Just had to reblog Lori’s most excellent post! And I would add another word in there we need to be aware of: privacy. While TV and the internet certainly have their place in keeping us informed of what’s going on in these disasters, it’s also true (in my opinion) that we’ve become a nation of voyeurs sucking the emotions of folks who should be left to their grief without having those mics stuck in their faces. I would have answered, “How the hell do you think I feel, idiot!” That’s a BIG pet peeve of mine. News media is entirely too intrusive.
I love words. The textures, the shapes, popping p’s and sharp t’s, languorous l’s and sighing h’s. I reckon most writers love words. But we also know that words are powerful. You remember the old schoolyard chant: “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me”? Flagrant lie. And secretly, we all know it.
There ought to be a retirement home for words that no longer serve us, words that have changed meaning over time, or worn out their old meanings. “Meet,” for instance. Sure, we still use “meet” quite a bit — “I will meet you for lunch,” “Tommy has a swim meet” — but we no longer use it to mean “proper” or “appropriate,” as in “it is right and meet that we should join this couple in matrimony.” That’s okay. “Meet” still has a lot of life left in it. But words that…
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Impromptu Promptlings 
Raili’s comment reminded me of an incident when I was in my teens. I had a crush on a local photographer, and he was driving me somewhere when we ran into a traffic jam. He got out of the car to see the cause of the hold-up. Within seconds, he stuck his head back in the car, grabbed his camera, and said “It’s a car crash – looks nasty. I think I’ve got a scoop, and ran off in the direction of the crash. There was no concern on his face, only excitement and greed.
That was the end of THAT crush!
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That would have been a little disconcerting. Geez…
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He moved to LA, and he’s doing very well for himself, hob-nobbing with the stars of the silver screen…
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Sorry you didn’t tag along?
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exactly, no problem, great post 🙂
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what the reporters have to understand too is, people are going to be really emotionally after losing everything. and it doesnt help much with them knowing they have no where to stay at night, but the reporter is going either home or to a nice hotel room.
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That’s so true. It makes you wonder how many journalists connect emotionally with these folks or if for a lot of them it’s just a job, a race to get their copy in first. Thank you so much for stopping in! I appreciate that comment. Hadn’t thought about that. 🙂
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What I find irksome is the reporters who hound and chase people and shove microphones in their face, harrass and bully. I know some of them have done horrid things, but honestly! It smacks of gutter journalism to me.
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I agree.
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The media can offer us outside the horror a glimpse into what really happened, something an image from above, tiny houses with tiny roofs sticking up from a sea that used to be a neighborhood. The reporters can offer a chance for people to vent and express their story if they choose, but questions like “how did it feel to have everything you own destroyed?” or “are you grateful to be rescued?”
It reminds me of Sally Jess Raphel on her talk show asking a woman “So what was it like to walk into your house and find your entire family murdered?”
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Exactly!
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