09:47:49.783-04:00And any of them who use the phrase "Hunker do...And any of them who use the phrase "Hunker down" should be immediately taken out into the storm and beaten senseless with the video camera.Cthulhu0818noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2772956368752433326.post-18679734367611136482013-05-22T19:54:08.588-04:002013-05-22T19:54:08.588-04:00That would be the smart thing to do, and usually I...That would be the smart thing to do, and usually I do change the channels, but as I said, this was big and there were kids involved so i was there waiting to see what was going on. Fortunately, all that waiting gave me food for a blog post. So it ain't all bad.Ramonahttp://ramonasvoices.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2772956368752433326.post-25784626718090635042013-05-22T19:51:56.937-04:002013-05-22T19:51:56.937-04:00Ha! I remember seeing Al Roker get knocked off hi...Ha! I remember seeing Al Roker get knocked off his feet by a big wind gust a few years ago. He's still out there fighting the wind. I have to believe it's not really his idea.Ramonahttp://ramonasvoices.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2772956368752433326.post-9341703130022163972013-05-22T19:45:01.966-04:002013-05-22T19:45:01.966-04:00I agree with you on this; but, I do change the sta...I agree with you on this; but, I do change the station. I pay extra for movies without commercials, which have been very useful recently. When I can't find a good movie, I crank up the dvd player. I just plain will not watch the wall-to-wall coverage of any tragedy because so little is "new" news.Bonnienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2772956368752433326.post-62673881184125406252013-05-22T18:34:57.875-04:002013-05-22T18:34:57.875-04:00As for correspondents standing outside during hurr...As for correspondents standing outside during hurricanes while reporting, I only have one word:<br /><br />D U M B<br /><br />I suppose the producers think it helps make for more dramatic footage or something, but come on, let's be real.<br /><br />Although I don't wish it to happen, it's probably inevitable that one of them will be impaled or decapitated on live television by something big blowing around in gale force winds. Now THAT would be dramatic footage and it would be a dumb way to get it.<br /><br /><br />As you said, they should stand indoors in front of a window. We get the idea that the wind is blowing really, really hard--that's what a hurricane IS. Can't have a hurricane without high, strong winds.isaacnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2772956368752433326.post-85868303417442340552013-05-22T14:29:28.966-04:002013-05-22T14:29:28.966-04:00Great thoughts, KingCranky. There is something a ...Great thoughts, KingCranky. There is something a bit off about the word "tragedy" when describing violent acts, but I had no problem with it during the Sandy Hook reporting. I didn't think it undercut the evil, I felt it underscored it. I remember trying to come up with another word when I was writing about Sandy Hook. The best I could come up with was "gun-inflicted tragedy". I wasn't completely satisfied, but if ever there was a tragedy, that was it.Ramonahttp://ramonasvoices.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2772956368752433326.post-59702161494217902962013-05-22T14:00:29.288-04:002013-05-22T14:00:29.288-04:00A related note, wrong use of the word "traged...A related note, wrong use of the word "tragedy".<br /><br /><br />"Tragedy" should NOT be used when describing a deliberate act of violence, like a terrorist attack, or the Boston Marathon/Olympic Park bombings. A deliberate act of violence is not a "tragedy", although it can have "tragic" aftereffects, such as leaving children without parents or vice versa.<br /><br /><br />The use of the word "tragedy" to describe a deliberate act of violence undercuts the evil of the act itself, it undercuts the wrong done to the victims.<br /><br /><br />And regarding "Ground Zero", you're right.<br /><br /><br />Having been out to the original "Ground Zero" twice, the Trinity Site where the first atomic bomb test was conducted, it's an unsettling feeling standing at the spot where you know, down to the second, the reality & conditions of our future existence absolutely changed.KingCrankynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2772956368752433326.post-29776149158330977012013-05-22T13:59:05.056-04:002013-05-22T13:59:05.056-04:00Thanks, PD. Ugh on that sightseer traffic jam. W...Thanks, PD. Ugh on that sightseer traffic jam. Who does that? Especially when they know they're going to cause problems if they're on the road emergency vehicles need to travel. But, yes, they're the ones the TV people pander to.<br /><br /><br /><br />P.S. I had to look up that word "direful". It's a good one!Ramonahttp://ramonasvoices.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2772956368752433326.post-90980478243960319602013-05-22T13:55:56.675-04:002013-05-22T13:55:56.675-04:00Good one. I forgot that. Thanks.Good one. I forgot that. Thanks.Ramonahttp://ramonasvoices.