Monday, July 11, 2005
Aaron Broussard Jumps The Gun
During Hurricane Dennis many in the newsroom were making fun of Jefferson Parish President Aaron Broussard because he called a voluntary evacuation before the storm even entered the gulf, and while the state senate election was still scheduled to go on. Luckily, it didn't seem to matter because so few people left, but still... What a sloppy move!
Worse yet, he ignored the evacuation plan that all the parishes had agreed on. The newsroom got a call from the LA State Police after JP's press conference stating that only they (the LSP) had the authority to manage an evacuation. Governor Blanco released a similar statement to us also.
Honestly, I think it is always wise to evacuate the unprotected low-lying areas, but for those of us behind the protection levees it is unnecessary. Broussard jumped the gun, and what's worse is that in the future people will take his evacuation orders less seriously. Tsk tsk.
On toppa that - the local stations didn't challenge Broussard very harshly on his actions because if you piss off a political leader then they won't give you interviews in the future. And in the news business you just can't afford to be left outta the loop on stories, hence soft questions galore. And that is just a fraction of how bad this system gets, my friends.
http://tinyurl.com/8f2hg
Thanks for the link