Katrina: FNC “Less Over-Hyped”

Jennifer e-mails her observations:

“I usually refuse to watch Fox news due to their politics. But even I have to admit their Katrina coverage has been less over-hyped and more — I have to say it — balanced than CNN and MSNBC. Shep Smith’s excellent reporting from the French Quarter included the news that he saw no flooding there whatsover. A few ceramic tiles down, some broken windows, but no flooding and overall the Quarter was in remarkably good shape.

I was impressed that Fox reported on the less sexy facts, including cases where the damage was *less* than anticipated. They’ve just generally seemed less desperate for a disaster than MSNBC and CNN.

Fox was also the first cabler (that I heard) willing to acknowledge that New Orleans has been spared the catastrophic devastation that many predicted yesterday. While MSNBC now seems also to be taking that position, Fox was on it several hours earlier.”

> Update: 3:30pm: “You might want to reel in your praise of Shep Smith and Fox,” an e-mailer says. “They reported there was no flooding in NoLa. The video from MSNBC would suggest otherwise.”