Is This Why Some Consider Mainstream Media Irrelevant?
Tuesday, 18 July 2006
Like her alter ego, Crabby Old Lady is on partial hiatus until some pressing deadlines are met, but she can’t resist commenting this morning on a New York Times piece that may be the biggest non-story Crabby has ever read.
The only backup provided for the headline, “Nation Sweats as Heat Hits Triple Digits,” is that it was 100 degrees yesterday in New York City and 125 in Death Valley, California.
Wait a minute. Has it not always been thus in summer? Where’s the news in this story? What first drew Crabby’s attention and caused her to nearly spit her coffee across the computer screen was this:
“The heat was at its worst in the Northeast, Midwest and West.”
That pretty much covers the entire United States.
An Indiana three-year-old died when he locked himself in a hot car. That is a tragedy, but it is not a heat story; it happens too frequently in much less than extreme temperatures.
And hey, hey, hey, alert the rest of the media; here are a couple of buried headlines that deserve wider attention:
- Day laborers paused to drink water in southern California yesterday
- Children splashed in fountains
And how’s this for a flash:
“In St. Louis; Tulsa, Okla.; and Philadelphia, temperatures are expected to fall only to the mid-70’s at night…”
Wow. 75 degrees F at night in July. Now there’s the final proof of global warming Crabby’s been waiting for.
It isn't normally 102 F in the south of England though, which is what it is predicted to hit today...
Posted by: ian | Tuesday, 18 July 2006 at 04:21 AM
I had to laugh out loud this morning Ronni when I read your post. For almost a month now when watching the local news and weather here you would think that temperatures hovering in the mid-nineties were signaling the end of life as we know it. I mean….this is Arkansas – this is summer. Then I mutter something along the lines of, “Well…duh! You people are complete idiots” and change channels hoping to find someone else with at least some measure of hold on reality. And now with temperatures at the century mark – you can only imagine the doomsday scenario surrounding the weather forecasts. :)
Posted by: Alan G | Tuesday, 18 July 2006 at 05:52 AM
Makes me think nothing else of importance is going on in our country. Also makes me think the media is getting lazy...a heat wave is a pretty easy thing to cover.
Posted by: Terri | Tuesday, 18 July 2006 at 06:33 AM
I don't know, 100 degrees for New York seems awfully high.
Posted by: Rhea | Tuesday, 18 July 2006 at 06:55 AM
Our high was 105 yesterday which while not an all time record, is definitely unusual. It was 96 at 8:00 P.M. last night, and my comment was "Of course, global warming is just hype." Duh...
Have really enjoyed keeping up with your blog, a recent serendipidous discovery.
Posted by: jenclair | Tuesday, 18 July 2006 at 08:33 AM
Yep. But it could rain. Now THAT would be a story.
Posted by: goldenlucy | Tuesday, 18 July 2006 at 10:02 AM
Please see Al Gore's movie, The Inconvenient Truth. After I saw the movie I read in the Wine Spectator that wine industry is changing due to weather changes. It seems weather changes are changing the economy in may other industries also. I agree that global warming will not change our lifestyles, but I do believe we need to act now to ensure future generations do not live the consequences of our actions.
Kaye
Posted by: Kaye | Tuesday, 18 July 2006 at 01:45 PM
Georgia has not been spared the heat wave with temps of 98 some days. But of course it is SUMMER..
And Lucy ...Georgia has been so parched, rain would be not only a story but a blessing.
Why is the news always so negative?
Posted by: Chancy | Tuesday, 18 July 2006 at 08:05 PM
Crabby on a hiatus? No way.
Crabby is sitting out on her deck with a cool lemonade. She has her straw sun hat on and she is people watching.Taking notes for future posts.
Posted by: Chancy | Tuesday, 18 July 2006 at 08:08 PM
France is in the heat wave too, but our government has reassured us ;) unlike three years ago, we are prepared! (three years ago, over 3,000 elders died in the heat wave)
Not that I have seen any difference anywhere, but repeating that we are prepared probably makes it true.
Anyway, with all the horrible things that are happening in the world, talking about current outside temperature is just keeping people's minds busy with trivia.
Posted by: Claude | Wednesday, 19 July 2006 at 05:39 AM
My thinking is that reporting the weather is "safe." What's left of journalism in the mainstream corporate-owned media doesn't catch any flak for saying that it's hot or dry... assuming they don't go so far as to say that it's too hot or too dry, or try to blame someone. Australian wine is supposed to be incredibly inexpensive now... that's good to know.
Posted by: AlwaysQuestion | Wednesday, 19 July 2006 at 07:06 AM
Thanks for making me laugh. While I agree we should take better care of our environment, I am tired of the "sky is falling" news media coverage blaming anything on global warming. Yes it is hot this summer. But I can remember other summers when it was worse. And some summers where it was surprisingly cool. I guess having a balanced perspective is an advantage of being older and having more experience. One thing that many of the "Chicken Littles" seem to pass over is that the sun does not always generate the same level of heat output. Sometimes it burns hotter, sometimes cooler. This has happened thoughout history. And WHEN the sun decides to go super nova on us, we will all be toast - together !
Posted by: Matt Simpson | Wednesday, 19 July 2006 at 04:10 PM
Just so you can all think about cooler times it was nearly freezing here in South Australia this morning. The grass was white from the frost and white clouds came from my mouth every time I breathed.
Posted by: jen | Wednesday, 19 July 2006 at 05:30 PM
As Claude points out, a heat wave is definitely an issue that affects the elderly, even though mere elders such as yourselves are lucky to be able to laugh it off. The frail, the poor, and the housebound suffer a disproportionate number of the heat-related deaths and hospitalizations during such weather.
In Austin, local TV station KXAN has teamed up with Family Eldercare to provide fans for the needy.
http://www.kxan.com/global/Category.asp?c=66638
What's your community doing?
Posted by: M Sinclair Stevens | Wednesday, 19 July 2006 at 07:51 PM
I remember when air conditioning wasn't needed in northern VA, even if the Brits were getting hazardous duty pay for working in the Foggy Bottom (where the Dept of State resides). This was when Tyson's Corner was literally a single interesection.
Didn't last--beltway, beltway bandits, interstates, etc., all blacktopped, pushed the temps up.
Health Effect also speaks on on hot news, not -- It's not the heat
And, as a reverse Crabby--
... unless you place Alaska on top of the other United States (we cover from Jacksonville FL to San Francisco and from northern MN to FL. If you cut us in half, do we not still rate 1st and 2nd in size?)Posted by: vuee | Wednesday, 19 July 2006 at 10:33 PM