The Flood of 2009

As everyone knows, several parts of Georgia suffered severe damages due to the recent flooding—some right here in Cobb County. At the moment that it was clear that there would be significant flooding, the news media began to disperse in the affected areas in order to broadcast the situation to the public. They instantly jumped on the opportunity so that they could say they were the first on the scene because being first on the scene translates into more effectively serving the public. Pictures and horror stories continued to pour in of deaths, loss of homes, cars, and schools. Like the media, Governor Purdue wasted almost no time in visiting the affected areas by air to view the damage. After doing so, he held a press conference to announce that he would be sending a request to President Obama to declare 17 counties as a state of emergency in order to receive federal aid. As Georgia waited for a response, the media continued to display the horrifying pictures and stories. This effort either directly or indirectly influenced the amount of time it took to get a response from the federal government. Since President Bush had been accused by the media of taking his time to help those affected by Hurricane Katrina, President Obama probably did not want the same thing on his plate. So, he immediately sent Vice President Biden to Georgia to evaluate the damage and to speed up the process of making the federal funds available to Georgians affected by the flood. Either way you look at it, the media plays a significant role in influencing our leaders and their actions. Sometimes the public actually benefits from the media.