Ashley Guerriero
Dr. Longinow
Blog 1- New York Times
Storm Evacuees Frustrated as Return is Block
By: Adam Nossiter and John Schwartz
In the past year and a half, New Orleans has made more front page covers than the famous Britney Spears. With the copious amount of hurricanes and flooding, it is no wonder the New York Times has put this sin city, yet again, on the front page. However, this highly acclaimed news giant unsuccessfully overstepped a human rights piece by throwing in invalid facts concerning water pumps and exaggerated comments by writing not one, but two stories in the same article. As the article begins you are greeted by a sentence which tells it all. “A mostly smooth evacuation from Hurricane Gustav turned sour on Tuesday as many New Orleans residents trying to return home were refused entry at roadblocks in the city or stranded in parking lots across the region” writes Adam Nossiter and John Schwartz. As the opening sentence strikes your interest, it is quickly turned away and brought into a world of pumping water and exaggerated terms. “But the storm was also a major- and ultimately successful- test of flood protection system that failed during Hurricane Katrina”. Since when was flood protection ever valid when taking about how evacuees want to go back home? Yes, how New Orleans handled the flooding is a good topic, but should not be in the same article as the struggling evacuees. Mr. Nagin exploited the hurricane by calling it the “mother of all storms”; so what?! This article is and should be solely about the people in New Orleans that are trying to survive off of what is found in their cars and nearby parking lots. The government, which is believed to have the people’s best interest in mind, is preventing them from the place which they call home. The people in the region of New Orleans know that their homes, families, and animals are safe; so instead of living in a car, why can’t they live in their own homes? When you sit down with the New York Times and view the front page you see a family sleeping underneath a gas pump. Readers want to know why. The gas pump photo intrigues the audience into learning more about why these evacuees can not to go their homes. This has nothing to do with the exaggerated name Mr. Nagin gives the hurricane, nor the water pumps that are actually doing their job. This article, from the very beginning is about the people. Everyday people trying to live their lives in a community plagued with hurricanes. Everyday people who are stuck living in cars during a heat wave, instead of their comfortable homes, which stand strong and habitable. Nossiter and Schwartz do a shame to the New Orleans community by plaguing this piece, which is to inform readers on the poor living conditions evacuees face, with unrelated topics. Maybe the two poor souls writing this piece needed more words for their editor. I don’t know. I do know that this was a truly pathetic and unendearing way to do so.
4 comments:
Your point is a bit unclear. I didn't quite understand what you were trying to argue until you wrote, "Yes, how New Orleans handled the flooding is a good topic, but should not be in the same article as the struggling evacuees."
Maybe you should have stated that earlier on...?
good idea.. ya i tend to get carried away in what im trying to argue but the main point doesnt come out clear
I agree with you to a certain extent that it shouldn't have been in the article. However, I think it may have been because they wanted to have more information about why the devestation was so bad. They could have handled it better, added more stories about the people but maybe that wasn't their angle?
I agree with that the article should have put more emphasis on the people struggling in New Orleans, and not go on to other facts or issues before they addressed the real struggle that New Orleans has been facing.
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