Last week saw the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. A few commentators tossed in Rita as will. Wilma? It never got much national attention in real time. Apparently homes going without electricity for weeks on end (including during the Thanksgiving holiday) is 'normal' and, certainly, damages of "$16.8 billion in southern Florida" are the norm, right?
MyTV may have offered the most useless 'special' but at least they didn't pretend to be about anything other New Orleans. Watching the non-stop "Katrina" dubbed coverage which actually only covered New Orleans, we couldn't help but wonder about the victims at the Pentagon who are left out when 9-11 is reduced to "the Twin Towers"?
Arthel Neville was the 'host' or 'anchor' of the MyTV 'coverage.' Apparently so thrilled to be working after CNN ditched her, Arthel had trouble with the teleprompter which would explain the mistaken pause in her introduction that made it sound like she was not part of the Neville family but the Moore family. Rupert Murdoch's latest bomb served up the news that the 'tragedy' of New Orleans was a musical scene lost (something Arthel's own family has disputed, just FYI) and, swiping Don McLean's Chevy, aired Going Back To New Orleans, The Deacon John Film.
Though not quite on the level of his 'bravo' performance in Angel Heart, if a bunch of tunes was what you needed to understand tragedy, Arthel and MyTV were serving it up via The Deacon.
This was the second worst of the worsts so MyTV can take comfort in that. It's two years later and between Katrina and the annual "Diana died this time in 1997" 'coverage,' news consumers might wonder if another 'big event' takes place in the same period will all 'news' be reduced to nothing but 'retrospective'?
It's two years later. There are serious problems in New Orleans (and elsewhere) but the coverage didn't reflect that. So any viewers who felt "Two years later and you still haven't gotten on with your lives!" are forgiven.
Pacifica Radio (in various forms) did a fine job of covering the very real issues. TV?
Let's turn the worst offender. Hoprah. Hoprah Winfrey. So busy selling clouds of fancy, she can't even produce an hour of television worth watching. But Hoprah, in the midst of her vacation, decided to do a Katrina (New Orleans) show, bags under the eyes past the cheekbones be damned. (Exactly what kind of a vacation was she in the midst of? Or is she fasting?)
Hoprah, once upon a time, produced a show that wasn't a total waste of time. That's when the woman who was abused as a child could still connect with reality. These days, it's listen to some woman or man cry while she nods and half-way acts concerned (she's lost the ability to fake it and her eyes today dart around when she's supposed to be attentive) before throwing an arm in the air (just one) and hollering something like, "RUSSELL CROWE!" to immediately move into the next segment.
Hoprah wants to inspire and watching her attempt to inspire and inspire over New Orleans, we had to wonder when she plans to retire? She's announced the end was coming before but fails to keep that promise. She really should.
At one point, in her early days, she overtook Phil Donahue. She did that with trashy shows only a notch above Jerry Springer. Then she morphed from Oprah into Hoprah and it's been light days (in the maxi-pad sense) ever since. If you never caught Donahue, you don't realize what a loss his departure has been for daytime TV.
Never was that more clear than on August 29th when she showed up with a new wig and a host of characters. Hoprah's not interested in people anymore. She'll toss out the cars to anyone who still watches but that's as close as she wants to get to the crowd. So she 'anchored' her special which was 'reporting' from other people. Hoprah couldn't be bothered with going to New Orleans herself and she apparently didn't want to talk to anyone from there either.
Anderson Cooper, sporting his newest hairstyle (Dennis the Menace), used his normal speaking voice when on a couch talking with Hoprah and that may have surprised CNN viewers. He tends to 'butch it up' when on CNN (he did while with ABC's overnight news program as well).
Anderson's now famous for something other than the rumors about being gay (and most at ABC news thought he was and thought he was out when he was at their network long before he did The Mole -- but in a week of Larry Craig, who the hell knows anymore?) and for his mother's tacky jeans. He's infamous around the world as The Crying Newscaster. And it was a real shame that, although he sported those biceps his always obsessive gym time has built, he refused to shed a tear. He is the Phyllis George of the 'news' set with all that entails.
Anderson wanted you to know that only 60% of New Orleans residents have returned since Katrina struck.
