America’s media proves better storytellers than reporters

When all communication in a part of the world fails, the media quickly becomes the only means by which the rest of the public can stay informed. Many of us check internet news incessantly, watch CNN obsessively and worry over page after page of the New York Times, all in a desperate attempt to keep a semblance of social context in our lives. For this reason, one would think that the media would take the utmost care in producing newsworthy information.

In the last several days, it has become blatantly clear that this is not the case. According to the Associated Press and the Los Angeles Times, the media wildly exaggerated reports of violence in the Superdome following Hurricane Katrina. After the hurricane, reports of rape, murder and violence towards children in the Superdome were regularly horrifying the American public. Apparently, women were being sexually assaulted in broad daylight and children were having their throats slit with no consequences for the offenders. The media relayed these tales with reckless abandon and no basis of fact.

Now, only in the aftermath of the tragic events of Katrina, does it seem the media has stepped back to take stock of the situation. AP stated on their website that “They have no official reports of rape and no eyewitnesses to sexual assault. The state Department of Health and Hospitals counted 10 dead at the Superdome and four at the convention center. Only two of those are believed to have been murdered. One of those victims- found at the Superdome- appears to have been killed elsewhere before being brought to the stadium.” One is left to wonder what reporting these so-called reporters actually did?

Obviously, there was no way to keep up with all of the horrors taking place in New Orleans. Only those who were actually there can ever fully understand what these victims of the tragedy endured. And yet, it seems an even bigger disservice to those affected by Hurricane Katrina to overshadow the stories of real tragedy with sensationalistic fables created to keep the American public interested.

It seems that perhaps the media is sorely underestimating America’s concern for our fellow citizens in need. We don’t need to hear stories of “babies being raped,” as Police Chief Eddie Compass claimed, to feel sympathy for the residents of New Orleans. In the times of greatest need, American’s have always been ready to lend a hand and support each other. Why the media felt the need to make up stories of true horror is unclear.

The question we are left with is, is the media completely unaware of how truly influential they are? Or perhaps the question should be, are they too aware?