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Viewpoint: Has Katrina saved US media?
As President Bush scurries back to the Gulf Coast, it is clear that this is the greatest challenge to politics-as-usual in America since the fall of Richard Nixon in the 1970s.
Then as now, good reporting lies at the heart of what is changing.
But unlike Watergate, "Katrinagate" was public service journalism ruthlessly exposing the truth on a live and continuous basis.
Instead of secretive "Deep Throat" meetings in car-parks, cameras captured the immediate reality of what was happening at the New Orleans Convention Center, making a mockery of the stalling and excuses being put forward by those in power.
Amidst the horror, American broadcast journalism just might have grown its spine back, thanks to Katrina.
National politics reporters and anchors here come largely from the same race and class as the people they are supposed to be holding to account.
They live in the same suburbs, go to the same parties, and they are in debt to the same huge business interests.
Giant corporations own the networks, and Washington politicians rely on them and their executives to fund their re-election campaigns across the 50 states.
It is a perfect recipe for a timid and self-censoring journalistic culture that is no match for the masterfully aggressive spin-surgeons of the Bush administration.
'Lies or ignorance'
But last week the complacency stopped, and the moral indignation against inadequate government began to flow, from slick anchors who spend most of their time glued to desks in New York and Washington.
The most spectacular example came last Friday night on Fox News, the cable network that has become the darling of the Republican heartland.
This highly successful Murdoch-owned station sets itself up in opposition to the "mainstream liberal media elite".
But with the sick and the dying forced to sit in their own excrement behind him in New Orleans, its early-evening anchor Shepard Smith declared civil war against the studio-driven notion that the biggest problem was still stopping the looters.
On other networks like NBC, CNN and ABC it was the authority figures, who are so used to an easy ride at press conferences, that felt the full force of reporters finally determined to ditch the deference.
As the heads of the Homeland Security department and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) appeared for network interviews, their defensive remarks about where aid was arriving to, and when, were exposed immediately as either downright lies or breath-taking ignorance.
And you did not need a degree in journalism to know it either. Just watching TV for the previous few hours would have sufficed.
Iraq concern
When the back-slapping president told the Fema boss on Friday morning that he was doing "a heck of a job" and spent most of his first live news conference in the stricken area praising all the politicians and chiefs who had failed so clearly, it beggared belief.
The president looked affronted when a reporter covering his Mississippi walkabout had the temerity to suggest that having a third of the National Guard from the affected states on duty in Iraq might be a factor.
It is something I suspect he is going to have to get used to from now on: the list of follow-up questions is too long to ignore or bury.
And it is not only on TV and radio where the gloves have come off.
The most artful supporter of the administration on the staff of the New York Times, columnist David Brooks, has also had enough.
He and others are calling the debacle the "anti 9-11": "The first rule of the social fabric - that in times of crisis you protect the vulnerable - was trampled," he wrote on Sunday.
"Leaving the poor in New Orleans was the moral equivalent of leaving the injured on the battlefield."
Media emboldened
It is way too early to tell whether this really will become "Katrinagate" for President Bush, but how he and his huge retinue of politically-appointed bureaucrats react in the weeks ahead will be decisive.
Government has been thrown into disrepute, and many Americans have realised, for the first time, that the collapsed, rotten flood defences of New Orleans are a symbol of failed infrastructure across the nation.
Blaming the state and city officials, as the president is already trying to do over Katrina, will not wash.
Beyond the immediate challenge of re-housing the evacuees and getting 200,000-plus children into new schools, there will have to be a Katrina Commission, that a newly-emboldened media will scrutinise obsessively.
The dithering and incompetence that will be exposed will not spare the commander-in-chief, or the sunny, faith-based propaganda that he was still spouting as he left New Orleans airport last Friday, saying it was all going to turn out fine.
People were still trapped, hungry and dying on his watch, less than a mile away.
Black America will not forget the government failures, nor will the Gulf Coast region.
Tens of thousands of voters whose lives have been so devastated will cast their mid-term ballots in Texas next year - the president's adopted home state.
