“Media have congratulated themselves mightily these past few weeks for their naked coverage. But while it has often been brave and insightful, it has also been dangerous and irresponsible,” USA Today contributor Harriet Rubin writes today.
“For their part, the displaced were quickly made ‘evacuees,’ since mere ‘flood victims’ would have dehydrated the drama. Reporters’ salty tears went down, over the air, a little funky, like MSG, as they puzzled over how best to milk more flood victim grief and find the silver lining — a few poignant family photos, a sense of closure upon returning to find a house completely gone.” But seriously, how many reporters actually cried on the air? Why do these columnists feel the need to exaggerate?
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