[Infowarrior] - more on....CATEGORY FEH: So, why the big Irene blowup?

[Richard Forno]

Begin forwarded message:

> From:  Dan
> Date: August 29, 2011 11:41:52 AM EDT
> 
> One really odd thing was that at the same time as the 90mph Irene was
> cruising up the East Coast of the US, the island of Taiwan had a 160+mph
> typhoon go right over the island. But I saw no mentions whatsoever in any
> US media outlet about this major storm in this population center.
> 
> It wasn't a disaster there as the government of Taiwan is much better
> prepared than the US, as it has upgraded its infrastructure to handle such
> events. Unlike the US, which has a major government force that seems to be
> determined to defenestrate the country. But the media outlets won't say
> that either.


On Aug 29, 2011, at 11:58 , ---------wrote:

> 
> The hurricane could easily have been worse, so attention was warranted. They originally said it would hit us in PA at 2pm yesterday, and it wound up being 2am - hurricane behavior analysis is not an exact science.
> 
> The media overhypes everything--whether it be a royal wedding, something involving a Kardashian, or a story about a pet that saves a life. They do so at the expense of real stories, such as the famine in Somalia. That's why many folks have eliminated network and cable news from their lives. (Doing so improved my quality of life dramatically.)
> 
> I'd say this marks an improvement over their typical fare. The coverage made folks pay attention, and may have even saved a couple lives (by deterring surfers, etc.). When has a Lindsay Lohan story done that?
> 
> Maybe Toby Harnden was looking for a higher body count, but the storm has significantly affected millions of people. We shouldn't be asking whether the Irene story was over-hyped; we should be asking what the media would have been overhyping had there been no hurricane.