The final word belongs to the historic newspaper at the centre of the hurricane - The New Orleans Times-Picayune. At the weekend, this now-homeless institution published an open letter: "We're angry, Mr President, and we'll be angry long after our beloved city and surrounding parishes have been pumped dry.
"Our people deserved rescuing. Many who could have been, were not. That's to the government's shame."
Do you agree or disagree, send your comments on the story using the form below.
The travesty of the Bush government's response to the catastrophe in New Orleans has shamed this nation before the eyes of the world. How is it that we can muster the resources to invade and occupy Iraq, but yet cannot effectively confront a natural disaster on our own shores? Congressional hearings should be held immediately to assign responsibility and insure that such a thing can never happen again.
Tim Barrett, Three Rivers, USA
I don't understand why people think that one person (George Bush) would be responsible for any slow response to this tragedy. First of all, it is arguable that response rests in the hands of a government. Individuals and organisations of individuals (not necessarily government funded) can and did rush into help. Secondly, the New Orleans mayor, and state governor, if anyone in government, should be blamed for slow response. Mobilisation to tragedy absolutely needs to begin at the local level.
Paul Perrone, Crozet, VA
I think it's entirely too bad that so many thousands of people have to die from disaster on American soil before the mainstream media starts paying attention to citizens' anger and telling the truth. I wish they had had this kind of integrity and truth in reporting when Bush sent American troops to Iraq to wreak havoc on thousands of THEIR citizens.
Susan, Madison, WI, USA
I hope that coverage like this continues even after the "novelty" of our demise has worn off. The Gulf Coast deserves answers. We have watched our fair city crumble, we have watched people die, we have listened to the ego-driven denial spew from our president's mouth and it is evil. We may have lost everything but I hope that this is what the rest of this country needs to realise the danger we are in with our current administration. It's time we take back American politics and demand change. I grieve for the loss of life in New Orleans and the rest of the Gulf Coast, I grieve for the city that will never be the same. But, I challenge those who are ready to move on to the next big story to please not let this one go. We were rejected on a federal level and people died, homes were lost and sickness will ensue.
Joey Erwin, New Orleans, La
I completely agree with this article, the media seems to be criticizing the administration here, or at least to a certain extent. The fact remains that the government has grossly failed its own citizens.
Aldo Gonzalez, San Diego, California
I agree completely. It is tragic that it has needed such a catastrophe to reveal the Bush regime, administration seems too innocuous a word, for what it is. Michael Moore, for all his failings, would appear to be on the right track.
D. Fear, Heidelberg, Germany
As an American expat currently working in the Middle East, my heart breaks over what is happening in my country and my anger rises on how badly this pack of fools ruining my beloved country have failed their job. If impeachment charges could be filed against Clinton over flimsy accusations, then impeachment charges should be filed against Bush and his "Department of Homeland Insecurity" head for their gross mishandling of the situation. And the GOP funky now ruining FEMA should be sacked, and FEMA restored to the cabinet-level position it once held, before the fiasco that is Department of Homeland Security was created.
It's nice to see that the US Media has finally grown a spine - I just wish it had been sooner.
Patrick McKinnion, Doha, Qatar
I agree in full and I strongly believe that this administration will get their well deserved "come up in's". We reap what we sow and this President and his pack of oil chasers have sewn only lies, illusions, and fear.
J Pesterle, Kapaa, Hawaii
The government should be roundly criticised for underestimating the relief effort requires, but in a country where poverty does not necessarily mean lack of television or means to transport ones self, many of those who did not leave, who were allegedly left with no choice to leave, could have probably done so.
Why is this effort being split along race grounds? It is a fact that a large percentage of the population of New Orleans is black, therefore a large percentage of those stranded would have been black, and whilst it may be unpalatable to many in a country as politically sensitive as America, many of those hindering the emergency services and committing atrocities are also black. It is time to face up to the sub-culture that exists without resorting to the race card.
