I heard a few very interesting Sandy related comments today on NPR.

[MarianJack]

They were from people who didn't evacuate because they'd heard news media calls to evacuate before when the hurricane turned out to be not so bad. Some described themselves as "stupid".

It made me think of some of the media coverage related to some of the weather disasters since my first such experience, which was with hurricane Gloria in September of 1985. The news media had us convinced that we were all going to be on the roofs of our houses waiting for the National Guard boats to rescue us.

As it turned out, Gloria developed into one hell of a rainstorm with just about the worst thing to happen was that several Atlantic City casinos had to replace carpets. There was OUTRAGE!

I'm sure that we can all think about several instances of the news media WAY over-reacting to possibilities. Remember Y2K? One of my favorite examples was when we were being told that some pandemic or another during george w turdhead's 2nd term. On CBS This Morning, Hannah Storm was interviewing a talking head from the administration who told us in one breath that we needed to have plenty of flashlights, candles and batteries for WHEN the power went out. In the next breath we were advised to have plenty og DVDs available to keep the kids entertained...and Hannah Storm just let it go.

Please understand that I am not for one second saying that people shouldn't be made aware of the actual dangers of natural disasters. However, to me this seems to be the reactions of people who've heard "wolf" a few hundred times too many. I can only wonder what would happen if the news media were to go back to the notion that their job is to INFORM, not to incite panic.

I remember back in the 80s, my father made th comment that the American Cancer Society had lost it's credibility because when EVERYTHING causes cancer, than NOTHING causes cancer.

Perhaps the medis should learn that when EVERYTHING is worthy of panic, than NOTHING is worthy of panic

That's my 2 cents, and quite possibly overpriced at that!

BTW, where re the taxes, willard?

PEACE!

[defacto7]

1. It is the cry wolf syndrome

but people need to educate themselves about what is predictable and what is probable. The weather is not predictable, earthquakes are not predictable. But there are probabilities that these things are more or less likely. People are so used to instant information and immediate gratification that they just don't get the idea that some things don't work that way. If they say move, we move because of the probability that you could get hurt or killed.

When it comes to the unpredictable, there is no "cry wolf syndrome". You just act.

[MarianJack]

2. If we ever hear an evacuation, than...

...we're getting our asses to safety.

However, the media LOVES to incite panic.

PEACE!

[defacto7]

5. Do they?

[MarianJack]

6. Yes, they do.

[defacto7]

18. I am now enlightened!

[nadinbrzezinski]

3. Just a little hint

The media is reading national weather service product. By this logic w shoud stop running the red flag warnings since most of the time we don't get big fires...

Yes, reporters are not experts. In a situation involving weather we rely on the NWS product.

[MarianJack]

7. We rely on the NWS product, but...

...the news writers and readers determine how the information is presented.

PEACE!

[nadinbrzezinski]

9. Not necessarily

A few times we have removed bluntness. We, at least the small paper, just runs NWS straight. We have been acused of panic, until we point out, this is direct copy.

[MarianJack]

12. I meant the broadcast media., so...

...perhaps I should have made that clear.

You're not implying that cable "news" and even many network and local stations don't sensationalize, are you?

PEACE!

[nadinbrzezinski]

13. Well, jim Cantore has been acused of such

I watched coverage and when he gave you the forecast it was...almost word for word NWS product.

Yup, I read along Jim.

Found it instructional actually.

Some of the product in the recent past has gotten down right blunt, that is global weather change fer ya.

[MarianJack]

14. Where is Jim Cantore?

We haven't had cable or dish for awhile. We do Netflix through our WII or DVDs for entertainment and stream some news from the web otherwise.

Thanx.

PEACE!

[nadinbrzezinski]

15. The weather channel

[MarianJack]

16. Thanx!

PEACE!

[nadinbrzezinski]

17. Some of us post raw text from the NWS

When storms come.

Do read them. For this storm, god they were as blunt as I have ever seen.

[jenw2]

4. At work, everything we print has to be in bold...

my boss didn't understand my comment and threatened to fire me after I said "if everything is in bold then nothing is in bold." I think you, unlike him, would get that. But this part I do not understand:

"when EVERYTHING is worthy of panic, than NOTHING is worthy of panic"

What are you comparing the first part to?

[MarianJack]

8. You haven't noticed...

...just how often the media works so hard to keep us terrified?

PEACE!

[rgbecker]

10. When I was a kid in the 50's.....

My Neighbor dug his own bomb shelter. His kids and all the other kids spent the next 10 years playing in and around it...great fun!

[MarianJack]

11. That's what happened with an uncle of mine in Califiornia.

PEACE!