Everyone Ready For Irene???

[megoat]

you clearly have no idea what you are talking about

This seems a bit ridiculous considering Wee works for the media AND has given NUMEROUS supporting evidence to the contrary of what many are saying here. All you have done is complained with no specifics at all.

[MicromanZone]

This seems a bit ridiculous considering Wee works for the media AND has given NUMEROUS supporting evidence to the contrary of what many are saying here. All you have done is complained with no specifics at all.

Please correctly quote me if you are going to quote me; here I will do it and boldface the items he has no idea what he is talking about:

The reporting for everyone everywhere was over the top even if there were signs of reason involved. I also don’t watch TV reports since I am one of those “weirdos” who ditched their TV a few years back. Mainly got my info via the radio and the Internet. So please keep on criticizing what “I watched” when you clearly have no idea what you are talking about and seem hellbent on smacking down anyone who dares say anything.

He has no idea what he is talking about when he criticizes what I watch because I do not watch TV and no longer even own a TV anymore.

Also, are you in NYC? Have you been exposed to the panicky hype that surrounded this mess? Everyone agrees that preparations and precautions were needed, but simply not to this degree. People were saying it before Irene hit, when Irene hit and after Irene hit.

Also if you want some evidence of the ridiculousness of the media coverage, here you go: The BBC (which I normally respect) reports “Broadway shows shut down as Hurricane Irene strikes.” Really that’s news? That is something the world needs to know? Nonsense.

You know what ISN’T being reported well in non-local outfits? The flooding and chaos in the Hudson Valley region; aka the part of New York that is not New York City and does not have Broadway shows:
Irene Causes Second Most Outages in Central Hudson History
Still no power for more than 400,000 in upstate NY

So the world needs to know that Broadway (aka: a small lot of theaters) is closed, but the Hudson Valley gets hit and and that’s not news outside of local news sources? C’mon! The whole hype around this storm was New York City was going to get hit by a storm and everyone acted like it was a reality TV version of a Michael Bay film.

[Bill]

What's more annoying than the media reporting on a hurricane?

[Mikey]

What's more annoying than the media reporting on a hurricane?

Hmmm,

Arguing about the media reporting on a hurricane?

[MicromanZone]

And this is exactly what I am talking about:

‘Touring the town, Governor Peter Shumlin criticised media coverage for focusing on New York, saying: “We’re not Manhattan, but we have human lives here in Vermont, too.”’

[MIB41]

I think the evacuations were the absolute right thing to do. They predicted the path accurately. What they can't predict is whether the storm will hold together. As it was, there was still loss of life and plenty of damage. People act like their disappointed New York wasn't blown off the map. People should be grateful, instead of complaining. Anytime you remove that many people from these events, you save lives. The same people complaining about the evacuation, likely would have been criticizing officials had no one left and there had been scores of lives lost. The bad part? There's another hurricane forming now. Perhaps the critics will get their chance to stand on the beach front as this next one blows in to make their point.

[MicromanZone]

Everyone who seems to have problems understanding the criticisms here—which seems to be everyone outside of NY who doesn’t get the lay of the land here—what are your feelings on the 100% no preparation given to upstate New York areas (aka: NOT New York City) that are now flooded with roads and homes destroyed?
Irene floods Catskills community

Glaser says more than 808,000 people remain without power, down from about 945,000 earlier Monday. Depending on where customers live, it could be next week before power is restored. Rural areas will come on line later.

There have been 191 rescues, 124 in the Catskills region alone. More than 4,500 emergency personnel are working and heavy equipment has been brought in.

[Sideshow Spock]

Everyone who seems to have problems understanding the criticisms here—which seems to be everyone outside of NY who doesn’t get the lay of the land here—what are your feelings on the 100% no preparation given to upstate New York areas (aka: NOT New York City) that are now flooded with roads and homes destroyed?
Irene floods Catskills community

I don't understand.. what preparation are you aware of that was lacking in these areas? Do you think public officials and people in this region didn't make any effort to prepare?

