A reporter for the New York Times has made a very good observation while reporting on CNN’s Anderson Cooper and his ‘loud media voice’ on behalf of Gulf residents.
“As the (BP oil) crisis nears the two-month mark, there are signs that the news media are taking on a more adversarial role, just as they did after Hurricane Katrina and the widespread flooding of New Orleans,” writes Brian Stelter.
What an interesting thing to say because he is so right!
When the federal governments’ levees broke in New Orleans on August 29, 2005, retired spokespersons for the Army Corps of Engineers quickly fanned out to talk to national reporters about why New Orleans flooded so horrifically.
Using a technique documented by Georgianne Nienaber, these spokespersons gave out crafted misinformation designed to shift responsibility for the flooding away from the federal agency and onto to the victims of the flood. The myths and misinformation was then disseminated by the national media.
Headlines screamed undocumented unfounded reports that the Corps of Engineers grand plans for barrier structures were blocked by local interests.
And now the victim-bashing may be happening again but there is a difference. The residents of metro New Orleans are not displaced, are not silenced and are not alone.
On a 7-day trip through the Gulf Coast, from Natchitoches to Pensacola and a side trip to Grand Isle, it BP workers refused to speak with me, and I was holding Louisiana Press credentials at the time. I found support managers from independent contracting companies also unable to contact official headquarters, with phones unanswered. I was unable to speak with anyone at those same telephone numbers, where phones rang unanswered. On Grand Isle boats cost $400, and for reporters that is prohibitive. Any press tours are at press expense and expensive. Barriers to accessing first-hand material are everywhere, even in mid June before the new regulations about how far anyone can be with respect to wildlife and oiled areas. My biggest worry is the fear and misinformation of the public when press access is restricted, even when the press holds official credentials. We all remember what misinformation did to Katrina victims, and it is critical for the press to have access up close to what is happening, if nothing more than to alleviate the anxiety of thousands of people.
Carol, thank you for weighing in on this in your observations as a journalist. I fear everything you say may be true. I am glad you are ‘obsessed’ with finding out the truth about the BP oil geyser.