"I don't want people to forget what they saw here those terrible days after the storm. I don't want people to just move on and not remember," he declared, presumably about what happened in New Orleans and, by 'what happened,' we mean the fact that his ratings shot up and he finally became the TV star he always wanted to be.
Sitting solo on a couch across from Hoprah, Anderson explained how he doesn't "think anybody in America should be invisible." If you thought that was the perfect intro for a New Orleans guest to be brought out, you shouldn't apply to produce the show any time soon. Hoprah was nodding (and darting her eyes) while he spoke. Obviously they both agreed, people shouldn't be invisible but apparently they also shouldn't be invited to the White-White couches of Hoprah-ville. Anderson did mention how many people could not move back and there wasn't a plan for them to but we had to take his word for it because no one who couldn't move back to New Orleans wasn't invited on.
Then it was time for more nonsense, this time from Dr. Mehmet Oz who's part of Hoprah's "Angel Network". Dr. Oz did mention Mississippi so maybe we shouldn't be so hard on him? But it's hard enough to take his fey "Angel" nature and tacking on "Dr. Oz" really doesn't help. He, like Anderson, sat on the couch and audiences were treated to a filmed 'report' by Dr. Oz. While New Orleans has suffered serious medical setbacks, Dr. Oz explaining to America that most in New Orleans now go to the emergency room for all primary care really doesn't lead to shock when most Americans, in any area, do the same. In fact, all of his generic nonsense could have been delivered by anyone. In fact, last week Sandra Day O'Connor came close to saying the same things about the American medical system.
Then it was time to skip over to the issue of trailers and learn that they weren't safe. Why? Presumably the Mad Cow lawsuit (which she won) scared Hoprah so much that solid details will never come from her show. But Steven and Lisa Huckabee were interviewed about the tumor he's developed in his mouth. What's to be done? Trailers are being moved out! That's about the level of depth Hoprah could offer.
Now from the Huckabees we went to a woman who suffered "a vicious attack" in New Orleans, one Helen Hill. She, her husband Paul Gaillunas and the Huckabees are all White. These days, so is Hoprah. (She loves the wigs, what Diana Ross used to refer to as "my White girl hair.")
Though Anderson has the 'serious' news credentials, for some reason Lisa Ling was sent to "the most dangerous and crime-ridden section of town." We like Ling and we think she did the best report (an actual one) broadcast on the show. We should note that she found non-Whites. Strange, isn't it, that she could do that when so many couldn't (or, more likely, wouldn't).
Ling was in the middle of discussing the crime rate and noting that the French Quarter is considered 'safe' when Anderson had to chime in to plug an eatery (there's a reason he has to spend so many hours in the gym -- and while we say 'reason,' others whisper 'eating disorder') and plug casinos.
Gayle King (remember she's just Hoprah's friend!) then did a report on the Ninth Ward which consisted of more trailers. Too much time was spent on the 'smell' coming from one toilet (credit to King for interviewing people of color) for the show not to have taken a sample of the water to be analyzed. But Hoprah's more interested in heartbreak. So King's report focused on how the family visits the area their home used to be in so that the kids 'can be kids.' We saw them jumping rope and other things but felt that since part of 'kids being kids' is going to the restroom, we did wonder about spending a day in a condemned, non-repaired section of New Orleans and how that was supposed to be 'hopeful'?
Just when you thought maybe they'd finally get to reality (lousy planning by the federal, state and local government), it was time for more Hoprah and a report on the "million" volunteers with Anderson crediting them for anything positive that had happened. (Take that, residents who moved back.) Then it was time for Anderson to play soulful so for this interview he spoke with a resident who also happened to be a person of color. The take-away from Anderson's interview with Herbert Gettridge was: Herbert came back and rebuilt, what's the problem with all the rest who left?
As the show wound down, Hoprah noted that Gayle had interviewed New Orleans mayor (we would say "New Orleans failure") Ray Nagin. Hoprah read off the statement Nagin gave Gayle, "I'm the last man standing. People expect me to do miracles, and I can do that but I need some resources to get the job done." Hoprah did nothing to question that statement. She did, however, jump in to answer a question by insisting that people who wanted to help should give to her "Angel Network" because all the money went to help.
Really?
