OK, Is Dennis really the Big Shit, or is it a distraction?

[BiggJawn]

1753 now gone to pay for Bush's mistake,
Plame.
Rove.
DSM.

But what are we getting on Teeee-Veeeee?
File footage of people buying plywood and fighting over ice, that's what.

A Cat-4 storm is nothing to sniff at, but we've had cat-5's that haven't had the MSM in "HOLY SHIT!" mode like this one has...

[NawlinsNed]

1. Uh.... no.

We've had 3 category 5 storms in recorded history that have hit the US mainland, the last one being Andrew in 1992 and only 8 category 4 storms since 1960. These storms ARE a big deal because of the immense amount of damage they cause, and because they're about the only natural disaster you can actually predict. Folks love to watch the idiot reporters standing outside in 100 MPH winds trying to avoid getting their heads taken off by flying debris.

[BiggJawn]

4. Ain't that the truth...

"Folks love to watch the idiot reporters standing outside in 100 MPH winds trying to avoid getting their heads taken off by flying debris."

And the dumb-asses who didn't evacuate and are on camera crying about how their 54" TV got soaked when the roof came off so they can't see themselves being interviewed on the Weather Channel...

Since my original posting, I've heard Dennis came ashore, stubbed his toe on the beach, and is now been down-graded to a cat-2...
Whew! Lucky!

[ovidsen]

2. It's a mere distraction.

Move along... nothing to see here...

[CatholicEdHead]

3. It may be news for most of the next week with flooding

but it will fade quickly. How much the weather dominates news depends on how active the rest of the hurricane season is.

[Maddy McCall]

6. And, face it, Americans like the entertainment of death and destruction.

I think many people were kinda let down that there wasn't more associated with Dennis.

It's crazy, but it shows that American schadenfreude is alive and well.

[Maddy McCall]

5. The worst of the broadcasts was on MSNBC...

where one on-location reporter at a Ramada Inn, before the storm came in, had the camera guy film the Ramada sign, because a tarp blew off of it (OMG! :eyes:) and then made him point the camera at a rainspout coming off the room, and showed where water was puddling in the courtyard of the Ramada (double-OMG! :eyes: )

She was making a big ado about nothing.

But when have we had a Cat 5 that the media didn't play up? I can't remember any storm with more intensity than Dennis that got less attention.

Dennis took a turn for the north at the last minute, and the eyewall collapsed right before it hit the bay. I think panhandle Floridians were very, very lucky, as were Mobile Bay folks. It was one bad MF of a hurricane, there's no doubt about it. And natural disasters tend to get mega attention from the media. Mount Saint Helens eruption, the LA earthquake, and Ivan...they all got big attention. And Ivan wasn't even as intense as Dennis was before Dennis hit the coastal waters.

But I agree that some of the on-loc broadcasts were pretty stoopid. I think some reporters just like to play hero and stand out in the big, bad storm, just for the attention they receive for being daredevils.

[BlueStateGirl]

7. I guess it depends on where you live. Here in Philly... it's a distraction

down along the Gulf Coast, it is probably the Big Shit.

Me, personally, I will admit to watching the coverage for a little bit this afternoon. BUT only because I was secretly hoping one of those jack ass reporters would get whacked with a coconut, or a gas station sign or something.

I guess that makes me a pretty shitty person :)