This week, we are all haunted by waters

I wasn't the only one pouring out my thoughts in helpless frustration at being unable to do much about the suffering I was seeing on TV on Thursday (see below, “Where is the outrage?”). I received this from my friend Tom Jacobs, an accomplished producer:

Images and stories of poor Black folks don’t play as well on television as missing young white girls.  Politicians would rather cozy up to well heeled corporate special interests than respond to an underclass with little education or money.

But Katrina changed the rules.

The magnitude of this week’s disaster is of such a scale that television news has probably had more stories about poor Black folks on the air this week than they’ve had since television news began. And they’re stories that for the most part, television is woefully unprepared to cover.

Poor Black folks comprise a community that the executives who run television news divisions knew little about and rarely acknowledge. They are a segment of American society that is largely invisible in television news.  But Katrina lifted the veil. Katrina has forced television news divisions to send their best and brightest into this heretofore “invisible” community. And increasingly it’s becoming apparent, that many of the journalists covering this tragedy don’t like what they see and how this community is being treated.

Politicians say they’re responding quickly.

But what we see are pictures of dead bodies lying in the streets, an elderly woman dead in her wheel chair, a newborn infant near death because there is no formula. We hear journalists talk about watching rats eating the dead and listen to American citizens begging their government for food and water. These are stories we expect to see in some war ravaged Third World nation, not from New Orleans, not from Americans.

But they are stories that I for one, as horrific as they are, am glad to see. They show an America that needs to be seen and exposed. It is a legacy of Hurricane Katrina for which I am grateful.

Meanwhile, Broadcasting & Cable’s John Eggerton just posted his memories of the New Orleans Convention Center,  the giant box where many of us have attended television industry gatherings in the past and which has now turned into a warehouse of death and fear:

http://www.bcbeat.com/?q=node/650

And following on my earlier post about whether ABC will air the hurricane pilot of “Invasion” in three weeks, this from Brian Henke:

History Channel last night pulled a program called Isaac's Storm (about the man who warned about the 1900 hurricane that destroyed Galveston, Texas and killed 8,000 people) and showed some show about Prohibition.

On the jump page, another charity concert announced.       

NASHVILLE, Tenn.  (Sept. 1, 2005 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE) -- The Grand Ole Opry presented by Cracker Barrel Old Country Store and television network Great American Country (GAC) today announced plans for Country Reaches Out: An Opry Benefit for the American Red Cross to assist with hurricane relief.  The Sept. 27 event, to be held at the Grand Ole Opry House, will begin at 8 p.m. ET.  GAC will broadcast live from the event starting at 9 p.m. ET.

Among the growing list of artists scheduled to appear are Alan Jackson, Alison Krauss, Craig Morgan and Billy Currington.

The commercial-free television event will include appearances and performances by country music artists who will raise awareness for The American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund and urge contributions from GAC viewers in the wake of Hurricane Katrina that caused catastrophic damage throughout Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia.  Profits from the show's ticket sales will also benefit the Red Cross.

"Without fail, country music and its fans show compassion and support for those in need," said Colin Reed, Chairman and CEO of Gaylord Entertainment, the Opry's parent company. "The Opry is the heart and home of country music, and the Opry family-- its employees and artists alike-- wants to do everything it can to make sure country's heart is extended to our neighbors who have suffered such unspeakable losses this week."

In addition to the live GAC broadcast, the Opry event will be simulcast on GAC sister networks DIY Network and FINE LIVING to maximize the TV audience.

Comments

[Nick A. Davis]

So true - poor blacks are not in the news unless they have murder or raped someone. Sad but true. It is almost like "Oh well - at least the other groups and the rich got out."

[Erin Gallagher]

I heard Kanye West's comments on live national TV last night during the Katrina relief concert. I would like to send a personal message to Mr. West. I hope that he will not rescind or apologize for his comments on national television. Mr. West is not alone in his opinion that President Bush does not care about black people whose lives have been devastated by hurricane Katrina. I am a 30 yr. old white woman living in Pennsylvania. After watching recent news coverage of the aftermath of Katrina, I can't help but share Mr. West's opinion of President Bush. I think that millions of Americans as well as the international community also feel the same way. How can we not think that the victims' race and social class had something to do with the ridiculously slow response time to get those people out of there? There has been 24/7 news coverage showing SEAS of African Americans who are trying to survive in conditions worse than those in 3rd world countries. I can't help but think if CNN was showing pictures of hundreds of thousands of white suburbians instead of poor black Americans, that the federal government would have moved much faster to rescue them.

I would also like to send a message to all African Americans across the US. I feel I can speak for the average white American population in saying that we are all SICKENED by what has happened in the Gulf Port region, especially what has happened in the past 5 days in New Orleans. I am embarrassed to call myself an American after what has happened to all of those poor souls in the Gulf Port areas. I sincerely hope that there are major social repercussions that will result from what has happened here. Clearly something big needs to change so that something like this NEVER happens again on US soil.

Finally, I would like to encourage all Americans to get involved with their local governments to initiate programs to relocate these people to your hometowns and help them start new lives. If Americans across the nation all adopted one person affected by the hurricane, take them into your homes, give them some food, hot showers, clean, dry clothes and a soft bed to sleep in and help them start new lives, we can all have an impact here. Your local governments will give you food stamps to help feed them. Many airline companies have offered to fly hurricane victims for free anywhere in the country to be with relatives or friends. But what about the millions of people affected who don't have anywhere to go? Once the federal government gets its act together it will have to give them money to re-build their lives. But we all know how the US government works. It will be months before these poor people see any relief from the US government. We can ACT NOW to help them. Imagine if you had nothing in this world and some kind stranger offered to take you in and help you. Make room in your life for a hurricane victim - if every American performs an extrordinary act of kindness we will all be better off.