By now you may have seen the video .. CNN microphones and reporters converging on relief shelters all across the 4th largest city in the United States. As Houston deals with an immense disaster of proportions typical of Old Testament disasters, journalists wearing parkas and hats with their media employer’s emblem embossed are vying for a position to interview people as they show up.. shivering people. Hungry people. People with children.
After what happened to CNN’s reporter and also host of the program Jim Acosta back in studio..
The woman, who at this point remains unidentified, was seemingly prepped for an interview live on air. She was speaking in a hurried tone about rescue efforts, about her struggle initially to find food.. about her rescue.. and about the fear in her heart seeing her children suffering through one of the greatest natural disasters in the history of the continental United States..
It went bad quick.
But is this journalism also at its finest? Capturing the emotions and spirit of a moment in time? The disaster is still playing out. In many places waters are rising are at the very least not receding.
There are harrowing images being published.. and stories as well. There are nearly 40 bodies–at the time I write this–found. Many more, unfortunately, to come. One new article on the AP wire last night informed the world about an 18-month-old toddler who survived the flood waters by clinging onto her mother who was dead the entire time.. Another awful story involves an entire family dying in a van after they encountered raging water. And finally, the police force of Houston had to deal with pain of their own as a 35-year-veteran two days away from his birthday was killed when he drove into high water he could not get out of, his wife reportedly saying she didn’t him to work that day but him responding by saying it was his duty.
I am personally mixed about the coverage. I both can’t keep my eyes off of it, but equally am disturbed by everything I see.. similar, in a sense, to 9/11 coverage 16 years prior. Journalism doing what it does… people watching what they watch..and all of us at the end of the day trying to figure out who we were and are as we glimpse and glare into a mirror..
There are tales of goodness in these news reports, too. The human spirit.. neighbors helping each other. Strangers rescuing each other. And while the police are cracking down on looters, the real crime thus far appears to be price gougers. People charging $99 for a case of water.. fake government employees organizing evacuations only to rob houses..
The raw emotions captured during that brief snippet in a relief shelter on live CNN was a memorable moment. The woman and her children interviewed were not removed enough from what they had just endured to be interviewed on live TV.
But in fairness to CNN, it was not just them. I witnessed other networks like NBC and FOX putting cameras in people’s faces during rescue efforts.. in one situation on FOX NEWS a camera lingered way too long on two women in a boat who seemingly were overcome by either hunger, grief, fatigue, or a combination of all. There are fine lines between when journalists are on the scene to report what the world wants to see…and just utilizing unfortunate circumstances for ratings…
Those fine lines can be debated … and yes the debate can be heated.
I noticed far less on the spot interviews being conducted during live coverage after that CNN situation played out. Perhaps the hot mics displayed and shoved into cold faces become far too much of a potential FCC issue?
…it is cable, though.
As the relief efforts continue, we will be faced with a dire prospect: More deaths.. More destruction. A chemical plant is in danger. The nuclear plant I was watching still has not received much attention, but I ponder its circumstances. And the most troubling of all: What will be found as the water recedes..how many bodies? Families? Homes…possessions…pets.. The most heartbreaking days may be yet to come.
Out of ruins so often comes hope, however. When all is lost, hope blossoms.. and becomes eternal.
Just as much as that CNN video made viral rounds, so has a new one: One more fulfilling. It contains a message of peace and tranquility in a time of uncertainly and disaster..
There are countless ways you to donate money and efforts. The Red Cross.. Samaritan’s Purse.. The Salvation Army.. heck! Even Joel Osteen, so as long as social media forces him into it.
What worries me, however, is the forgetfulness of people. It’s daily headlines now. But will it be tomorrow? And with its disappearance off front pages, how many of the tens of thousands of displaced people will be in even worst circumstances a year from now….
