Katrina coverage edited for TV
September 7, 2005 6:08 PM
I've watched a lot of Katrina coverage on FOX News, CNN, and MSNBC this past week. It's been strange that reporters rescue workers talking about bodies floating everywhere but the video and photo coverage doesn't support that.
Apparently FEMA has banned photos of the dead.
Seeing floating dead bodies is not the sort of thing I would like to see, but the loss of life is far more important casualty of this storm than the ruined buildings.
We've seen this same phenomena with the Iraq war coverage.
Nobody wants to see the bodies, but by ignoring them I feel that we are dumbing down the coverage of the real causalities of these darker days in our history.
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http://covington.blogspot.com
Posted September 7, 2005 11:09 PM
Also, in a democracy, we require open information about the crisis we all as a country face, to decide as a democracy how to proceed
At least, that's how it worked back when we were a democracy.
http://luisdelarosa.com/blog/
Posted September 8, 2005 2:11 AM
I've been watching a lot of coverage too. And one time, on NewsNight with Aaron Brown, they showed this dead corpse floating in the flood waters of New Orleans and it made my wife and I feel sick to our stomachs. I think we can do without it, especially if you've seen dead and dying people in real life. Yea, property damage is definitely the minor part of it. More relevant and compelling are the suffering of the people. Fortunately it looks like most of the city is evacuated to better places except for a few diehards.
http://www.DylanGreene.com
Posted September 8, 2005 2:37 AM
I should have added that, before any bodies are shown on the news, there should be a warning for those viewers that don't want to see it. I'm told the BBC does this when they are showing bodies in Iraq.
Posted September 8, 2005 2:16 PM
FEMA can not prohibit any news organization from publishing or saying anything.
The actual article states: "The Federal Emergency Management Agency, heavily criticised for its slow response to the devastation caused by the hurricane, rejected requests from journalists to accompany rescue boats as they went out to search for storm victims.
An agency spokeswoman said space was needed on the rescue boats and that "the recovery of the victims is being treated with dignity and the utmost respect"."
And - that does make sense. FEMA needs space in the boats for (hopefully) survivors, and bodies if necessary. And, for multiple reasons of concern, compassion, morality and respect for the deceased and his or her family ... - well - one would hate to learn that a close relative was dead by seeing his or her body floating on the street. Bodies will be shown - and are being shown - but identifying features will be obscured (appropriately) by the media.
But - on their own boats - the press can shoot what they want and publish at will.
Today's New York Times has a picture of a corpse rotting in downtown New Orleans.
There is no prohibition.
http://covington.blogspot.com
Posted September 8, 2005 9:07 PM
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8045532/#050907c
http://covington.blogspot.com
Posted September 8, 2005 9:09 PM
EMTs describe their experience inside:
http://www.emsnetwork.org/artman/publish/article_18337.shtml
http://fotomodelle.deep-ice.com/
Posted April 22, 2008 11:17 AM
http://fotomodelle.deep-ice.com/
http://www.freepages.at/werty/