posted on September 1, 2005 09:06:50 AM
NBC sends armed guards to lawless Gulf Coast
NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - NBC News has sent private security personnel to the increasingly dicey Gulf Coast region to help keep its employees safe while covering the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
The private security officers, usually former soldiers or police, are licensed to carry firearms and are trained to keep the situation under control so that journalists can do their jobs safely. That's becoming increasingly difficult in New Orleans and in Gulfport, Miss., where there aren't enough police or National Guardsmen to keep the streets safe.
News crews have witnessed looting and other crimes as well as lots of gunfire in the days since Hurricane Katrina swept through Monday. Supplies of food, water and fuel are nearly nonexistent, and, in the 90-plus-degree heat, tempers have grown short. CBS News reported that gangs of gun-toting looters were roaming the streets; several television networks reported that New Orleans was pulling 1,500 police from the search-and-rescue mission to deal with looting and lawlessness in the streets.
"We've never been in a situation domestically like this, where the populace has been cut off from the rest of the world and there's no food and water," NBC News vp newsgathering David Verdi said.
It's not unusual for networks to hire security forces. Armed personnel accompany news crews in Iraq and Afghanistan; they've been used domestically for situations like the Los Angeles riots in 1992, when dozens of people were killed and hundreds injured. But NBC News is the first to publicly acknowledge that it had taken such a step.
Other networks either declined to discuss security or said the situation hadn't risen to that level yet. But late Wednesday, CBS News had been advised by New Orleans police to leave its location after a special "48 Hours" because it couldn't guarantee the crew's safety after dark.
There were no reports of journalists being injured, but Verdi said he didn't want to take that chance. He believes having the security will help with safety.
"In this instance, I truly believe just having a security presence will keep us safe," Verdi said. "I don't anticipate any sort of confrontation in any of our locations."
Fox News vp newsgathering John Stack acknowledged that safety was an issue and said that Fox News is taking measures against not only possible crime but also the lack of food, water and threat of diseases. He noted that many Gulf Coast residents hadn't eaten or gotten fresh water in three days.
"I don't know how much longer that they can be expected to stay calm. These people have gone through a lot," Stack said. "But we're certainly hoping that appropriate relief kicks in before that becomes an issue."
Extra National Guard troops will help stabilize the situation, particularly in New Orleans, said Jon Banner, executive producer of ABC's "World News Tonight."
"It's something our teams are aware of, and we're taking some precautions," Banner said. He said ABC News never talks about details of security matters.
Meanwhile, the broadcast and cable networks continued to pour more resources into the Gulf Coast. CBS News had at least 10 correspondents in the region, including three who arrived Wednesday. That doesn't include CBS Newspath and CBS Radio correspondents that also are there, CBS News senior vp Marcy McGinnis said.
McGinnis doesn't see the story coming to a close anytime soon, either.
"No one knew that the aftermath, rather than being a second-day story, would get worse and worse," McGinnis said. "The worst hasn't happened yet. The story hasn't peaked yet."
Jack Womack, senior vp newsgathering at Atlanta-based CNN, agreed.
"This one is a marathon. It's going to go for a long time," Womack said Wednesday.
News organizations have had to rely on techniques and technologies normally used in wartime and usually not in the U.S. Cell phone service has been sporadic at best, and electricity is out in many places and not coming back anytime soon. Satellite trucks have been the only reliable communication system, and correspondents and crews are out of touch for hours and days at a time. A lot of transportation in New Orleans is via boat.
"This compares to absolutely nothing that we've ever done before, and we've been here 20 years," Womack said. "It's so enormous, so devastating. It's hard enough to tell that story. But it's like a military operation in terms of our people and our supply lines."
For CNN, that meant getting help from Turner Broadcasting and CNN International, both based in Atlanta. CBS News, in addition to its own efforts, got supplies from its owned-and-operated station in Miami, WFOR. The station sent two carloads of gasoline, food and water from Miami to the Gulf Coast, McGinnis said.
"The situation that is affecting the communities that we are operating in is affecting us," ABC's Banner said. "The fuel shortages, the water shortages, the lack of sleeping space is something that we're all dealing with."
There's also the question of disease, with heat, toxicity in the water and decomposing bodies causing health issues. McGinnis said she is concerned that health would be a big problem sooner rather than later with the long hours and lack of sleep and food that the crews are facing.
CNN already is working on plans to move some of its crews out and newer, fresher crews into the region.
"These people, they've been around there since Saturday, around the clock," Womack said. "We're going to look at a second wave (of personnel)."
Networks reported another day of on-again, off-again technology. Satellite trucks worked well, but in some cases, the all-news channels were forced to use lower-quality videophone pictures in and around New Orleans even on Wednesday. Fox News' Stack said the videophone doesn't get used often in the U.S. because there's always high-quality video production equipment nearby.
