Tropical storm Fay, run for your lives!!

[Gunsmith]

You know tropical storms are no joke they can cause damage and tornados that cause more damage but the way our news covers it is absolutely ridiculous. They have been so thirsty for a storm the last couple of years they didn't know what to do with themselves. Now they have a storm and to their disappointment it did not make hurricane strength as they had prayed for. Now they are giving us "Live Storm Team Coverage" of plastic lawn chairs and recycle bins blown in to the bushes over and over again. We are repeatedly told to "Hunker down" and don't be foolish and go driving around for no reason. What does "hunker" mean anyways, crouch, duck, hide, close your eyes, what? Is it in the dictionary? "We're talking mass hysteria here folks, cats and dogs living together, real wrath of God type stuff.


What would we do without the over the top news telling us what to do and making sure those easily influenced were not scared to death? I don't how the news is in everyone else's neck of the woods but I am sure ours can rival anything you guys have in California for sensationalism. The bad thing is that if there really was anything to worry about you could not tell the difference in the news cast. Think of the hard work it must take to make stories out of nothing all the time just to sell commercial time.

The funny thing is watching the disappointment on the faces of the field reporters they cut to when they don't have captivating video of death and destruction to show you. Our local news begs you the entire news cast to Email them any pictures or video you have.


Didn't Don Henley write a song about this?

[Tappy]

maybe your have to be the first that outruns a tornado in a spider , live covered !!! if you can hit one of the reporters you get extra apreciation

[Gunsmith]

our reporters would jump in front of the cars just to get the video!

[Tappy]

touché

[mbouse]

i predict that it will only get worse as time wears on. sensationalism and exageration are the norm now adays.

the next time i hear a sports announcer cry "Unbelievable" i am gonna scream! I just saw it, you just saw it. three times on the replay i saw it. what makes it so unbelievable? nothing more than a ball flying over a fence...like thousands of other balls that will fly over fences between now and next year this time. he's done it before, and he'll do it again...BELIEVE IT, then..git over it. it is only a game.

the problem is, we have way too much free time. far to many TV channels to "choose" from. far too much time wasted in third person, passive entertainment. everyone thinks they gotta present something new and unique in order to grab our attention...unfortunately, in most situations, they are right. murder and mayhem are routine. Wars appear in our livingroom, anytime we wanna watch. 24/7, 365 overload of our senses; and we don't have the COMMON sense to shut the tube off.

git off yer butts america!! go play in the sandbox with the grandkids, toss a ball with the neighbor boy. teach a kid the difference between 10mm and 7/16", and why each are important to her! show your daughter how to be self-sufficent and change her own oil and rotate her own tires. One of these days, those kids will be grown, and not have time for you. One of these days, you won't have the strength to show them anything but your walker. ya kan't buy back time.

[So Cal Mark]

out here in the land of the eternal sun, a drizzle that produces 1/4" of rain gets Storm Watch on all of the tv stations. It's hilarious to see the field reporters with rain boots looking for puddles to stand in for the video.

[rlux4]

Hey Gunsmith, you're right on. My father in law is out here visiting from Naples, Fla. He's glued to the TV set watching the storm watch. One of the programs was called "Worst Case Scenario"! Then they gave the wind speed: 60 mph. Out here 45-60 mph winds are a weekly occurance. I couldn't help but laugh. You're right about them being dissapointed that it didn't become a hurricane also.
Ron

[kristoj]

My job for the last 20 years has primarily involved dealing with the media, you I have definitely seen a major shift toward sensationalism, where journalistic standards are now passé (and I have a degree in journalism). It's really too bad. But at the end of the day, news has to compete for viewers in the new world of "reality" TV. If you're not drawing viewers, your not making money. And in our country, TV is a business, not a public service. So do you blame the media for the crap they put on TV or the viewers for watching it?

Personally, I get nearly all of my news at online news sites -- this allows you to click around and quickly weed out the more sensational stuff and go directly to news that matters to you. When I do watch TV news, it is always PBS. Local news is basically the police blotter -- the house caught on fire, this person was gunned down, this local official is... (fill in the blank: wasting tax payer's money, having an affair, etc.) -- in other words, a complete waste of time.

[So Cal Mark]

wow Mike, go get a cold one, sit in the lawn chair and relax! The world can't get much worse, so just enjoy the ride

[pope]

The world is the world, we have really had it good for the last 40 years, but the media makes you believe otherwise. I go upnorth for a week, no radio, no newspapers...just dvd movies and fishing and a little Uhhummm. One splendid week! When I come back, the media makes you believe we are all gonna die. Yet, I just had a week to prove we arent, and the world is just the same as it has always been (without the additional hype). Newspapers are already a dead media. Dont watch TV news and everything will be fine.
Read a FIAT manual.

[ga.spyder]

Hey Gunsmith
what would you give to see Jim Cantore of the Weather Channel washed out to sea in his rainsuit? I bet it wouldnt even mess up his hair.The worse part is they all WANT another Katrina.I heard you did get a little rain?
Craig

[mdrburchette]

Sure would be nice if that tropical storm would come our way. We need RAIN! But the news coverage your getting is no different than ours when they predict that 20% chance of snow. The roads are salted, the grocery stores are packed with not a loaf of bread or gallon of milk in sight and the roads are congested with people trying to get everything done before the dusting. It's crazy!

[mbouse]

i'm with you pope. shut the tube off.

[Gunsmith]

Well we did get a lot of rain, THANK GOD, we needed it. Now Fay is going to go out to see and then "really" become a low level hurricane and continue to stay in the news. There is a lot of water here at the range and I had a small leak in the roof but nothing I could take a picture of for the news. We may stage a good one for next time just to see if they will be hungry enough to show it.

I do realize it is all about advertizing money and try to keep that in mind, but I am ready to start boycotting the underwriters that pay for this garbage.

I do have a great idea for the news that would make tons of money and everyone would watch it. Do the news with muppets! That's right muppets. Make them look similar enough to the real news anchors with similar yet goofy names so we all know who is getting spoofed. But actually do the real news covering real events. I personally think it would be great, can you imagine the interviews? "Now let's go to the frog on the street, Kermit what's going on out there?" Wouldn't you watch it?

[So Cal Mark]

here is a video of a resident that thought it would be fun to kite surf in Fay
http://www.wjno.com/cc-common/news/sect ... le=4117332