Why isn't the hurricane damage the top story right now? That story isn't linked on the NYT home page.
I can't help feeling that the NYT is trying to protect the Biden/Harris administration from suffering political damage (like what happened to George W. Bush over Katrina).
The top of the home page is dominated by Israel's wars: "Why the World’s Biggest Powers Can’t Stop a Middle East War/The United States’ ability to influence events in the Middle East has waned, and other major nations have essentially been onlookers," "Israel Keeps Up Strikes Against Hezbollah in Lebanon/The Israeli military said it had hit dozens of Hezbollah targets, a day after deadly strikes near Beirut. Israel killed the group’s leader on Friday," "Having ignored allies and defied critics, Benjamin Netanyahu is basking in a rare triumph. Having ignored allies and defied critics, Benjamin Netanyahu is basking in a rare triumph," "Iran projected caution after Israel’s killing of Hassan Nasrallah and bombings in Beirut," "Despair, Celebration and Shock Follows News of Nasrallah’s Death in Beirut," and "A Decimated Hezbollah Is a Serious Blow to Iran."
Six stories! Important, though, and there's a lot of depth to those stories, including very new material.
But the next set of stories is the old 2024 presidential campaign: "Trump Allies Unleash Lawsuits, Setting Stage for Post-Election Fight," "These are five court cases to watch ahead of election day," and "Donald Trump and his real-life apprentice, JD Vance, are still honing their partnership."
But the next set of stories is the old 2024 presidential campaign: "Trump Allies Unleash Lawsuits, Setting Stage for Post-Election Fight," "These are five court cases to watch ahead of election day," and "Donald Trump and his real-life apprentice, JD Vance, are still honing their partnership."
Grouped with these is a religion story that is framed as a electoral-politics problem: "The Black Church’s Gen-Z Issue: ‘They Don’t Come Into the Building’/These congregations are struggling to attract younger members. That has consequences for social cohesion and Black political power." I interpret that to mean: What will Democrats do if black people stop congregating in churches?
This too is very substantial material that has been developed in advance.
After all of those stories, there are 2 front-page hurricane stories: "What We Know About Hurricane Helene’s Destruction So Far/Helene was the strongest storm ever to hit Florida’s Big Bend region. The storm inundated towns with floods and mudslides, killing at least 60" and "Western North Carolina is reeling after Hurricane Helene. Officials warned of more damage to come."
I'm willing to believe the hurricane material is subordinated to those other 2 categories of material because what the Times has to say about Hurricane Helene does not yet have the same kind of depth and detail. But I do have my suspicion that there is an effort to shape the story for political purposes — to hold back the Katrina-ization of Helene.
After all of those stories, there are 2 front-page hurricane stories: "What We Know About Hurricane Helene’s Destruction So Far/Helene was the strongest storm ever to hit Florida’s Big Bend region. The storm inundated towns with floods and mudslides, killing at least 60" and "Western North Carolina is reeling after Hurricane Helene. Officials warned of more damage to come."
I'm willing to believe the hurricane material is subordinated to those other 2 categories of material because what the Times has to say about Hurricane Helene does not yet have the same kind of depth and detail. But I do have my suspicion that there is an effort to shape the story for political purposes — to hold back the Katrina-ization of Helene.
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"But I do have my suspicion that there is an effort to shape the story for political purposes..."
A suspicion, you say? Sic semper NYT.
I’m surprised it’s not blasted front page from every news paper and news station with “climate change” somewhere in the subtitle a plug for how Harris/Walz plans on “stopping” it. Oh, and then a bonus paragraph about how Trump did something during his presidency that 100% caused the hurricane (or at least its damage), and that the red voters in NC totally got what they deserve, obviously.
Who can forget Chris Christie helping Romney lose after Sandy.
We drove on quite a few of the now impassable roads in western NC this past August in order to explore the area for possible summer vacation spots. Many of the roads are winding and narrow, some downright frightening on the side of the mountain. I was amazed then at the engineering effort to build them plus the hilltop communities that relied on them for construction and supplies. A handful of the communities are quite bougie. I can’t now even fathom what the repair/rebuild effort will be. A lot of the supporting earth is now in the valley. It’ll be a decade or two, if ever.
The damage is far from us in East Tennessee, so I put on Fox News yesterday hoping for some good iodates and visuals, but was surprised that there was almost nothing. So it’s not just the NYT, and I don’t get it either. The CNN story I saw did make sure to put climate change way before the actual damage.
