Now…this!
I woke up this morning and turned on the Today Show.
I wanted to see the latest news from Haiti.
The devastation is mind-boggling. Perhaps as many as 500,000 dead.
So I tuned in to NBC to see the news.
What I got was a live shot from Toussant L’Overture Airport in Port au Prince, Haiti.
Al Roker and Ann Curry.
Live.
From the airport.
They reported on the arrival of planeloads of western aid.
Fair enough, but hardly the core of the story. Â With perhaps a half million dead from one of the greatest natural disasters in recent history, the airport was, at best, a sidebar.
So I thought, well, they just got there and they have to go out live. Â But for the next two hours, they never left the airport. Never left the tarmac. B-roll of planes landing. This I can see at JFK.
One of the world’s biggest stories literally a few hundred yards away, and they don’t go.
This isn’t journalism. This is a travesty.
Then, as if to add insult to injury, Â Al Roker did the weather!
The weather!
And he segued from “you know Ann, the sun is just coming up here in Haiti and it’s getting warm, but it’s also getting warm in many other parts of the country.” And then it was off to the weather map and the national weather.
Live.
From Haiti.
The weather in Cleveland.
It could have been a sketch on SNL… or Conan (poor Conan).
Does NBC have cameras? Do they have journalists (maybe).
Is there the story of the decade happening just a few feet away.
Here’s a piece of advice to NBC News.
Take the cameras and go into town. Go report some real stories. Go get some facts.
and have someone else do the weather.
5 Comments
Vanessa January 19, 2010
Well it’s a week later and what are they posting? Who can slap them in the face and force them to do REAL journalistic/investigative work. I was impressed with how Anderson Cooper went straight into the turmoil and documented not only himself (of course) but other people rescuing those in need — documenting even the Haitians helping each other – not just the people of the media.
Rachelle January 14, 2010
The picture you posted of Al for this post is priceless.
Lack of real journalism is tragic indeed.
I really like what the Red Cross did with texting a donation for Haiti. I think this is the first time it’s been done … and because of the convenience of texting they’ve raised around $5 million dollars.
fosca January 14, 2010
i can understand your rage but wouldn´t consider this an exclusive. the ammount of crap that is broadcast is beyond belief. be happy you do not live in germoney where the official channels charge for the shite they produce.
Julia January 14, 2010
It’s worse than that…they were there last night. They did a full 30-minute “special” after the regular NBC Nightly News. It was Brian Williams, Ann Curry and Al Roker standing on the runway talking about…well, the airport. And the planes. Planes! At the airport! Yes, there certainly is an aspect of the story related to the supplies and whether they will somehow be distributed to those who need them, or whether they will sit and rot on the tarmac, or whether we will begin to see crowds take matters into their own hands in the absence of the former to prevent the latter.
But, all that aside, it struck me that there were probably more immediate and impactful stories going on. Struck me, too, that I wasn’t sure these were the folks to who were going to bring those stories to us.
As the 30-minute “special” wrapped, I turned to my boyfriend and said, “Well, at least Roker didn’t do the weather. Thank God for small miracles, right?”
Right.
Daymon January 14, 2010
Thanks Michael…right on target. I think they are actually afraid of the population and have probably been advised to not enter the communities where the real story is taking place.
Don’t forget they also have Brian Williams and a couple of other talking heads…all reporting from the airport. I am sure they are also staying and sleeping on the planes.