"SuperKatrina": Newscasts Converge on San Diego For Fire Coverage

Huffington Post:

As previously mentioned, all three nightly newscasts originated live from the scene of California's devastating forest fires tonight as Katie Couric, Brian Williams and Charlie Gibson all gave live (or mostly live) and detailed reports from the afflicted region. Couric compared it to a "war zone" and "a living hell," saying that Lake Arrowhead region looked like "a smoky ghost town." Gibson ran through the litany of acres lost and people evacuated, and declared: "This is bad and it's going to continue to be bad."

All three broadcasts obviously featured seriously compelling footage, but CBS's opening was by far the most mesmerizing, featuring shot after dramatic shot of raging orange flames cut with embracing, weeping homeowners, the soot-rimmed eyes of a firefighter, and Couric in a helicopter, wind whipping through her hair, with Couric narrating over. Both Gibson and Couric opened with taped segments -- Couric on a hillside and Gibson dramatically from a helicopter, his voice intoning "Good Evening" filtered through a special headset mike, before both of them were revealed in their liveshots. Williams, meanwhile, started straight into the broadcast from amid the ruins, walking his viewers through the being-there experience in a long tracking shot at the top, including explaining the face mask around his neck to guard against breathing in the smoky, ash-filled air ("all times we're not on the air we have to put them on") and bending down to show viewers a Mazda wheelcover that had melted and then re-solidifid, puddle-shaped.

Read the whole story: Huffington Post

Comments

[Ginzaman]

A few points:

In the mega anchor competition, does this mean that Brian Williams is the baddest of the three for having the (fill in the blank) to actually be IN THE MIDDLE of it all, instead of the standard from-the-chopper stuff that everybody else does?

Of course Bush is going because being a good rich white idiotic neocon he goes where he's told. But in all of this coverage of a horrible event, how many people will actually have the courage to not let up in talking about Katrina victims that are STILL in trailers? Then again, if you're not rich, white and a neocon you're less than human??

[Aaroneous79]

I am in San Diego right now. I can tell you that the only reason Bush is coming is so he can try to take credit for the evacuation and how well it went. He's just trying to ride the coattails of what has already gone on here and give the republicans something good to point to over the upcoming months. Plus, what a waste of resources that needs to be spent to protect Bush. Bush, go to Crawford and clear some brush. We don't want you here.

[godlessclif]

Any pictures of black people carrying plasma TV sets. That was popular during Katrina.

[Violet47]

As a person who is still enduring the effects of Katrina, its like having salt rubbed in the wounds to see that our president is so happy to help California. I feel for California but am very angry that Bush ignored us and let so many poor people die while he was having fun at McCain's birthday party.
The media does not talk about where that lazy president was when we were drowning. Its just disgusting.

Violet47

[Id]

Honestly, many of the folks I spoke with are not thrilled to have George in town. Apparently it took some cajoling from the governator to get him down here at all and he will only set foot on this patch of ground after the fires have been extinguished on Thursday (the Santa Ana winds are expected to end by then).
Just send money George ... stow the photo op.

[wadenelson1]

And yet, USEFUL information is impossible to find.

Like slow, helicopters shots of partially burned neighborhoods, so RESIDENTS could see if THEIR house was still standing.

Even driving SLOWLY through neighborhoods with a camera hung out the window -- instead of these 3 second flames and engulfed houses pictures.

Lists of destroyed houses -- at least KFMB8 is providing that.

Staying PLENTY far back from teh smoke and flames,media copters could provide real-time shots of where the flames are. But they don't.

Instead they put a celebrity (Katie Couric) on a hillside, or in a chopper, and we see more of her than of what is critical interest to viewers.

THINK about what viewers want instead of what you consistently deliver.

Oh, and BTW, no, this isn't bigger than Katrina. If there are only 13,000 people at Qualcomm, and 10X that # went to friends, that's an evacuation of 130,000 people. Triple it, to 390,000 and it still doesn't match Katrina.

Perhaps 1000 homes, maybe 2000 have been lost in San Diego County, not the 10,000 or so in New Orleans.

The press is doing a lousy job, period.

[punkingale]

A guy from San Diego said it best. Replying to Jack Cafferty's question on CNN "Why has the Government been so quick to respond to Southern California?" This guy e-mailed "It's because we're white, rich and Republican­." 'Nuff said.

[Aaroneous79]

Apparently, you think we are in some kind of natural disaster competition. I can assure you that I am not. If you want to crunch numbers and tell us in San Diego how much worse it has been other places do it somewhere else. Now is not the time.

[punkingale]

Are you replying to me???