they don't know when to stop.....

[musclehead]

the media has this problem of building up a news story to catastophic levels, they seemed not to go as far with Irene but I have to admit I've been driving not watching so I'm not a good judge in this instance. I know they have to go for overkill on reporting so they don't look like the underestimated the situation, but sometimes WOW. example? swine flu, they pumped that story up it almost burst under its own weight. yeah people died from it, but more people died from regular flu that year. 

this has been going on for decades. remeber three mile island? I was living in Virginia at the time and every night on the news it was the same thing "you gonna die!" (well ok maybe thats an exageration)
decades later I found out no radiation leaked out, none, zip, nada. nobody thinks that when you say the words 'nuclear reactor' and 'meltdown' in the same sentence its a good thing. but how about some truth about the real situation?

more recently the earthquake in Japan, the tsunami and nuclear emergency resulted in people in this country FREAKING OUT and there was a run on iodine tablets. you do NOT want to take iodine unless you have had a serious exposure to radiation. we got pretty muich zilch for radiation from Japan.

so my advice, listen to the news, scale it back about half and insert a HEAVY dose of common sense and you'll be fine

[The Anvil]

I know they have to go for overkill on reporting so they don't look like the underestimated the situation, but sometimes WOW.

Well I think they do it for ratings. Disasters get people watching.

Irene was an inconvenience up here, not much more for 99.99999999 percent of New Englanders.

[musclehead]

I know they have to go for overkill on reporting so they don't look like the underestimated the situation, but sometimes WOW.

Well I think they do it for ratings. Disasters get people watching.

Irene was an inconvenience up here, not much more for 99.99999999 percent of New Englanders.

you know they are watching each others feeds, and don't want to get left out of the ratings pile. I just think they go too far

[Jess from VA]

I call it DISASTER TELEVISION.......... and take it with a handful of salt.  

[ricoman]

I call it DISASTER TELEVISION.......... and take it with a handful of salt. 

is that "iodized" salt?

[Trynt]

Well, anyone with any breeding realizes the universe is centered in the NYC/DC area. Any one of any importance resides there.

[fudgie]

My take on things is this. You know the area you live in. If it snows, i'm betting a blizzard at times. Live in the plains or midwest, tornado. South/east coast, tropical storms/hurricanes. Major river, expect flooding. It really should not be a surprise that these things happen in your area. 

[MacDragon]

My take on things is this. You know the area you live in. If it snows, i'm betting a blizzard at times. Live in the plains or midwest, tornado. South/east coast, tropical storms/hurricanes. Major river, expect flooding. It really should not be a surprise that these things happen in your area. 

Can't argue with that... It's true. No matter where you live... something's going to come along.

[BigAl]

Fox News News Flash

This just in.

Take Cover the Hurricane is coming.

They do get over zealous with these disasters.

Ratings go up.

But the word gets out as well and that is what really matters.

It's up to you and I to figure out how to respond to it.

Much like Y2K.

I bought a Kerosene Heater in case of Electrical Outage.

A few Gallons of drinking Water.

Extra Ammunition In case I needed more water and Kerosene.

Just Kidding but there was mass hysteria and no one really knew what was gonna happen.

Turns out it was nothing much happened at all.

[Serk]

Much like Y2K.

Turns out it was nothing much happened at all.

I know you didn't directly say that Y2K was hype, but I kinda bristle at even the implication that Y2K was over hyped... It WAS a big deal... Nothing much happened because a LOT of people worked their asses off for several years leading up to it to make SURE nothing major went wrong...

Okay, I'll step down off my soapbox now... 

[RoadKill]

Much like Y2K.

Turns out it was nothing much happened at all.

I know you didn't directly say that Y2K was hype, but I kinda bristle at even the implication that Y2K was over hyped... It WAS a big deal... Nothing much happened because a LOT of people worked their asses off for several years leading up to it to make SURE nothing major went wrong...

Okay, I'll step down off my soapbox now... 

We all had faith in our 'Puter geeks! 

[Cliff]

Much like Y2K.

Turns out it was nothing much happened at all.

I know you didn't directly say that Y2K was hype, but I kinda bristle at even the implication that Y2K was over hyped... It WAS a big deal... Nothing much happened because a LOT of people worked their asses off for several years leading up to it to make SURE nothing major went wrong...

