Mass Media: Washed Out

Hurricane Katrina made landfall on the Louisiana coast on August 29, 2005. Up to that day, several warnings and evacuations had been issued for everyone that was at risk of being in the path of this monstrous hurricane. While many heeded the warnings, some (including the media) chose to stay so that they could experience what it feels like to be blown off the map. Even right up to the minute that the storm was making landfall, the media was standing in the streets reporting that the hurricane was actually making landfall, big surprise.
Immediately after the hurricane had moved through New Orleans, it became clear that there was widespread damage and an innumerable amount of people that had been killed by the storm. The media immediately jumped on this opportunity to televise looting, deaths, hunger, and destruction because they knew that would get them the most viewers. Additionally, even though the hurricane had struck more places in the United States than just New Orleans, all the media seemed to be concentrated there and only giving New Orleans the attention. What many people failed to realize is the fact that other places like Biloxi, Mississippi sustained as much, if not more, damage than did New Orleans. It almost seemed as if the media had already planned out how everything would go. Meaning, they knew that New Orleans is a predominantly African American area and if they broadcasted something as controversial as present day racism, then that would really get them the viewers they wanted. All in all, it seems that everyday the media becomes more about selling the news as entertainment rather than simply reporting what the public needs to hear. Perhaps, when Hurricane Katrina washed out many parts of the Gulf Coast it did the same for the credibility of the media.