Shep Smith can be a bit tedious. Big Time.
Needs to be shown...a huge portion of this very country doesn't care of give a damn about what has happened down in red state country. Blue state media isn't even leading off top stories in their local news with it. Like 3-4 stories in.
Amazing to watch it unfold this week. I know people in NY and Cali. saying "those really aren't part of the U.S....they are like 3rd world states that people forget even exist"
The snobbery in this country could kill you. Shep needed to do this and they need to do a hell of a lot more. Show the reality...put a human face on it. The facts need to be revealed.
Shep on Hannity right now, describing horrendous condtions at NOLA. I think he is doing a pretty good job.
It's not like the city doesn't know they are there. The police are driving back and forth along the road. That's why Shep's producer was able to find a ride for that little baby yesterday. The city has full authority to go into any store in the city and 'requisition' supplies. There are enough stores in town that they could get food and water for those people. Even if it's just a package of crackers or Twinkies! Those folks won't care! Sure the National Guard is bringing the MREs, but those folks don't know that because no one is TELLING them anything! I couldn't imagine how frustrating it would be to be in that situation.
Shep is angry FOR these folks, and I don't mind that one bit. Someone has to be.
Maybe you have not so far to go to get sick.
My prayers are with the deceased man' family. I do not appreciate Shep commenting on national tv that the officers and aid workers just kept going by this man and did nothing. What did he want them to do? They are trying to rescue the living and get them to safety. The deceased man has ceased his suffering, the others are continuing in theirs.
Shep needs to turn his comments around and commend the people who are trying to help. No one had anticipated the level of need for N.O. and help is pouring in at a fast pace.
Shep needs to be yanked from the lines and let him get some rest and a decent meal.
I think Shep is doing excellent reporting. It is very difficult for each of us to watch this kind of suffering and devastation, especially right here at home, but we need to face reality here.
I don't think that telling and showing the truth is "grandstanding" It is truth telling.
Showing the devastation and the horror in a realistic way is what good TV reporting is all about.
The comparison to a third world country at war is very apt.
actually, I've found Shep better on the Katrina coverage, he seems deadly serious compared to his usual glib self.
We cannot on the one hand object to the media NOT showing the clips of planes going into the WTC and people jumping from those building, which would emphasize WHY we are involved in Iraq and the WOT, generally .. and on the other hand object to showing an actual dead victim of the NO devastation.
The media has gone out of its way not to show all the bodies floating in the canals and river. I don't WANT to see it, but it would certainly bring the reality home in a whole other way.
Ease up on Shep. I think he's doing a very good job under horrific conditions. You can tell he actually feels for these poor people who don't have a clue whats up. He is doing his job....REPORTING.
Hey, I’m no fan of Shep’s either, but if US citizens are dying from lack of aid, we need to know about it. Action is what is needed at this point, not more planning and staging. I've lived on the Florida Gulf coast all of my life and have experienced every hurricane since 1960. The worst was Ivan, last year. The Pensacola area was devastated by Ivan. I mean devastated. For days, we were cut off from the outside world except for one four lane highway that led to I-65 in Alabama. Even so, within 24 hours, help began arriving in the way of National Guard, Red Cross, FEMA, private and religious groups. Granted, Ivan's swath of damage was limited compared to Katrina's but help did begin arriving soon after the storm passed. Distribution centers began popping up all over the affected area. Water, ice, MRE's and soup kitchens were available within 24 to 48 hours.
Everyone that I have discussed this situation with here is wondering what is taking so long for these same relief efforts to reach these poor folks. After we went into Afghanistan, I recall watching news footage of the Air Force dropping MRE's from cargo planes into the war torn areas to relieve the poor suffering souls there. I just can't believe that the same can't be done in the worst areas affected by Katrina. In northwest Florida alone, we have Eglin AFB, Hurlbert AFB, Pensacola NAS and Whiting Field NAS that could be used as staging areas for aerial relief efforts. Granted this doesn't provide transportation for the stranded folks but at least food and water could be delivered. I realize that I'll probably get flamed about snipers taking pot shots at the helicopters that are trying to help these folks, but Eglin has Spec OPs personnel that are trained to operate at night, in blackout conditions that could fly supplies in and have the means to defend themselves if fired upon. Flame away.
Shep is a vile SOB, he is seizing this moment to Dan Ratherize himself. He is portraying the government as feckless and unfeeling. He is such an evil, fey SOB.
I actually think Shephard Smith has been doing a pretty good job with the coverage. Although I can't say I've seen the bit with the corpse. But I have to say I can sure stomach Shep a lot more than the likes of Dan Rather, the late Peter Jennings, or Tom Brokaw.
Getting to this thread very late--but I was thinking the same thing. Smith's "performance" (it wasn't a report) was staged and maniuplative--the tears and lip-biting at the end were rehearsed. He's trying to win some kind of "journalist" award in the midst of all this chaos. What a whore.
Now I just turn SHEP off.......... His coverage has been sickening.
Shep has actually gained my full respect. He has done a great job in a hell hole situation.
Didn't see the report but, frankly, I'm not offended as long as we didn't have to see the face. Death is part of this story and, like it or not, just as significant as the lowlifes shooting at police and stealing from stores. I think the media hasn't emphasized the dead enough.
Nope, Shep does not make me sick.
He's doing a fine job reporting. There are bodies all over. Why should we not see the effects of this disaster.
One of the reporters on msnbc earlier today showed a body floating in the water, caught against a fence.
This is a terrible disaster -- why should we not be allowed to see what's going on?
Another reporter just now on msnbc showed a close-up of the elderly dead man in the wheelchair, even showing his face. (Also showed the note in his hands for his family.)
What Shep showed was from quite a distance.
Grandstanding ? Explain how showing a dead guy on a bridge is grandstanding.