Media Soul-Searching About Katrina Pet Coverage

The Monday, November 28, New York Times has an article in the business section (Pg C12) headed, "Another Hurricane Side Effect: Some Soul-Searching About the Pet Coverage."

DawnWatch is featured in the piece:
"Karen Dawn, who runs the animal advocacy Web site DawnWatch.com, argues that while the pet press became news-astute with Hurricane Katrina, the rest of the media is still struggling to become pet-aware. 'Public policy is way out of touch with how people feel about their animals, and I think the media is too,' she said.

"While many news outlets initially shied away from reporting on the fate of pets, perhaps fearing it would trivialize the storm's human tragedy, Ms. Dawn pointed out in a Sept. 10 op-ed article in The Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/09/AR2005090901824.html ) that human and pet tolls were inextricably linked."

The New York Times article then refers to the Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act, or PETS Act. (See https://community.hsus.org/campaign/pets_act_house/explanation)

And it includes a wonderful quote from Roy Peter Clark, vice president of the Poynter Institute for Media Studies, who says that news organizations should get someone to cover pets because "It's one of the things that people talk about most, and talk about most with strangers.''

You'll find the whole article on line at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/28/business/28pets.html

It presents a great opportunity for letters to the editor calling for more coverage of animal issues! The New York Times takes letters at letters [at] nytimes.com

Always include your full name, address, and daytime phone number when sending a letter to the editor. Shorter letters are more likely to be published.


(DawnWatch is an animal advocacy media watch that looks at animal issues in the media and facilitates one-click responses to the relevant media outlets. You can learn more about it, and sign up for alerts at http://www.DawnWatch.com.. If you forward or reprint DawnWatch alerts, please do so unedited -- leave DawnWatch in the title and include this tag line.)