Hemal Shah, London, UK
Of course they've been lying. Of course the media knew it, the BBC included. It's not only the American media that are rich and white.
Now how about telling the truth, retroactively as well as prospectively, as you see it, catch us citizens up on what else you have known the governments are lying about?
Hank Roberts, Berkeley, CA, USA
Bush administration has always been in self-denial mode, be it 9-11 or Katrina. The response of the administration is a reflection of Bush's personality, that is defensive, ego-driven, low on self esteem and compulsive lying.
Rajesh Raheja, New Delhi, India
Matt Wells' article is a clear, highly erudite, well-balanced and chillingly revealing account of what is the truth behind the pathetic posturing of the powerful in the USA - be it White House, the Senate, Hollywood, big business or whatever.
He has put into words what I have always thought, and has given me sleepless nights, but with prose I could never hope to match.
Nicholas Colley, Fresney France
President Bush has long been an embarrassment to our country and hopefully people will realize after this unbelievable event that they have had enough his leadership.
Diana Brown Johanson, Port Townsend, WA
I believe that it is honourable and laudable the efforts made by the media to stamp out politically biased media, and to report the truth and place the blame where it belongs.
I extend my support to journalists, writers, broadcasters, and individuals who stand up and voice their concerns to our sickeningly poll-driven administration.
Ryan Knoppe, La Grange, Illinois United States
Excellent article, genuine news, information and analysis. We need to see more of this.
Neil Messam, Swansea, UK
I agree, but I also know that the Rove character assassination team will now start to roll. Soon preachers will be calling the hurricane God's punishment on those wicked people of New Orleans.
Already here on Houston TV officials are looking into setting a curfew and possibly locking the survivors in at night, all because some Bambi type felt uneasy seeing so many black people out at night around the Astrodome.
Personally, I'd like to see a full accounting of the money that has been spent on homeland security, I think my fellow countrymen would be shocked and appalled at the level of corruption that now permeates every part of our government.
Marvin Bote, Houston, USA
I agree and am ashamed.
Ben Rice, Santa Cruz, California, USA
Are you kidding me? What could you possibly know about what is going on over here? Your country didn't even care about Katrina before Tuesday, and now you think that the US media is to be acclaimed for its reporting?
Do you have any idea that people were ordered to evacuate two days before the storm hit? Did you know that disaster preparedness starts at the state and local level, b/c on this side of the pond we don't have everything handed to us by the government who lead us around with a mediocre leash.
Those who couldn't evacuate should have been dealt with according to the plan that New Orleans should have had in place, got a copy of that? I'm sure they'll back date it for you to make it look correct. Just stay on your side of the pond and defend your reporting methods, as vague and useless as they are over here. Congrats, cheerio
Neil Holloran, VA, USA
It is about time the US press showed some professionalism, the sheer hypocrisy of the US government is about to be exposed if enough editors and journalists hold their nerve and have the guts to expose these lies and shoddy performances at the Federal, State and local level.
The US is not the only country to cut investment in the infrastructure of the nation to ensure the "good life" for their voters and to appease their financial backers, but this may be the biggest fallout from this type of governmental mismanagement.
Is there really a difference in the way Bush is (mis)managing the US and the way his friends at Halliburton, Enron, Tyco, Global Crossing, World Com etc, ran their companies?
The financial pain for US citizens is really going to start to increase as it is not only the Levees in Louisiana that have neglected, there are other areas of the US suffering from the same neglect and waiting to be found out to the huge future cost, financial and emotional, of the local residents.
George Adam, Singapore
Once again the BBC has proven to be one of the best commentators on America. As an American who has looked on with anger and disgust at not only this past weeks events but the American media's incompetence over the past few years, their ferociousness this past week has been a welcome ray of hope that America may be finally coming to terms with itself. That some of the reporters and commentators at Fox News are now starting to join in does not bode well for the current administration's time left in office.
John Haynes, Cincinnati,Ohio USA
Once again BBC has shown it's bias face. I find it amazing that in this Democrat state that Republicans are somehow to blame. The same goes with the poor in New York and California where Republicans continue to be blamed for the poverty when the Democrats have had a very long time in power to do something.