Okay, I'll step down off my soapbox now... 

+1 

[blackvalk]

I've been thinking about this subject for some time now and the story that sticks out in my mind is the Toyota Accelerator problem.  The throttle would stick in the full on position.

They reported every day for a long time and then NOTHING!   Did it correct itself?

I'm shocked it didn't put Toyota out of business

[MP]

I've been thinking about this subject for some time now and the story that sticks out in my mind is the Toyota Accelerator problem.  The throttle would stick in the full on position.

They reported every day for a long time and then NOTHING!   Did it correct itself?

I'm shocked it didn't put Toyota out of business

Well, they found nothing wrong with the throttle.

MP

[9Ball]

looks like Irene contributed or caused 40 deaths so far, one 20 YO girl drowned in her car less than 2 miles from my house.  She shouldn't have been out in the weather and obviously didn't believe the warnings that were issued.  Stupid mistake.

I don't think these people would agree it was over-reported.  Probably saved a few lives too.

The devastation was felt in a lot of places....not the end of the world but life-changing for a lot of people.

I think they got it right this time.....people were more prepared for the worse and many of us dodged the bullet.  We're not done with this storm yet...

http://news.yahoo.com/flood-dangers-east-coast-reels-irene-115858928.html

YMMV

[dalai-lama]

I know they have to go for overkill on reporting so they don't look like the underestimated the situation, but sometimes WOW.

Well I think they do it for ratings. Disasters get people watching.

Irene was an inconvenience up here, not much more for 99.99999999 percent of New Englanders.

Tell that to the people in Vermont or Western Mass.

the dalai

[The Anvil]

I know they have to go for overkill on reporting so they don't look like the underestimated the situation, but sometimes WOW.

Well I think they do it for ratings. Disasters get people watching.

Irene was an inconvenience up here, not much more for 99.99999999 percent of New Englanders.

Tell that to the people in Vermont or Western Mass.

the dalai

Yeah but there's nobody out there so 99.9999999% is probably still accurate.  And I'm not sure Vermont counts as New England. They're secession crazy out there.

Western MA isn't really that bad. I've got a bunch of friends out there and it's a lot of overflowing rivers and some power down. Vermont on the other hand did get whacked pretty good.

[Momz]

Yes, there was a bit heavier than normal rainfall in New England.
A few homeowners sump pumps failed and the grass is going to grow faster. 

[Willow]

I know they have to go for overkill on reporting so they don't look like the underestimated the situation, but sometimes WOW.

Well I think they do it for ratings. Disasters get people watching.

Irene was an inconvenience up here, not much more for 99.99999999 percent of New Englanders.

Tell that to the people in Vermont or Western Mass.

the dalai

Yeah but there's nobody out there so 99.9999999% is probably still accurate.   And I'm not sure Vermont counts as New England. They're secession crazy out there.

Western MA isn't really that bad. I've got a bunch of friends out there and it's a lot of overflowing rivers and some power down. Vermont on the other hand did get whacked pretty good.

Just for folks who enjoy simple math -

Vermont comprises approximately 3.96% of New England's population (New Hampshire makes up 8.35%).

.0000001 % (What's left after the 99.999999% that were merely inconvenienced) of New England's population is approximately one and one half people.

I must admit that initially I thought the projected impact of Irene on New England was overblown.  As the reports of actual damage have come in, I've reassessed, or at least readjusted, my thinking.

I think "The Anvil" could go a long ways in establishing some credibility by confessing that he projected his personal experience on all of New England and it simply turned out to just not be accurate.

I'm pleased to live where the hurricanes don't reach.    

[Serk]

I'm pleased to live where the hurricanes don't reach.    

On the flipside, ya' tend to get a whole lot more warning that a hurricane's on it's way than ya' do when a tornado is on it's way... Not that either one is a lot of fun...

[designer]

I know they have to go for overkill on reporting so they don't look like the underestimated the situation, but sometimes WOW.

Well I think they do it for ratings. Disasters get people watching.

Irene was an inconvenience up here, not much more for 99.99999999 percent of New Englanders.

