Essay Preview: News
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I can remember watching the news coverage of several different hurricanes during my lifetime, so I know that the coverage starts with what is going on and happening as the events unfold, even after the hurricane has left the area. So it is no surprise that the same was done with Hurricane Katrina. But one thing that I did not realize until now is how news stations use a hurricane, or any other disaster, and all of its results to persuade the way that we think, feel, or even react to everything that goes with it. As we all know, Hurricane Katrina was one of the worst hurricanes to hit the Mississippi-Louisiana border in a long time. As a result of Hurricane Katrina the media covered countless hours of the approach, landfall, and aftermath including the destruction and mayhem of the devastated areas such as Gulfport, Mississippi and New Orleans, Louisiana. News stations such as: FOX, MSNBC, and CNN showed the areas that were hit the hardest for hours upon hours.
The one main thing that I remember being primarily shown by the news stations was the flooding in New Orleans. The news stations used this tragic circumstance to persuade the way that citizens reacted to how the government responded to the flooding and evacuation of New Orleans. One news station showed how the Super Dome had to be evacuated and how the evacuation attempts would have to be stopped because of one thing or another. Another station would show people being told to go to the convention center to find no food or water waiting for them. One thing that I remember very clearly from the convention center was a woman who had a child under the age of one year old that would not wake up. I can still hear the distress that was in her voice when she was saying that her baby would not wake up because there was no food or water for her. That clip was shown so many times, so I can only imagine how people felt to see that poor baby and its mother. The news station new that if it showed that clip people would realize what was going on and how the ball had been dropped by FEMA on the response of having to put people somewhere until they could get them out of the city. Another station would cover the search and rescues of people still stuck in their homes.
As a result of these coverages citizens showed an out poor of support and aid; people gave money, food, and clothing to the Red Cross and other organizations. Local areas and schools did fundraisers and other activities