Where was the mayor of New Orleans. Last time I checked it was the mayor who had major control over police and other city government officials who were needed. When hurricanes strike Florida every year, you do not have this whining by the Governor or mayors.
Sean, Tennessee, USA
This entire article can be condensed into the proposal that the majority of the problems stemming from Katrina are a result of incompetence in the Bush administration and the spin protecting him is now crumbling.
Instead of then supporting this argument with any reasoning, the journalist repeats his assumptions in various ways and descriptive harbingers of the doom hanging over those he dislikes.
The only meaningful information present is that the journalist believes the evacuation of poor and minority persons to be too slow and questions the impact of a reduced national guard, but neither is supported by any detail whatsoever or ties either to anyone other then unnamed administration officials.
Illidan, Anchorage, Alaska
The US media is very aggressive when it comes to domestic issues, but never when it comes to international issues, especially when the viewpoint is not in the interests of US.
Razi, San Francisco, CA
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4214516.stm
But unlike Watergate, "Katrinagate" was public service journalism ruthlessly exposing the truth on a live and continuous basis.
Instead of secretive "Deep Throat" meetings in car-parks, cameras captured the immediate reality of what was happening at the New Orleans Convention Center, making a mockery of the stalling and excuses being put forward by those in power.
Amidst the horror, American broadcast journalism just might have grown its spine back, thanks to Katrina.
National politics reporters and anchors here come largely from the same race and class as the people they are supposed to be holding to account.
They live in the same suburbs, go to the same parties, and they are in debt to the same huge business interests.
Giant corporations own the networks, and Washington politicians rely on them and their executives to fund their re-election campaigns across the 50 states.
It is a perfect recipe for a timid and self-censoring journalistic culture that is no match for the masterfully aggressive spin-surgeons of the Bush administration.
'Lies or ignorance'
But last week the complacency stopped, and the moral indignation against inadequate government began to flow, from slick anchors who spend most of their time glued to desks in New York and Washington.
The most spectacular example came last Friday night on Fox News, the cable network that has become the darling of the Republican heartland.
This highly successful Murdoch-owned station sets itself up in opposition to the "mainstream liberal media elite".
But with the sick and the dying forced to sit in their own excrement behind him in New Orleans, its early-evening anchor Shepard Smith declared civil war against the studio-driven notion that the biggest problem was still stopping the looters.
On other networks like NBC, CNN and ABC it was the authority figures, who are so used to an easy ride at press conferences, that felt the full force of reporters finally determined to ditch the deference.
As the heads of the Homeland Security department and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) appeared for network interviews, their defensive remarks about where aid was arriving to, and when, were exposed immediately as either downright lies or breath-taking ignorance.
And you did not need a degree in journalism to know it either. Just watching TV for the previous few hours would have sufficed.
Iraq concern
When the back-slapping president told the Fema boss on Friday morning that he was doing "a heck of a job" and spent most of his first live news conference in the stricken area praising all the politicians and chiefs who had failed so clearly, it beggared belief.
The president looked affronted when a reporter covering his Mississippi walkabout had the temerity to suggest that having a third of the National Guard from the affected states on duty in Iraq might be a factor.
It is something I suspect he is going to have to get used to from now on: the list of follow-up questions is too long to ignore or bury.
And it is not only on TV and radio where the gloves have come off.
The most artful supporter of the administration on the staff of the New York Times, columnist David Brooks, has also had enough.
He and others are calling the debacle the "anti 9-11": "The first rule of the social fabric - that in times of crisis you protect the vulnerable - was trampled," he wrote on Sunday.
"Leaving the poor in New Orleans was the moral equivalent of leaving the injured on the battlefield."
Media emboldened
It is way too early to tell whether this really will become "Katrinagate" for President Bush, but how he and his huge retinue of politically-appointed bureaucrats react in the weeks ahead will be decisive.