*The damage is NOT far from us, I mean.
Maybe they are mostly red counties.
I don't get my news from the various sources being mentioned, which is probably why I do know about it.
One major issue re reporting is the lack of power and cell service in the area. I hope once that improves via generators and helicopter access, more can be told. We’ll see. There’re tons of pics on FB now, so there should be enough to ramp this up already, one would think.
Remember the Obama administration response to the Nashville flooding in 2010? I expect the same here
So many news outlets, local and national, fill their space with set pieces planned weeks in advance.
As for actual breaking news, well good luck with that. The editorial board is still deliberating on the proper framing, etc. and the kids in the newsroom don't know what to think yet, ya know?
I have a brother living in North Carolina and he messaged us not to worry, he had not lost power. I wondered what he was talking about. Yet I read up on the storm on weather.com and CNN and elsewhere because I knew those Appalachian hills can funnel heavy rain into creek gullies which then become deadly, raging torrents within a few hours, sometimes within minutes. Thanks to my efforts I acquired the misinformation that flash flooding in the hills had not happened or at least that it was not severe.
If the Times could isolate one town that was primarily filled with people of color, they'd be all over it. But with Asheville it's a mix and in the surrounding towns it's mostly White folks just living their quiet lives. Not worthy of coverage by progressive media.
FWIW, I grew up in Florida (Clearwater) and, as a kid in 1961 driving across the causeway between the beach and the mainland in our 1960 Volkswagen Beetle, was almost blown into the bay by Hurricane Donna’s winds. The water was rapidly reaching the roadway and we just made it. Since that time, I’ve watched the state respond to these storms and am always impressed with Ron DeSantis’ leadership. We really screwed up when, as a country, rejected his presidential bid. I think he would have fixed a lot of what’s been broken since January of 2021.
Ann:
Aside from the coverage, I've noticed a LACK of comment or interest in what the Federal Government was doing in advance, during, and after to support affected communities.
This was one of the largest hurricanes (in terms of total size) to hit in a long time, and the rain damage is extreme. There are tons of visuals - really incredible visuals.
I haven't even seen the word FEMA in any headlines.
I share the same suspicion.
They don't want there being an expectation that Biden will have to do a press conference where he'll go off script and say that his administration is doing everything it can to get all the available frozen possum, hog jowls and sorghum to these people.
I suspect the situation can vary widely from place to place
Grim is a first responder in NC
https://grimbeorn.blogspot.com/2024/09/hurricane-update.html?m=1
He had to get elected first. His campaign was loaded down with GOPe types.
Oh god they are back
"We really screwed up when, as a country, rejected his presidential bid"
No. He screwed up when he walked back his doubts on Ukraine, tipping his hand that he was just one more tool of the neocons.
Thanks to Tiktok and X I am aware of how bad areas of NC are. This is why the Swamp wants to shut down the few social media platforms they don't control. The NC Governor and US President are Democrats so the media is not going to trash the emergency response.
Why isn't the hurricane damage the top story right now? That story isn't linked on the NYT home page.
I can't help feeling that the NYT is trying to protect the Biden/Harris administration from suffering political damage (like what happened to George W. Bush over Katrina).
Also it is just a bunch of Trump supporters that are affected.
No Democrat gives a crap about the people in the areas hit.
They are just mad that Trump is still alive and vexing them.
Agree with our hostess 100% on this one.
Though we spend most of our time at our home in Forsyth County, GA, north of Atlanta, we still have a home in Kingsport, TN, where we moved in1991. Our normal route up there is to follow US 23 to I-40 west of Asheville then pick up I-26 there to go over the mountains. In case of snow in the winter at Sams Gap at the state line on I-26 we will take I-40 west to I-81 and proceed north from there. Both of these routes are now closed to us. The I-26 bridges over the Nolichucky River in TN were destroyed as the river rose to 30 ft, breaking the previous record of 24 ft set in 1901. The little town of Erwin, TN, there on the river also suffered significant damage. Ann and Meade should remember stopping at the McDonald's there on their way back from Asheville several years ago before their wedding. That is ant Exit 37, which has seen significant commercial development since then. I-26 is closed beginning at that exit but not sure if there is much damage there. Many other bridges of state and local roads over the river or tributary creeks are also gone. I don't see any good way to get into TN from NC. Most of the eastbound lanes of I-40 in the gorge along the Pigeon River near the TN/NC line were wiped away. NCDOT has said to consider all of western NC closed. Lots of people isolated in mountain homes or little mountain towns with no way out.
