Media Miscellany: More Katrina

Jack Shafer: Why isn't anyone talking about race and class? Slate's Shafer notices that none of the (predominantly white) TV reporters are acknowledging that the worst-hit victims of Katrina are predominantly poor and predominantly black. He muses that the lack of exploration of that fact may be the result of a kneejerk fear of blurting out something unintentionally racist (which we alluded to yesterday re: the loot/find debacle). David Brooks agrees, and thinks that the issue will likely prompt examination as the debris, literal and societal, is surveyed: "floods are also civic examinations...take a close look at the people you see wandering, devastated, around New Orleans: they are predominantly black and poor. The political disturbances are still to come." [Slate] Katrina: Like reporting from a War Zone The NYT's Bill Carter acknowledges and details the hardships facing network reporters in the field, which we know all about from their blogs (i.e. Rick Leventhal of Fox talking about private citizens sawing through fallen trees on the road, one at a time, to inch traffic forward). As if the natural challenges weren't enough, they're also getting shot at like in a war zone; TVNewser reports that NBC has hired a private security detail so they can do their job. The aftermath is starting to look more dangerous than the actual event. [NYT] Her Front Pages: Each day, NewsDesigner has the front pages from around the world, along with blog about design notes. Yesterday's front pages were remarkable, and even strangely beautiful in places; see yesterday's WaPo front page after the jump. There is a round-up of front pages from the affected areas -- The Mobile Register, The Mississippi Press, the Biloxi Sun-Herald, The Times-Picayune -- all of which were only available on-line, and an account of desperately trying to publish the Sun-Herald by Kevin Wendt, news designer from the San Jose Mercury News who came down to help: "They're doing work that is hard to even imagine, in conditions that are even more unbelievable." The story is really something else. All the front pages are, actually (and Chicago Red Streak, you need a spanking). [NewsDesigner] The NYT calls us to action, with a reminder Yesterday's editorial was straightforward: disbelief at the devastation, acknowledgement of ordinary acts of generosity, a quick swipe at Bush, and then: "Those of us in New York watch the dire pictures from Louisiana with keen memories of the time after Sept. 11, when the rest of the nation made it clear that our city was their city, and that everyone was part of the battle to restore it. New Orleans, too, is one of the places that belongs to every American's heart - even for people who have never been there."

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Media Miscellany: More Katrina

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