In 1990, I remember coming home and turning on the television to images of the missile strikes during the Gulf War.
It was the first time the violence and devastation of war was clearly shown to Americans and Canadians holed up in their comfy homes.
It seems that since those days of shock and horror, we’ve actually started to look forward to the next big devastation.
No, war is a little too violent for most of us. But give us a tsunami or a hurricane and we’re tuned in for the duration.
This past weekend, Hurricane Irene was everywhere as eastern states and provinces prepared for the storm – or their version of it.
In New York, Broadway shut down as did public transit. Television studios shut down production.
Kenny Chesney’s concert ran one day early in Massachusetts.
Sunday sports moved to Saturday and the PGA Tour played 18 less holes.
Basically, the eastern seaboard shut down leaving little to do but watch TV.
Unfortunately, the hurricane also took over much of the airwaves.
Local stations announced updates on evacuations and flooding. CNN, as per usual, promoted every possible worst-case scenario, including the coming of the end.
The Weather Network tracked the storm cell’s speed and intensity with safety suggestions. And the rest of the major networks interviewed specialists who either blamed global warming or compared Irene to Katrina and Andrew, names guaranteed to put fear into the hearts of viewers.
So the public moved out of their basements to higher ground and holed up with friends, carrying laptops and any battery-operated communications devices guaranteed to allow them to stay in touch with the media.
They emptied grocery store shelves, hoarding food like they would never eat again.
But I have to ask, was the public any better prepared than before?
Thrill-seekers armed with surf boards were still trying to ride a few gnarly waves. Storm chasers were moving in as close as possible.
And the networks were still sending their low man on the totem pole to stand out in the wind and sideways rain to report that nobody should be out in this weather.
Oh, it was a fabulous weekend for the media: a major storm with just enough death and destruction to become a political hot potato and create human interest stories for the months to come.
And fortunately, it occurred during the summer season of repeats.
So typically low ratings were inflated and the fall schedule was not disrupted. And the heat was temporarily off Obama for the whole debt debacle.
In all, Irene was a rather well-timed and well-behaved storm. Yes, 21 deaths, devastating flooding and 4 million homes without electricity is hardly a happy ending.
But don’t worry. In television, there’s always a plot twist right around the corner.
It was the first time the violence and devastation of war was clearly shown to Americans and Canadians holed up in their comfy homes.
It seems that since those days of shock and horror, we’ve actually started to look forward to the next big devastation.
No, war is a little too violent for most of us. But give us a tsunami or a hurricane and we’re tuned in for the duration.
This past weekend, Hurricane Irene was everywhere as eastern states and provinces prepared for the storm – or their version of it.
In New York, Broadway shut down as did public transit. Television studios shut down production.
Kenny Chesney’s concert ran one day early in Massachusetts.
Sunday sports moved to Saturday and the PGA Tour played 18 less holes.
Basically, the eastern seaboard shut down leaving little to do but watch TV.
Unfortunately, the hurricane also took over much of the airwaves.
Local stations announced updates on evacuations and flooding. CNN, as per usual, promoted every possible worst-case scenario, including the coming of the end.
The Weather Network tracked the storm cell’s speed and intensity with safety suggestions. And the rest of the major networks interviewed specialists who either blamed global warming or compared Irene to Katrina and Andrew, names guaranteed to put fear into the hearts of viewers.
So the public moved out of their basements to higher ground and holed up with friends, carrying laptops and any battery-operated communications devices guaranteed to allow them to stay in touch with the media.
They emptied grocery store shelves, hoarding food like they would never eat again.
But I have to ask, was the public any better prepared than before?
Thrill-seekers armed with surf boards were still trying to ride a few gnarly waves. Storm chasers were moving in as close as possible.
And the networks were still sending their low man on the totem pole to stand out in the wind and sideways rain to report that nobody should be out in this weather.
Oh, it was a fabulous weekend for the media: a major storm with just enough death and destruction to become a political hot potato and create human interest stories for the months to come.
And fortunately, it occurred during the summer season of repeats.
So typically low ratings were inflated and the fall schedule was not disrupted. And the heat was temporarily off Obama for the whole debt debacle.
In all, Irene was a rather well-timed and well-behaved storm. Yes, 21 deaths, devastating flooding and 4 million homes without electricity is hardly a happy ending.
But don’t worry. In television, there’s always a plot twist right around the corner.