It will take years for these parts of NC and TN to recover. I have been following news from family and friends in TN for several days. So far little on the national news about all this, but really good coverage from local TV stations and newspapers and even individuals using their phones and in some cases drones. I've only seen evidence of state and local agencies dealing with the aftermath, no federal. If FEMA is there they are quite invisible. Biden and Harris will stay away from all this. Except for Asheville this is very heavy Trump territory.
The economic implications of this are significant. Where I worked in Kingsport is one of the largest chemical plants in the US. 50% of all its production is exported from the US, with the greatest portion of that going out of Charleston. We'd send hundreds of export containers every week down I-26 and bring empties back. At the time I retired we were the single biggest exporter out of that port. The only viable alternate route is up I-81 to I-77 then south through Charlotte to Columbia to pick up I-26 again. Both these interstates, especially 81, already have more than enough truck traffic. That is about to get worse.
"Why the World’s Biggest Powers Can’t Stop a Middle East War"
Because Israel wants it and the US has no president right now. Israel is afraid that if they don't get their war now, they might not be able to win it in five years. Of course when Israel manages, finally, the provocation that draws Iran into open war, we will be treated to the non stop bleating that "Iran started it!"
Can't wait.
Climate change is a myth as are higher insurance rates….
Asheville is Portland East.
Why isn't the hurricane damage the top story right now?
As Salena Zito points out on X, Appalachia gets ignored a lot.
Red counties for sure. How do you think voting will be there in a month? It is the farthest thing from their minds right now, but in a close swing state it might just be deciding.
But But Kamala assured us FEMA was mobilizing!
Quite a few You Tubes on Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge last night.
God loves Dollywood. We do too!
The Progressive Left Legacy Media is not ignoring the hurricane effects because the regions are red. There are plenty of blue cities there, but these are all incidental benefits. They're ignoring the disaster because they want to avoid embarrassment to the candidate. Just imagine what the onslaught would be under Donald Trump. In fact: you don't even have to imagine it: Just look at how they treated hurricanes and natural disasters during his first term. All about Climate Change, all about mismanagement, all about opportunities for laying blame.
Trump should go there.
Why does cliemate change force rates only to go up?
Remember this catchy ditty from hbo's Treme?
I wonder if we'll get a "shame, shame, shame, on you Kamala" that is half as good?
https://youtu.be/WcKvCjO4JlM?si=Tru3AtGBdvCyMsVZ
John Henry
Screw NC. The more death and destruction, the better.
"Benjamin Netanyahu is basking in a rare triumph ...." If this is true, why all the whining and demonstrations?
"Benjamin Netanyahu is basking in a rare triumph ...." If this is true, why all the whining and demonstrations?
That's what I'm waiting to happen. I've always thought his going to Shreveport in 2016, there was heavy flooding at the time, was one of the things the put him over. Obama and Clinton ignored the place, just like they'd ignored Nashville early in Obama's term.
asshole
Since Biden is incapacitated, Kamala should be focusing all her attention on such a large disaster, right?
No communication yet.
Calm down, Tim. Israel right now has a better military than we do. Obama fixed it so we are no threat to Iran.
Ann often sees decisions and design where I see murphy's law and chance. In this case I suggest the problem the Times had is that no one predicted the damage in NC. They sent their reporters to FL. When Helene hit western NC, it seems to have taken out many roads and bridges, not mention the communications (hence the StarLink importance). So when the editors tried to decide on what stories go on the front page, they don't have much from NC because their reporters were elsewhere and, by the time they realized where the story was, it was very hard for their reporters to get into Asheville etc. So they printed the best/most important stories they had on hand when they had to make that decision.
Exactly !
Latest death toll is up to 64, with 11 from Florida. Reports say that of the 11, nine happened in the mandatory evacuation zones, demonstrating the wisdom of Ron DeSantis’s Emergency Preparedness team in designating those areas for mandatory evacuation.