"That's the uniqueness of this story. We're in the southeastern part of the U.S., but we might as well be in a Third World country," Stack said.
Stack said the on-air staff gets credit but the behind-the-scenes people, particularly satellite truck operators, should too.
"The units they command are mini production centers, the communications centers both audio and visual. They provide power with their generators," Stack said. "They are the lifeblood of our medium, and that's the way that we communicate to our audience and back to our network."
Banner, McGinnis, Stack and the other executives say that what they've got to deal with is minor compared to the bigger picture.
"What's happening to us is nothing. It's a blip compared to the tragedy that has occurred," Banner said. "We do the best that we can, and we try to stay focused on the real nature of the disaster, which is an unimaginable horror for tens of thousands of people who are homeless or who have lost loved ones."
I gave my liberal neighbors son a book for his birthday. He went crazy trying to find where to put the batteries.
[ edited by Bear1949 on Sep 1, 2005 09:09 AM ]
posted on September 1, 2005 09:40:15 AM
So bear - the only thing you have been able to bring to the table in the face of all of this is that members of the media, who are putting themselves on the line in dangerous situation in order to keep people informed of what is going on are now finding it neccesary to have some form of security to keep themselves safe?
And you complain about liberal nitpicking? Grow up little man. I don't understand why you complain about liberals doing the exact same thing that you do day in and day out.
~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~
An intelligent deaf-mute is better than an ignorant person who can speak.
posted on September 1, 2005 09:47:21 AMCNN already is working on plans to move some of its crews out and newer, fresher crews into the region...
Cnn had some of the producers doing the reporting yesterday. (like ok, who is willing to go down there and wade in the water for us?) I had to laugh because although they were getting "the stories" out, big difference in the reporting! Sure hope they are getting a bonus for it!
posted on September 1, 2005 10:01:39 AM
Bear - they would not need armed guards had Walmart not become a free source. Gun control would have kept those arms out of discount marketer and thusly out of the hands of the two bit vermin that are roaming the streets with them. But by all means Bear - I think you should use the action of a bunch of criminal punks to help you out.
I understand the irony but what you seem to be ignoring is why there is even a need for it.
~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~
An intelligent deaf-mute is better than an ignorant person who can speak.
posted on September 1, 2005 12:53:32 PM
Anti Gun Liberals aren't concerned about licensed security guards carrying weapons for protection. They are concerned about the thugs walking around carrying stolen AK-47's that were available thanks to the assault weapons ban being lifted by Republicans.
This is another classic example of the misconceptions these stupid neocons continue to give others. It is their policy that has made New Orleans a dangerous place for law abiding citizens, the few National Guardsmen, hospital personnel, etc. that have been confronted with these people.
posted on September 1, 2005 01:53:32 PM
Ahhhh, second favorite cry of the left wing hyprocitical CLUCKERS
GUN CONTROL
PS......True Gun Control is accurately hitting your target.
Fenix, the next time someone breaks into your home, threaten them with the phone..."I'm calling 911 and I mean it"....and see how they react as opossed to the sound of a pump action 12 guage racking a shell into the chamber.
I gave my liberal neighbors son a book for his birthday. He went crazy trying to find where to put the batteries.
posted on September 1, 2005 02:28:01 PM
Yep Bear... your shortsightedness continues to amaze me. you continue to simply make things up and post them here, pretending they are true.
I do like how you manage to bring up the sound of a 12 gauge pump action shotgun though. I'm a pretty hard liberal, and I have not one single problem with anyone owning a shot gun. I don't have a problem with anyone owning a handgun... What I have a problem with are thugs roaming streets with AK-47's and other automatic firearms. You however, manage to prove your ignorance in the subject matter with your blathering tirades of lies.
posted on September 1, 2005 03:27:37 PMWhat I have a problem with are thugs roaming streets with AK-47's and other automatic firearms. You however, manage to prove your ignorance in the subject matter with your blathering tirades of lies.
With that comment, you are acknowledging how blatently ignorant you are about US firearms laws.
I would trade knowledge of those laws with you any day but realize you are to dense to acknowledge the truth when you see it.
I seriously doubt any legal fully auto weapons are in the hands of the looting animals. I also seriously doubt that those who you claim to have auto AK's have the intelligence to convert a legal SEMI AUTO AK into a illegal class III weapon.
And what statement of mine are you claiming to be lies or have you mistaken me for one of your left wing anti gun cluckers.
I gave my liberal neighbors son a book for his birthday. He went crazy trying to find where to put the batteries.
posted on September 1, 2005 04:15:14 PM
The article doesn't make your point, and neither do you. Saying that the mainstream media is fervently anti-gun is a gross oversimplification. Pretty typical of you, Bear. You wouldn't catch me going to New Orleans without armed protection. When have you heard the mainstream media take a position against armed security guards?
