Date: Tue, 30 Apr 2002 13:27:07 -0400
From: Ted White <tedwhite at compusnet.com>
To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at keithlynch.net>
Subject: [WSFA] Re: Tornado!
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at keithlynch.net>

Erica VD Ginter wrote:

> It's interesting to see how much more media coverage this tornado is getting
> compared with "my" tornado in Sept. The combination of more commercial
> property damage and diminished 9-11 news are obviously major factors. But
> Beltsville is still repairing and cleaning up, and Lydia still panics when
> there is heavy rain, wind, and/or thunder and lightening. And you can bet
> she wasn't especially calm on Sunday when we were following the weather
> reports! In the long run, I think the Ginter family personal disaster
> ratings for September went (highest to lowest): Puppy, tornado, 9-11. How
> unpatriotic of us.

Channel 9 obnoxiously interrupted 60 MINUTES repeatedly -- destroying two of the
three pieces presented on that program -- with non-news about the storm *before*
it crossed the river into Maryland.   Previously it had devoted its entire
half-hour local news program to reporters standing about saying "the sky is
getting darker now -- I bet it's a lot worse south of here" and repeated showing
of its much-vaunted "Dopler 9" "real-time" radar images which simply showed the
storm south of Springfield.  And before *that* they interrupted and co-opted the
CBS network news.

Absolutely *nothing* Channel 9 showed during these interuptions was necessary or
could not have been dealt with in a "crawl" on the screen.  (And much of 60
MINUTES had banners imposed over the top of the screen.)  This kind of media
hysteria *before the fact* reminds me of the boy who cried wolf.   No doubt
Channel 9's news honchos are crowing now about how they were "on top" of the
storm as it approached La Plata, but as far as I can see they screwed up two
hours of broadcasting to no positive effect.

--Ted White