Fox News: Can't Spin A Hurricane
 

Can it be true? Are the commentators at Fox News actually taking a stand against trying to spin the hurricane relief efforts?

Geraldo Riviera and Shepard Smith get real: http://www.crooksandliars.com/2005/09/02.html#a4763 (watch the movies at the link)

I have to admit it was fun watching Shepard repeatedly cutting off Hannity's and O'Reilly's spin attempts... now if only this happened more often.

I actually have some respect for Geraldo Riviera and Shepard Smith now. I am happy they don't want to spin this horrible event. I guess when you actually see the horror in person it changes you. Maybe Hannity and O'Reily should go down there and they would be singing a differnt tune as well.

Re: Fox News: Can't Spin A Hurricane
 

Sometimes the "journalist" sneaks out in even the best (or worst) commentator/showman.

Re: Re: Fox News: Can't Spin A Hurricane
 

And it's too bad that in this day and age it doesn't happen more often. :(

On "Real Time With Bill Maher" Bill was talking with Anderson Cooper about this issue (obviously with Anderson on a live feed from MS). Bill basically kept saying it seemed like they were actually getting the pres corps back.

The only thing I didn't like was when Bill kept pressuring Anderson into talking about the Iraqi War and asking where the media was then... While I agree with Bill it wasn't the place. Anderson just looked so tired and worn out and even heart broken from what he had (and has) been through covering the hurricane. He tried to talk logically with Bill and gave good answers but you could just tell he wanted to say "yeah the press corps sucked then but this is the REAL issue right now, lets focus on this."

It was good to see Sheppard and Geraldo and Anderson drop any political spin and just be able to all agree that the situation is horrible down there, things are going wrong, and something needs to be done.

I think it's totally the place to ask about the Iraqi conflict, especially when you think in terms of troop mobilization. Lots of folks in the media -- and among the refugees -- have questioned whether the response in NOLA was so slow was because something like 40% of National Guard troops were mobilized in Iraq.

I have to weigh-in on Neon's side on this one.

I think that the Iraq war is a reasonable topic in the long run, or if someone can truely make a case that a lack of National Guard troops impeded the rescue efforts. However, to try to make a political comment about the government or the media in Iraq during coverage of this disaster is out of place.

By the way, I didn't see the show involved, but am simply commenting on what I've read here.

I didn't mean to imply that these questions shouldn't be asked, I agree that they do.

But DeltAlum was right, at the particular moment they were discussing what was going on in New Orleans and he only had Anderson for a few minutes. The discussion about the Iraqi war would involve more time to talk things through and it just seemed that at that moment it was more important to talk about the current situation and get that news out there right then.

Well, one of my very best friends just headed that way after being called by CBS. He's about 60 years old and hasn't worked for a CBS affilliate in years.

They're pretty stretched.

I wrote to a good pal at NBC News to tell him I am available.

Wonder what my boss will think if they take me up on the offer.

Uh, will you be able to wear a vest?

Depending on where they go, the networks have been known to provide body armour. Or life vests. They actually take reasonably good care of their people when necessary.

Just a tiny bit of humor relating to disaster situation coverage.

I was once covering a tornado. We got there in the middle of the night, as dark as I've ever seen. I was being VERY cautious about downed power lines -- until I realized there was absolutely NO power in the city at all.