Media Frenzy

By Rob Holbert Managing Editor

Behind the scenes of local hurricane coverage

Around this time of the year, we’re typically pretty inundated with hurricane coverage – images of journalists standing on some street with trashcans blowing by and trees swaying in the wind. There’s probably a cynical part of most viewers that journalists live for such storms because they make great TV and newspaper stories.

But that cynicism is probably unfounded for the most part, as getting the big story isn’t always as glamorous as people might imagine. For example, some television reporters in our market told me prior to Hurricane Gustav hitting near New Orleans, that they were being sent over to the Mississippi Gulf Coast, or to the Big Easy itself, to wait out the storm.

In hindsight those gigs don’t sound too terribly rough, but this was way before we knew where the storm was going to hit. For all they knew, these reporters could have been right in the eye when it hit. One reporter for a local TV station gave me some insight into what their hours were like when Gustav came. We agreed not to use the reporter’s name simply because it would have required getting clearance from higher ups in order to talk.

The reporter said they were expected to do 12-hour shifts during the storm, but some folks, anchors and meteorologists were on for even longer hours. One reporter worked from 1 p.m. on Sunday to 5 a.m. on Monday, then was back on the air by 8 a.m. and worked until 6 p.m.

Still, this particular reporter says covering hurricanes is exciting, even though it isn’t any fun to see the destruction that comes with it.

Lagniappe’s own photographer Daniel Anderson also routinely works for the European Press Photo Agency when the big storms come into the Gulf, and Gustav was no exception. Anderson went over to New Orleans prior to the storm and waited to see what might come his way. He says some of those covering the storm can push things almost to the edge of what is safe.

“You don’t want to put yourself in harm’s way, but you’ve also got to come back with dramatic photos,” Anderson explained.

Once he was put on notice, Anderson had to put together the supplies he’d need in New Orleans, rent a car and get over there at a time when most everyone else was leaving. The trip took him a couple hours longer than it would under usual circumstances.

“The feelings are mixed – excitement and fear. It’s an adventure. You want to do a good job, but you also want to come back. You have to weigh out the risks of each shot,” Anderson said.

He recalled a couple of shots where journalists were standing on a levee that looked like it was about to break. While everyone was snapping away, Anderson says he was considering what would happen if the levee did break. The answers weren’t too good, he said. Also near the Industrial Canal, Anderson said there was an opportunity for a levee to break.

“Some photographers got right near the flood wall, which seemed like a way to get killed,” Anderson explained.

He also ran across NBC 15’s Darwin Singleton, who was assigned to New Orleans for the story. Photos Anderson took of Darwin covering the storm landed on NewYorkTimes.com.

It’s no sleep and it’s hard work. You’re running all day long,” Anderson explained, adding that it’s also an interesting way to make a living.

Getting political

I was glad to see MSNBC finally realized it needed to pull Chris Matthews and Keith Olberman from the supposedly unbiased “anchor” position when dealing with coverage of the presidential race. The cable news channel announced last week it would put Matthews and Olberman in positions as commentators, not supposedly unbiased newsmen as the race continues.

Frankly, flipping around the stations during the conventions, it was unbelievable to me that Olberman in particular was allowed to act as an anchor. It would be about the same as FOX allowing Bill O’Reilly serve as an objective anchor.

Olberman is so much in the tank for Obama, he might as well have the DNC vet his broadcast before it airs. I wouldn’t even had had much of a problem with him serving in that position if he’d just have acted in an objective fashion while wearing his anchor hat. Instead, he routinely dropped objectivity in the wastebasket and started arguing either for Obama or against McCain. Often, he’d argue with other on-air people as well.

To me, Olberman and O’Reilly are pretty much opposite sides of the same cloth. They’re there to push an agenda – and to bash one another, which is probably the most entertaining thing they do. I’m glad MSNBC at least had the ethics to finally hook Olberman from the anchor’s desk in favor of David Gregory, who will at least offer some semblance of balance.

Rob Holbert is Lagniappe managing editor. Contact him at rholbert@lagniappemobile.com.

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