In this case, no amount of prep could have done much to prevent the effect 10" of rain in such a short period of time would have on such a rural, mountainous area that's replete with many rivers and creeks.

[mego maniac mark]

I don't understand.. what preparation are you aware of that was lacking in these areas? Do you think public officials and people in this region didn't make any effort to prepare?

In this case, no amount of prep could have done much to prevent the effect 10" of rain in such a short period of time would have on such a rural, mountainous area that's replete with many rivers and creeks.

I live in the Hudson valley, ulster county. My power has just come on an hour ago. My basement on my rental property is still seeping ground water and has been a nightmare. It has been a costly three days. Mother nature can be a b@&$tch!

[Nostalgiabuff]

there was no way to prepare for 8-10 inches of rain and the affect it has on natrual bodies of water. the creeks and rivers all overflowed, the water table is so high many people had flooded basements. unfortunately none of that is covered by insurance. many people lost their homes and also many people lost their lives. the preparations that were taken in the cities were absolutely necessary and saved lives. it is better to be prepared and not needed then to not be prepared and need it

[z3zep]

I think the media was reporting the information about the entire track of the hurricane, I saw/heard numerous reports of the storm when it hit NC, and OC Maryland. The TV coverage was showing NJ coast well before the storm hit.

NJ was hit pretty hard, a lot of us have flooding and/or no power. Co-workers from NYC are asking us about towns in NJ -- so they must be hearing it from somewhere.


I am not sure where you were getting your reports from, maybe you should look for other news sites for a broader view.

[MIB41]

I think a lot of people have underestimated the degree of damage this Hurricane has caused. I believe the death toll is now 43 alone. Lets hope this other Hurricane forming out to sea decides to turn north before it gets here. It would be almost unthinkable to see another Hurricane come in right behind this one.

[Nostalgiabuff]

there are entire towns in VT that are completely cut off from the world. they had to airlift emergency supplies in today. while the storm was not as a bad as it could have been, it has still caused extensive damage and loss of life. many people had their homes completely destroyed

[BlackKnight]

Hmmm,

Arguing about the media reporting on a hurricane?

[Wee67]

Let me just say first, I thought we were just having a conversation about this. I honestly do not know how you came to the conclusion I was "hellbent on smacking down anyone who dares say anything." I simply disagreed. I never said things like you "clearly have no idea what you are talking about" or any other personal attack.

I sincerely enjoy hearing your opinions.

I never used words like "obviously" or "clearly" or "everyone" or "everywhere" that can lead to hyperbole. Writing things like this can lead the reader to assume you think your opinion is fact. I do not believe my opnions are facts. I do not believe any of this is obvious or "pretty clear" and I certainly do not speak for everyone.

In fact, I thanked you for your views and told you it helped me do my job. Why the seemingly extreme reaction?

What station do you work for in what area if you are going to come here and honestly over-react and—indeed—apologize and defend the media tooth an nail like this? I saw you mention “Eyewitness News?” In NYC? Or where else? What call letters and numbers?

The reporting for everyone everywhere was over the top even if there were signs of reason involved. I also don’t watch TV reports since I am one of those “weirdos” who ditched their TV a few years back. Mainly got my info via the radio and the Internet. So please keep on criticizing what “I watched” when you clearly have no idea what you are talking about and seem hellbent on smacking down anyone who dares say anything.

I never criticized what you watched. I simply disagreed with what you said.

I also never declared I knew what you watched. In fact, I said "I'm not sure what you watched." Meaning that I wasn't sure what you watched. You have since laid out your news sources.

Which also makes me curious- if don't watch TV I'm not sure how you knew TV was over-hyping the storm. Or are you saying the sources you did use were the ones over-hyping the information. If so, I can't really comment on those sources.

Since you asked- I am the Assistant News Director for WABC-TV, Ch. 7 here in NYC. My role is to over see the day-to-dy operations of the newsroom. I do not think this makes my opinion any more valid than anyone else's here. In fact, it may only reveal a bias.

I have a feeling none of this will make a difference. Maybe I just needed to vent a bit.