Where exactly is Joe Biden? We haven't seen ir heard from him in days and no one from the admin has said anything about the hurricane. If this were NY or DC it would be on a 24 or loop about destructive climate change, but since it the red state deplorables who cares
Hmmmm..... 'News'. Imagine calling yourself that, when a natural disaster that is 4 days old, and within driving distance, and is affecting millions of your fellow citizens, remains a mostly-uncovered story. If there are problems with accessing the disaster sites, there are certainly no problem accessing the leadership responsible for addressing it - well, no real problems, except maybe finding them.
They had no such insurmountable problems covering Katrina, now did they? And that was before the use of sophisticated drones and Starlink was commonplace.
Sending FEMA to wNC is a nobrainer if you really want to prove you care about all Americans. Seems she doesn’t really care.
Once Helene went further east than expected and missed causing any major destruction in Atlanta, the media pretty much moved on to other issues. Meanwhile, some communities are totally gone, houses are swept away, and the number of deaths due to flooding continues to rise.
Ryan Hall Ya'll, weather YouTuber" who gave amazing uptodate information during the storm itself is working hard to provide communication via StarLink to rescue workers, LEOs and the citizens trapped in Asheville. All roads are blocked and access is only available by air.
I'm east of Atlanta, our EMC serves approx 19,000 meters and 14,000 were out at the height of the storm. 7,000 remain out. My power was restored after 12 hours and I was one of the few lucky ones for some reason. Other EMC line crews from west Georgia showed up yesterday to help so things are moving a bit faster now but it will probably be several days before power is restored to the entire area. Some communities in NC and TN are completely gone.
One NC county received approx 40 inches of rain over the storm period. Our area had a pre-storm lasting 24 hours before the Helene weather actually arrived so areas were already saturated before the hurricane dumped more rain.
Good catch on the Governor of North Carolina being a Democrat. No major newspaper nor any of the ABC/CBS CNN/NBC/MSNBC news channels wants to help Mark Robinson get elected.
Saddest deaths are in a report that a mother and two one month old twins died in Georgia due to Helene. No other details yet. Christians on this thread might offer up a prayer for the mother and her little ones.
Kamala will fly over on her next trip to Georgia.
Kamala may not be directly responsible for administering the Federal Emergency Response (FEMA), but my goodness, what a golden opportunity to shine. She could reasonably call on the enormous resources the US has for disaster relief, to put herself in the middle of the disaster scene and show caring and resolve - and leadership.
Instead: Dial down the news coverage, boys: No response is the best response.
Donald Trump called up his own labor and equipment at his own expense to contribute to the response of 911, at the World Trade Center. As a private citizen.
He should go there.
The governor of NC is Roy Cooper- Democrat.
POTUS is Joe Biden- brain addled Democrat.
Newspapers will start to cover it as soon as they figure out a way to blame piss poor disaster response on Republicans.
In a week or so the Republican led house will be excoriated for refusing to spend everyone else's money to make everyone in NC completely whole again.
Lesson that should have been leaned- and likely hasn't: Don't build in flood plains!
Karl Denninger at market-ticker,org has something to say about that today.
Having said that: I suppose I should be wary of the October Surprise. They could be preparing this as a Grand Entrance.
"I can't help feeling that the NYT is trying to protect the Biden/Harris administration from suffering political damage (like what happened to George W. Bush over Katrina)."
As one of my theater teachers used to say, "The proof of the pudding is in the taste."
Just a bunch of Trump supporters affected? Well yes. Deplorables, every stinkin’ one of them.
I'm in Augusta, GA, which is in NE and Central GA right on the Savannah River, which is also the border with SC. We got hit hard with high winds and rain. Much of the general area is without power or water. 12 are reported dead in our area. Many roads and driveways are blocked by fallen trees. Emergency services are out in force, but it will be monunental job to repair the damage Phone service is spotty, as is internet, and so solid information is hard to come by. Lots of folks in the SE are in the same shape or worse, We need all the help we can get.
AMDG Asheville is just an East Cost Austin. TX
Of course Iran did start it and all the terrorism as far as Argentina.
And the Governor is a Democrat
So there's no one to make look bad who's a safe target
Therefore they don't cover it
A10 pilot said...
"I think he would have fixed a lot of what’s been broken since January of 2021."
I agree. @Desantis2028!
You can't do "narrative journalism" until you decide what the narrative is supposed to be.
Kamala says, I was a middle class Appalachian Rube, where they had good lawns. Make sure you wash your collard greens in the bath tub. I had a summer job selling inner tubes to the families that lived at the top of the holler during hurricanes.
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