Government has been thrown into disrepute, and many Americans have realised, for the first time, that the collapsed, rotten flood defences of New Orleans are a symbol of failed infrastructure across the nation.
Blaming the state and city officials, as the president is already trying to do over Katrina, will not wash.
Beyond the immediate challenge of re-housing the evacuees and getting 200,000-plus children into new schools, there will have to be a Katrina Commission, that a newly-emboldened media will scrutinise obsessively.
The dithering and incompetence that will be exposed will not spare the commander-in-chief, or the sunny, faith-based propaganda that he was still spouting as he left New Orleans airport last Friday, saying it was all going to turn out fine.
People were still trapped, hungry and dying on his watch, less than a mile away.
Black America will not forget the government failures, nor will the Gulf Coast region.
Tens of thousands of voters whose lives have been so devastated will cast their mid-term ballots in Texas next year - the president's adopted home state.
The final word belongs to the historic newspaper at the centre of the hurricane - The New Orleans Times-Picayune. At the weekend, this now-homeless institution published an open letter: "We're angry, Mr President, and we'll be angry long after our beloved city and surrounding parishes have been pumped dry.
"Our people deserved rescuing. Many who could have been, were not. That's to the government's shame."
Do you agree or disagree, send your comments on the story using the form below.
The travesty of the Bush government's response to the catastrophe in New Orleans has shamed this nation before the eyes of the world. How is it that we can muster the resources to invade and occupy Iraq, but yet cannot effectively confront a natural disaster on our own shores? Congressional hearings should be held immediately to assign responsibility and insure that such a thing can never happen again.
Tim Barrett, Three Rivers, USA
I don't understand why people think that one person (George Bush) would be responsible for any slow response to this tragedy. First of all, it is arguable that response rests in the hands of a government. Individuals and organisations of individuals (not necessarily government funded) can and did rush into help. Secondly, the New Orleans mayor, and state governor, if anyone in government, should be blamed for slow response. Mobilisation to tragedy absolutely needs to begin at the local level.
Paul Perrone, Crozet, VA
I think it's entirely too bad that so many thousands of people have to die from disaster on American soil before the mainstream media starts paying attention to citizens' anger and telling the truth. I wish they had had this kind of integrity and truth in reporting when Bush sent American troops to Iraq to wreak havoc on thousands of THEIR citizens.
Susan, Madison, WI, USA
I hope that coverage like this continues even after the "novelty" of our demise has worn off. The Gulf Coast deserves answers. We have watched our fair city crumble, we have watched people die, we have listened to the ego-driven denial spew from our president's mouth and it is evil. We may have lost everything but I hope that this is what the rest of this country needs to realise the danger we are in with our current administration. It's time we take back American politics and demand change. I grieve for the loss of life in New Orleans and the rest of the Gulf Coast, I grieve for the city that will never be the same. But, I challenge those who are ready to move on to the next big story to please not let this one go. We were rejected on a federal level and people died, homes were lost and sickness will ensue.
Joey Erwin, New Orleans, La
I completely agree with this article, the media seems to be criticizing the administration here, or at least to a certain extent. The fact remains that the government has grossly failed its own citizens.
Aldo Gonzalez, San Diego, California
I agree completely. It is tragic that it has needed such a catastrophe to reveal the Bush regime, administration seems too innocuous a word, for what it is. Michael Moore, for all his failings, would appear to be on the right track.
D. Fear, Heidelberg, Germany
As an American expat currently working in the Middle East, my heart breaks over what is happening in my country and my anger rises on how badly this pack of fools ruining my beloved country have failed their job. If impeachment charges could be filed against Clinton over flimsy accusations, then impeachment charges should be filed against Bush and his "Department of Homeland Insecurity" head for their gross mishandling of the situation. And the GOP funky now ruining FEMA should be sacked, and FEMA restored to the cabinet-level position it once held, before the fiasco that is Department of Homeland Security was created.
It's nice to see that the US Media has finally grown a spine - I just wish it had been sooner.
