Aftermath: “Heroes Behind The Cameras”

Eugene Robinson gives props to the heroes behind the cameras during Katrina: “The gold-star heroes were the men and women who operate the cameras, because they vaulted logistical hurdles that stymied hapless federal, state and local officials and found a way to do what only television can: Show us what’s happening as it happens.“

Good point, but then he takes the predictable path to the end of his column: “Will CNN, MSNBC and Fox go back to their incessant breathless reports about MWW? (That’s Missing White Women, of course.) Will the legacy networks — NBC, CBS and ABC — go back to chasing elusive viewers with evening newscasts that feature soft stories about trends and lifestyles, as opposed to hard news? Or will the Katrina coverage spur television, with its unique power, to use its rediscovered aggressiveness and emotion to cover the other great stories of our time?”