TV news stars head to New Orleans instead of Republican convention

One more case of "if it bleeds, it leads" when it comes to the media. The stars just have to be the ones to report on this monster heading for New Orleans once more. Why is it they cannot just send in a film crew to cover it instead? Because they know people will be tuned in for news of the damage the storm is leaving behind.

Wouldn't it be great if they paid this much attention to the events that change people's lives the same way? Coverage of Iraq and Afghanistan, the people of both nations, our troops, our wounded, the fallen, the families, none of them are worthy of such coverage yet a storm, well now, that's something they really need to be there for. Plan on up to four days of non-stop coverage of this and then they go away and forget all about it. Forget about the lives of the people who will be forever changed. Forget about the fact they will have lost everything they had, yet again. Forget about what the hurricane will do to all of them as long as they get this story as it happens, that's all that matters. Anderson Cooper on CNN is just about the only one who was interested in finding out what happened to the people after Katrina hit. Let's see if anyone is interested this time or not. Somehow, I doubt it.

TV network news anchors descending on New Orleans
by The Associated Press
Sunday August 31, 2008, 7:55 PM
NEW YORK -- Television networks rapidly shifted focus and personnel away from the Republican national convention to Gulf Coast communities in the path of Hurricane Gustav on Sunday, wondering how much of their political planning will be for naught.

Anchors Katie Couric, Charles Gibson, Brian Williams, Anderson Cooper and Shepard Smith were all going to the New Orleans area for the storm instead of being with Republicans in St. Paul, Minn.

Whether they will be heading north at all depends on the strength of the storm at Monday's expected landfall. President Bush and Vice President Cheney both canceled plans to be at the convention, where they were to be featured Monday, and the GOP was considering other changes to its program.

"We're going to go with the biggest story of the day tomorrow," said Jay Wallace, a news vice president at Fox News Channel, "and right now the biggest story of the day is the storm."

Along with Smith, Fox was sending Geraldo Rivera and at least a dozen crews to the Gulf. Fox had been anticipating a big week in St. Paul; its ratings topped every broadcast and cable network at the 2004 GOP convention.

It's unclear how viewers will respond this time if the storm eclipses the convention as a story.
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http://www.nola.com/hurricane/index.ssf/2008/08/tv_network_news_anchors_descen.html