If you know about a hurricane, thank the news media

My wife and I have been closely monitoring Hurricane Florence the past several days. We have prepared ourselves and our home as best we could for the winds and rain that are forecast. I've used the weather app on my phone, the Weather Channel and a Raleigh TV station to keep informed about the storm.

During this time, I have heard two people tell me how "newspapers" or "the media" have exaggerated the dangers of the storm. They were both hard-core conservatives who blame "the mainstream media" for most everything they don't like and suspect government officials are deceitful. 

I wasn't going to argue with either of them, but it made me wonder what they thought they would do if there were no "mainstream media" to hire meteorologists, send reporters to impact areas, and provide maps and satellite photos showing where the storm is expected to go and when it is expected to arrive at various locations. Who would warn them of the approach of a dangerous storm so that they could prepare for threatening conditions, such as 100 mph winds or punishing rainfall that causes widespread flooding?

Demagogic politicians create a straw man and whipping boy of the news media, blaming them for misinformation, bias, conspiracy and even, yes, being an "enemy of the people." These critics had better hope they don't succeed in destroying the news media that use their revenue (mostly from advertising) to inform the public about things they need to know. Hurricanes are just one example of things the public needs to know.

Some news media-hating people say they'd still know all about hurricanes, tornadoes, elections, governmental decisions (from the courthouse to Congress), court decisions, crimes, new products and treatments for illnesses, and the availability of inoculations or low-cost medical care. But I doubt they've really looked into that.

News organizations are created to collect information such as this and distribute it to the public. A lot of work goes into just finding that information. Yes, there are governmental websites and some independent websites that post information about some government activities, but it takes a lot of work, especially for the untrained and unfamiliar, to find that information, understand it and pass it along.

I used to tell journalism students that one responsibility of news reporters is to be at the meetings, press conferences and events that voters, most of whom have full-time jobs, do not have the time to follow every meeting, conference or event. Reporters, who work full-time at collecting news, go where subscribers/voters don't have the time or inclination to go. Informing the public is the key responsibility of any news organization. It is what motivates newspaper people.

You don't like the "mainstream media"? OK. Unplug the TV, ignore the news websites on your computer or phone, don't heed the warnings, originated by government officials and passed along by the news media, to evacuate or prepare for the next storm on the horizon. See how that works out.

News judgment fails the test

As a 33-year veteran of what is derided as the "Mainstream Media," I feel qualified to offer this criticism. The national media, particularly the broadcast/cable segment, fail to see what is truly important and instead feed viewers their politicized and celebrity-focused version of important events.

That was evident this week when CNN and MSNBC focused exclusively on week-old coverage of the Feb. 14 Parkland, Fla., school shooting. Last week, it was a huge story — a frightening event that scared and frustrated every parent who sends a child to a public school. But by Feb. 21, a week later, when the Rev. Billy Graham died at age 99, not much new had happened in the Parkland shooting story, yet the cable news I saw while working out at the gym focused on the week-old shooting while ignoring the death of one of the most recognized and consequential persons of the 20th century.

Graham's death was meaningful to millions of American. For a great many people, their religion is the most important thing in their lives, and Graham represented that spiritual importance. News media should follow up on tragic events like the Parkland shooting, but that doesn't mean they should ignore later, more immediate news of great importance to the public. Those follow-ups I saw focused almost exclusively on efforts to change state and federal laws to make combat weapons, such as the one used in the Parkland school massacre, more difficult to obtain. No new developments had arisen in the shooting story. The news coverage focused on a political agenda.

Some news outlet got it right. The Raleigh News & Observer did a wonderful job chronicling the life of Graham. His death was the lead story on 1A with a separate front-page story on his influence on N.C. politics and three pages inside the front section with additional coverage of Graham's life. I'm sure the Charlotte Observer and other N.C. media also gave good coverage of Graham's passing. But the national news also should have given Graham his due. 

I have made this argument before. Princess Diana died Aug. 31, 1997, and news media provided wall-to-wall coverage for more than a week afterward as every aspect of her life and death was examined and re-examined. When Mother Teresa died days after Diana, on Sept. 5, the international news media barely noticed, even though she was a legend in the world of Christian missions and caring for the poor. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. Her life's work warranted coverage, and her death should have been front-page news. It should have overshadowed the days-old reporting of Diana's death, but it didn't. The news media chose glamour and celebrity over sacrifice, faith and compassion. This discrepancy exemplifies the national media's shift toward entertainment over substance, amusement over importance.

It's no wonder that many Americans do not trust the news they see on television or online when the most important aspect of many people's lives — their faith — is given no value by news editors.