Because the rumors we've heard is that there's a huge glut of overhead costs -- we've heard the glut consists of non-essential monies spent. If Hoprah's saying that's not the case, that's good to know -- especially since we're talking over $15 million in donations. It's probably also worth noting that Jerry Lewis only gets a days worth of time this time of year to plead on TV for his cause, Hoprah's there 52 weeks a year, five days a week.
Of course, criticism of Hoprah tends to result in her pulling the plug (as she did on her reading club when a featured, living author dared to criticize her). But we really don't think she could raise much money by dropping back to the victims of The Great Chicago Fire of 1871.
Just as people were missing from the special unless they had personal (and only personal) stories to tell with no connections that point to government responsibilities (maybe Ann Curry briefed Hoprah on how to do a special?), Hoprah avoided issues such as the shoot to kill order, the mercenaries (BlackWater) brought into New Orleans and any thing that might offer a bit too much reality and not enough pulling of the heart strings.
And you really couldn't count on the 360 degrees of Anderson Cooper on CNN either. His own coverage, which he hawked on Hoprah, wasn't any better. Anderson 'blogged' about his one day coverage (coverage Hoprah insisted was the finest -- but remember, Hoprah was part of the team that sold the current illegal war):
I'm not big on anniversaries, especially ones recognized by television.
They always seem artificial to me. Maybe I'm just cynical about television, but whenever I hear a newscast making a big deal about the anniversary of an event, I always assume it must be a slow news cycle.
Yeah, we'd assume that too -- having sat through the tear-fest Andy offered. (He allowed others to cry.) It's worth noting that Katie Couric is anchoring the CBS Evening News from Iraq this week and the response to that from the Water Cooler Set has been, "Ratings stunt!" It's September. Who's not trying to get ratings? (And what was Anderson's soggy 'news' coverage of Katrina but a ratings stunt?) One of the more idiotic of the Water Cooler Set suggested that instead of sending Couric, CBS should send a news team into Iraq. Apparently, the set suffers from water on the brain because CBS has long had their own news crew in Iraq.
The reason Couric's going to Iraq (besides ratings) is, and the Water Cooler Set can't tell you since it's too hard for them to dig up information, because it's what viewers want. CBS News randomly samples visitors to their website (visitors who agree to take a poll) and the most consistent trend over the last three months has been the request for more coverage of Iraq in the polling. If you speak to anyone in CBS News (on the sets or in the offices), you'll quickly find that out. It's why, while other network newscasts have cut back on Iraq, CBS has continued to provide Iraq coverage. You may or may not like the coverage (and that's your opinion and you're entitled to it) but Iraq didn't fall of CBS News' radar and two other networks can't make the same claim. With Iraq cited repeatedly over three months, the decision was made to go to Iraq.
If Couric (whom we know and like) blows it, does a lousy job, in Iraq, by all means pile on. Even call her "Katey" (yeah, we saw that) and bring out all the 'critiques' of her that were offered before she sat down in the anchor chair for the first time. But until then, possibly, one might wait a moment or two for the actual news content to air before rushing in with the ridicule?
Everyone wants to pump up their ratings, no question. But CBS News' reason for picking Iraq was the feedback they have consistently received for the last three months. And if the Water Cooler Set wanted to knock around CBS News, we found it strange that in a week where Harry led Monday's Early Show trumpeting the 'good news' about the housing scandal -- houses are getting cheaper! -- the focus was yet again on Katie Couric.
We also find it strange that in a week that saw us in several different cities and repeatedly encountering the same announcement ("King of the Hill brought to you by the US Navy"), Katie Couric's trip to Iraq was the thing to obsess over. With Family Guy about to start airing in syndication and the US military gearing up to use the built-in adolescent audiences for animated shows as potential recruits, we honestly believe there were more things to be worried over. ADDED 9-4-07: A new book dealing with the way the military is targeting students, Army of None, published by Seven Stories Press, available at Courage to Resist and many other places, provides details on how the targeting works and how to fight it. Aimee Allison and David Solnit are the authors and they will be traveling this month and next getting the word out on the book. Clicking here will give you more info and the book was addressed in "2 Books, 20 minutes" earlier this month.
So if you were a TV watcher and wanted to get some reality about New Orleans, was there anywhere to go?