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2772956368752433326.post-69633511308324319302013-05-22T13:00:22.694-04:002013-05-22T13:00:22.694-04:00Well written, Ramona. Along with filling the giant...Well written, Ramona. Along with filling the giant news void, I'm afraid that a lot of coverage is actually meant to satisfy the curiosity of morbid onlookers. Your estimate that 99 out of 100 viewers don't want to see gore may be too generous. Sticking a microphone in the face of a traumatized victim is the digital version of getting in your car to go see an accident site or watch a house burn down. One news report yesterday mentioned that a traffic jam of sightseers was causing problems for the rescue teams in Moore. The print and online media is showing more and more graphic pictures to satisfy this same "need to know" mentality. Some of those pictures are powerful and send an important message, but as you said, we don't need to see every tear-streaked bloody face to feel empathy for victims of direful events. (broke out the thesaurus in your honor)Pixie_Dusternoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2772956368752433326.post-59159885684271099252013-05-22T12:30:46.390-04:002013-05-22T12:30:46.390-04:00And stop using the term "Ground Zero".And stop using the term "Ground Zero".Trantoriannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2772956368752433326.post-17369113673260043072013-05-22T11:35:47.807-04:002013-05-22T11:35:47.807-04:00Thank you, Isaac. I usually watch those things at...Thank you, Isaac. I usually watch those things at the very beginning and then do as you do and just check in now and then to see what's new. The Oklahoma tornado had me at the edge of my seat for hours, basically because it was so huge and there were schools and children involved.<br />Connie Schultz started this topic on her FB page and I realized that I wasn't the only one who felt this way about both the inanity and the melodrama, so I ran with it.<br /><br /><br />You're right that so much misinformation stems from this apparent need to keep the story going, even when there's nothing there. I tend to take all early reporting with a grain of salt. In this story alone, the first death tolls were 51, with at least two dozen children dead. That turned out to be wrong, but it carried for a full 24 hours before it was corrected. (It was still there when I first published my post. I had to go back and correct it once the true numbers came out.)Ramonahttp://ramonasvoices.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2772956368752433326.post-29778787022464461402013-05-22T10:42:25.605-04:002013-05-22T10:42:25.605-04:00That tendency to air and talk nonstop also contrib...That tendency to air and talk nonstop also contributes heavily to the spread of misinformation. Look at how much of the Boston Marathon bombing's coverage was just flat out wrong. And Sandy Hook. <br /><br /><br /><br />There are still people out there parroting details the media got wrong in both of those.<br /><br /><br />My habit now is to forgo the immediate, live coverage and to wait until the dust clears a little, since the later emerging facts often contradict the live "breaking" coverage, since loads of that "breaking" coverage consists of conjecture and "so and so is reporting..." Too often, so and so doesn't really know anything and is getting it wrong.<br /><br /><br />BTW, Ramona, good piece here, well expressed and reflecting my thoughts exactly. Well done.isaacnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2772956368752433326.post-2145618763344403742013-05-22T09:50:21.163-04:002013-05-22T09:50:21.163-04:00If there is no new information during a disaster i...If there is no new information during a disaster it makes no sense to "force" personalities to spend hours covering essentially nothing. It forces them to get stupid, and they're no help to anyone looking for news.<br /><br /><br />How news personalities cover disasters may not be as earth-shattering as the disaster itself, but they're supposed to be professionals. Changing channels won't help, either. They all do it. Turning off the TV means I might miss what I've been waiting for. <br /><br /><br /><br />This kind of thing bugs me no end. I'm an opinion blogger. This is my opinion. Also my blog.Ramonahttp://ramonasvoices.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2772956368752433326.post-22360912732959576392013-05-22T08:40:35.525-04:002013-05-22T08:40:35.525-04:00I'm afraid some scenes of devastation, and the...I'm afraid some scenes of devastation, and the emotions they evoke, can only be accurately described with the simile "like a battle/war zone". I also think we should have a little patience with TV personalities forced to spend hours "covering" a disaster with little breaking news during most of that time. Change channels if you don't like it, and find something more constructive to complain about. This sounds too much like a First World Problem.Martinnoreply@blogger.com