Patrick McKinnion, Doha, Qatar
I agree in full and I strongly believe that this administration will get their well deserved "come up in's". We reap what we sow and this President and his pack of oil chasers have sewn only lies, illusions, and fear.
J Pesterle, Kapaa, Hawaii
The government should be roundly criticised for underestimating the relief effort requires, but in a country where poverty does not necessarily mean lack of television or means to transport ones self, many of those who did not leave, who were allegedly left with no choice to leave, could have probably done so.
Why is this effort being split along race grounds? It is a fact that a large percentage of the population of New Orleans is black, therefore a large percentage of those stranded would have been black, and whilst it may be unpalatable to many in a country as politically sensitive as America, many of those hindering the emergency services and committing atrocities are also black. It is time to face up to the sub-culture that exists without resorting to the race card.
Hemal Shah, London, UK
Of course they've been lying. Of course the media knew it, the BBC included. It's not only the American media that are rich and white.
Now how about telling the truth, retroactively as well as prospectively, as you see it, catch us citizens up on what else you have known the governments are lying about?
Hank Roberts, Berkeley, CA, USA
Bush administration has always been in self-denial mode, be it 9-11 or Katrina. The response of the administration is a reflection of Bush's personality, that is defensive, ego-driven, low on self esteem and compulsive lying.
Rajesh Raheja, New Delhi, India
Matt Wells' article is a clear, highly erudite, well-balanced and chillingly revealing account of what is the truth behind the pathetic posturing of the powerful in the USA - be it White House, the Senate, Hollywood, big business or whatever.
He has put into words what I have always thought, and has given me sleepless nights, but with prose I could never hope to match.
Nicholas Colley, Fresney France
President Bush has long been an embarrassment to our country and hopefully people will realize after this unbelievable event that they have had enough his leadership.
Diana Brown Johanson, Port Townsend, WA
I believe that it is honourable and laudable the efforts made by the media to stamp out politically biased media, and to report the truth and place the blame where it belongs.
I extend my support to journalists, writers, broadcasters, and individuals who stand up and voice their concerns to our sickeningly poll-driven administration.
Ryan Knoppe, La Grange, Illinois United States
Excellent article, genuine news, information and analysis. We need to see more of this.
Neil Messam, Swansea, UK
I agree, but I also know that the Rove character assassination team will now start to roll. Soon preachers will be calling the hurricane God's punishment on those wicked people of New Orleans.
Already here on Houston TV officials are looking into setting a curfew and possibly locking the survivors in at night, all because some Bambi type felt uneasy seeing so many black people out at night around the Astrodome.
Personally, I'd like to see a full accounting of the money that has been spent on homeland security, I think my fellow countrymen would be shocked and appalled at the level of corruption that now permeates every part of our government.
Marvin Bote, Houston, USA
I agree and am ashamed.
Ben Rice, Santa Cruz, California, USA
Are you kidding me? What could you possibly know about what is going on over here? Your country didn't even care about Katrina before Tuesday, and now you think that the US media is to be acclaimed for its reporting?
Do you have any idea that people were ordered to evacuate two days before the storm hit? Did you know that disaster preparedness starts at the state and local level, b/c on this side of the pond we don't have everything handed to us by the government who lead us around with a mediocre leash.
Those who couldn't evacuate should have been dealt with according to the plan that New Orleans should have had in place, got a copy of that? I'm sure they'll back date it for you to make it look correct. Just stay on your side of the pond and defend your reporting methods, as vague and useless as they are over here. Congrats, cheerio
Neil Holloran, VA, USA
It is about time the US press showed some professionalism, the sheer hypocrisy of the US government is about to be exposed if enough editors and journalists hold their nerve and have the guts to expose these lies and shoddy performances at the Federal, State and local level.
The US is not the only country to cut investment in the infrastructure of the nation to ensure the "good life" for their voters and to appease their financial backers, but this may be the biggest fallout from this type of governmental mismanagement.