Tell that to the people in Vermont or Western Mass.

the dalai

Yeah but there's nobody out there so 99.9999999% is probably still accurate.  And I'm not sure Vermont counts as New England. They're secession crazy out there.

Western MA isn't really that bad. I've got a bunch of friends out there and it's a lot of overflowing rivers and some power down. Vermont on the other hand did get whacked pretty good.

Just for folks who enjoy simple math -

Vermont comprises approximately 3.96% of New England's population (New Hampshire makes up 8.35%).

.0000001 % (What's left after the 99.999999% that were merely inconvenienced) of New England's population is approximately one and one half people.

I must admit that initially I thought the projected impact of Irene on New England was overblown.  As the reports of actual damage have come in, I've reassessed, or at least readjusted, my thinking.

I think "The Anvil" could go a long ways in establishing some credibility by confessing that he projected his personal experience on all of New England and it simply turned out to just not be accurate.

I'm pleased to live where the hurricanes don't reach.    

come on Willow, when has Anvil not projected his personnel experiences as fact across the general population.....   

[The Anvil]

I know they have to go for overkill on reporting so they don't look like the underestimated the situation, but sometimes WOW.

Well I think they do it for ratings. Disasters get people watching.

Irene was an inconvenience up here, not much more for 99.99999999 percent of New Englanders.

Tell that to the people in Vermont or Western Mass.

the dalai

Yeah but there's nobody out there so 99.9999999% is probably still accurate.   And I'm not sure Vermont counts as New England. They're secession crazy out there.

Western MA isn't really that bad. I've got a bunch of friends out there and it's a lot of overflowing rivers and some power down. Vermont on the other hand did get whacked pretty good.

Just for folks who enjoy simple math -

Vermont comprises approximately 3.96% of New England's population (New Hampshire makes up 8.35%).

.0000001 % (What's left after the 99.999999% that were merely inconvenienced) of New England's population is approximately one and one half people.

I must admit that initially I thought the projected impact of Irene on New England was overblown.  As the reports of actual damage have come in, I've reassessed, or at least readjusted, my thinking.

I think "The Anvil" could go a long ways in establishing some credibility by confessing that he projected his personal experience on all of New England and it simply turned out to just not be accurate.

I'm pleased to live where the hurricanes don't reach.    

Do any of you people understand the concept of "overstatement for comedic effect"? You could establish some credibility by not being such a wet blanket.

Regardless, not all of Vermont was affected. I've got friends all up and down the state, most of them have been largely unaffected beyond some minor flooding and power outages. They took a pretty good hit, but compared to something like Hurricane Andrew? Please.

I got news for you; in the same way that the media hypes the coming storm they hype the aftermath as well. This is fed into by the politicians looking for Federal disaster money. Remember all the people killed by Katrina that wound up not being dead? Very, very rarely is the damage as bad as they tell you. IF IT BLEEDS IT LEADS.

[Willow]

Do any of you people understand the concept of "overstatement for comedic effect"? You could establish some credibility by not being such a wet blanket.

lol!  There you go with the "you people" again.  I understand exaggeration for comedic effect.  I'm sure some don't.  It's just hard for me to tell when you're really trying to be funny.  I'm sure my humor escapes you (and most of us people) also.  Serk gets me.

I've never been certain how to interpret the "we blanket" reference, but I'm pretty sure my credibility is firmly established.  I thought you knew that yours isn't.

At any rate, I agree with you on the original premise, disregarding the exaggeration for comedic effect.  The media does overstate and I'm believing it's not for comedic effect.  I distrust the media to the point I rarely bother to ingest the network news.

That said, in view of what appears to be the aftermath of Irene, dismissing Irene as no more than an inconvenience for 99.99% of New Englanders (I hope I properly removed the comedic exaggeration) seems to be highly inaccurate in this case.  YMMV    

Let's not let them go, though.  Let's you and I both beat up the media on their next attempt at gathering ratings by spreading unwarranted panic.      

[The Anvil]

Let's not let them go, though.  Let's you and I both beat up the media on their next attempt at gathering ratings by spreading unwarranted panic.       [/i]

Sounds like a plan! 

[9Ball]

Western MA isn't really that bad. I've got a bunch of friends out there .....[/quote]

this statement is probably a bigger exaggeration than the media reports....