Yes, there was. Democracy Now! While Juan Gonzalez handled the anchoring duties from the Firehouse Studio in NYC, Goodman went down to New Orleans to report. Want the kind of reality Anderson and Hoprah weren't in the mood for? You could watch (or listen or read) Goodman's report on the killings on Danziger Bridge, killings of victims of Hurricane Katrina trying to escape the hurricane -- six people shot by the police (two of which died). Or maybe, like the member of Hoprah's audience, you were interested in the realities of charities? Goodman reported on the problems (that's putting it mildly) with the Red Cross efforts (or lack of them) in New Orleans. A discussion on the realities of any 'improvements' to the system or government responsibility didn't take place with Anderson or Hoprah, you had to go to Goodman and Gonzalez interviewing John McQauid. Hoprah offered us a shot of a school and some silly words about it. If you wanted to know the realities of what's happening with New Orleans schools, you had to turn to Goodman who reported on the seizure by the state of 107 schools in New Orleans which were being turned into charter schools. Charter schools reduce teachers to line clerks at McDonalds and also destroy unions which is why the Bully Boy has pushed them from the beginning.
The realities that people need to be aware of today? We'll start with the fact that Hurricane Katrina has lost a lot of it's 'heat'. People are tired of the topic. There is very much a feeling that victims are like someone who got dumped and, two years after, should have already gotten over it.
Now the reality is that the government failed the victims (originally and repeatedly) and that's not conveyed with Hoprah and Anderson turning to brave volunteers and minimizing the government failures then and now. Their 'reporting' adds nothing to understanding. It pulls at the heart strings for a moment until the next heart grabbing story comes along. It does nothing to convey the lessons that should have been learned (but have not been learned by the government -- local, state and national). It's a kind of political and historical ignorance and that this is what the big moneyed shows had to offer is shameful.
The late political theorist Judith N. Shklar addressed the issues that allowed events like Hurricane Katrina to become injustices in her book Faces of Injustice (1990, based on lectures given at Yale Law School in 1988):
When is a disaster a misfortune and when is it an injustice? Intuitively the answer seems quite obvious. If the dreadful event is caused by the external forces of nature, it is a misfortune and we must resign ourselves to our suffering. Should, however, some ill-intentioned agent, human or supernatural, have brought it about, then it is an injustice and we may express indignation and outrage.
[. . .]
An earthquake is surely a natural event, but that is not all that can or will in fact be said about it if a lot of damage is done and many people perish. . . . Many buildings do collapse because contractors have violated construction codes and bribed inspectors. The population is rarely fully warned of these dangers, which technologically sophistacted devices can predict. Public authorities, moreover, may not always make serious prepartions for the eventuality. There would be no effectively organized emergency measures, no adequate medical relief and no swift transportation for the injured. Many will die who might have been saved. Where had their taxes gone to?
The problems for residents of New Orleans were not "external forces of nature." The problems were governmental failures. The Hurricane itself was the least of the problems. Had preparations been made that should have, Katrina would most likely be nothing but a story of rising waters that receded shortly after. The problems after Katrina hit were also governmental failures. Two years later, why can't some victims get over it? How could they?
The mini-lotto-like payout to victims was an embarrassment. Every thing was lost and lost because their government (on every level) failed them. The petty cash thrown at them was cash that was understood to be provided to tide them over. This was not enough money to start over and anyone who thinks that is kidding themselves. So the idea that they should 'get over' what happened fails to recognize that so many are still out of the area and have been given no 'right of return.' A number went to surrounding states, some spread even further. But the understanding was that New Orleans was being rebuilt and they just had to wait. New Orleans has been rebuilt. The parts that the government(s) cared about. Big Business is back in New Orleans and Anderson can tell you where to go to eat or gamble to be sure. But for people who made it their home, who had family and friends streching back for decades and decades, many of them have nothing to return to all this time later. The money tossed at them was never seen as "starting over" money. It was money that was supposed to hold them over as they waited for the day (not expected to take a year, let alone two and counting) when they could return.
When big-monied dumb ass TV personalities provide cover for Big Money, they probably should pat themselves on the back a lot less because they've done nothing praise worthy . Their audiences who think they have been 'touched' have just been misinformed and should really be turning to new news content providers. Two years after Hurricane Katrina, that probably still remains the strongest reality.