Is there really a difference in the way Bush is (mis)managing the US and the way his friends at Halliburton, Enron, Tyco, Global Crossing, World Com etc, ran their companies?
The financial pain for US citizens is really going to start to increase as it is not only the Levees in Louisiana that have neglected, there are other areas of the US suffering from the same neglect and waiting to be found out to the huge future cost, financial and emotional, of the local residents.
George Adam, Singapore
Once again the BBC has proven to be one of the best commentators on America. As an American who has looked on with anger and disgust at not only this past weeks events but the American media's incompetence over the past few years, their ferociousness this past week has been a welcome ray of hope that America may be finally coming to terms with itself. That some of the reporters and commentators at Fox News are now starting to join in does not bode well for the current administration's time left in office.
John Haynes, Cincinnati,Ohio USA
Once again BBC has shown it's bias face. I find it amazing that in this Democrat state that Republicans are somehow to blame. The same goes with the poor in New York and California where Republicans continue to be blamed for the poverty when the Democrats have had a very long time in power to do something.
Where was the mayor of New Orleans. Last time I checked it was the mayor who had major control over police and other city government officials who were needed. When hurricanes strike Florida every year, you do not have this whining by the Governor or mayors.
Sean, Tennessee, USA
This entire article can be condensed into the proposal that the majority of the problems stemming from Katrina are a result of incompetence in the Bush administration and the spin protecting him is now crumbling.
Instead of then supporting this argument with any reasoning, the journalist repeats his assumptions in various ways and descriptive harbingers of the doom hanging over those he dislikes.
The only meaningful information present is that the journalist believes the evacuation of poor and minority persons to be too slow and questions the impact of a reduced national guard, but neither is supported by any detail whatsoever or ties either to anyone other then unnamed administration officials.
Illidan, Anchorage, Alaska
The US media is very aggressive when it comes to domestic issues, but never when it comes to international issues, especially when the viewpoint is not in the interests of US.
Razi, San Francisco, CA
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4214516.stm
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Special condemnation is reserved for every elected official or spokesperson -- trained by media professionals -- who stands before a television camera and fails to answer direct questions from reporters.
Next in line: every reporter who allows an elected official or spokesperson or agency official to get away with evasion, coached by media professionals. The relentless redirecting of questions by interviewers back to talking points, unchallenged in many cases by television personalities, is unacceptable.
And shouldn't there be a law to ban television "news" channels that collaborate with interviewees -- lines of questioning, talking points, and leading questions that default to pre-arranged answers?
That propaganda passes for news in the United States is a national disgrace, in and of itself.
There may be a hundred explanations why this is so. But if I could single out one interest group to step forward to explain itself in light of the New Orleans tragedy, it would be the architects of the dominant political class who came to power on the persuasive arguments that it is necessary to "starve the beast of government" and in doing so, fundamentally threatened our safety.
Starving the federal budget and draining the Treasury deserves full explanation now that we are witnessing, in exquisite detail, what can happen.
America deserves answers because the human tragedy of New Orleans -- most visibly stamped on the weak and powerless-- is unacceptable. The failure of taxpayer investment, planning, and protection of citizens' public health and safety and welfare is unacceptable.
Americans are outraged by the descent of New Orleans into chaos and hopelessness, and graphic demonstrations how the neediest suffer the most. The single lesson to take from Hurricane Katrina, however, is how little separates civilized society from lawlessness when large-scale systems fail.
In the face of terrorists determined to attack the Western world's large-scale infrastructure systems, we have failed to adapt. Katrina disclosed the weakness in failing to account adequately for backup systems to ensure the supply chain for products we need to survive -- from energy, to food, to transportation.
A natural disaster has shaken the large-scale systems we depend on to the core.
Now, all of our large-scale systems deserve scrutiny, especially those that serve the electric utility and power needs of the U.S. economy. The need to fundamentally reform energy supply and consumption has been ignored by the Bush White House. It represents, in fact, the outmoded large-scale systems that are putting Americans at enormous risk.
Read More
http://counterpunch.com/farago09052005.html