Never.
You're just trolling for an argument here. Can't you come up with anything better?
____________________________________________
Fue por lana y saliσ trasquilado...
posted on September 1, 2005 05:11:31 PM
fenix03
&
rustygumball:
Your statements are Cute:
But Just As As-sin-e as the two of you!
(they would not need armed guards had Walmart not become a free source.Gun control would have kept those arms out of discount marketer and thusly out of the hands of the two bit vermin that are roaming the streets with them)
(It is their policy that has made New Orleans a dangerous place for law abiding citizens, the few National Guardsmen, hospital personnel, etc. that have been confronted with these people.)
[ edited by dadofstickboy on Sep 1, 2005 05:13 PM ]
posted on September 1, 2005 05:21:00 PM
Just a few days ago, the Media Research Center reported the results of a two-year study of morning and evening news casts on ABC, CBS, NBC and CNN.
They found that anti-gun stories outnumbered pro-gun stories ten to one. That means the daily drumbeat against the Second Amendment is a deafening ten to one.
That means American media...who claim fairness...are knowingly unfair 90% of the time!
On Good Morning America alone, 99.7% of their stories about firearms were biased against gun rights.
So here we are again, asking ourselves if news credibility and journalistic integrity still matter. So let's answer ourselves: No.
Maybe we're a little too idealistic when it comes to how mainstream media treats our issues. We cling to a faint hope that the media will somehow, someday, come to its senses. We're like the faithful spouse of an abusive alcoholic who stumbles into our living rooms each evening and beats us up.
We think we can collectively confront an industry drunken on its own power, conduct an intervention, send it off to rehab, and then get some fairness from a media in recovery. It ain't gonna happen.
But you know what? Maybe it doesn't matter anymore. Because thanks to the biggest communications renaissance since movable type, the media mogul's stranglehold can be broken! There's a new media reality that's changing the face of journalism.
As conservatives, we no longer have to stand in line, hat in hand, like bootlickers and brown-nosers, begging to be heard. The new media reality is that we don't need the media. We are the media. We don't need journalists. We are journalists. We're just as capable, just as credible, just as credentialed, and just as professional...even more so, because we deliver the truth about firearms with 100 percent accuracy and 21st century technology.
Let me show you what I mean, and how it pays off. Sign-on the Internet and go to nra live.com and this what you'll see...fresh, daily streaming video news from our journalists covering our story around the world.
Now look what we've done...with no help from NBC or CBS or ABC or CNN or anyone else, we've been reporting on the incredible crime-fighting success of Project Exile in Richmond, Virginia...here's a sample.
Story after story, month after month, with our own journalists and with no help from mainstream media, we've been pounding this Administration for their shocking lack of prosecution of gun criminals, and we begged them to take Project Exile nationwide with ads like these.
And finally, just two days ago, President Clinton pledged 280-million dollars to hire more prosecutors to put away more gun criminals! We don't need mainstream media to make a difference!
I mean, Time magazine has admitted it no longer covers our issue objectively but instead is an active advocate of the anti-gun agenda.
But we don't need newsmagazines to cover our story.
posted on September 1, 2005 05:23:38 PM
I see someone ate their Wheaties this morning. Jump straight into the frey hurling insults? Go away little man.. go rinse your bowl.
~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~
An intelligent deaf-mute is better than an ignorant person who can speak.
posted on September 1, 2005 05:48:21 PM
I'm not one to usually point out typos since I make them myself all the time but now that you have used the the same one twice I have to ask...what the hell is As-sin-e?
Did you mean asinine? As in .... the concept that someone stole a gun to protect their loaf of bread is asinine?
I've been listening to reporters talk about what has been going on there all day and heard numerous reports of people pulling guns on police, on aid workers, on people in buildings they have broken into to loot, to aid them in hijacking vehicles, etc but the one thing I have not heard is.. We have reports of citizens wielding guns to protect their loaves of bread.
~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~
An intelligent deaf-mute is better than an ignorant person who can speak.
posted on September 1, 2005 06:03:16 PM
Gee: Fenix
I was trying to break it up so Vendio wouldn't turn it into %%^&*()^%$$#@ !
I didn't think I was dealing with someone that Sharp!
You have their Spell-Check beat to Hell!
Did you mean asinine? As in .... the concept that someone stole a gun to protect their loaf of bread is asinine?
It's possible!,Not likely,They have been there for 6 days now, why don't you go down and spend the next 6 days with them and Then tell me what you need to survive!!!
posted on September 1, 2005 06:08:31 PM
And Fenix:
This is the Statement that was Asine!
Gun control would have kept those arms out of discount marketer and thusly out of the hands of the two bit vermin that are roaming the streets with them.
posted on September 1, 2005 06:49:10 PM
1- There are THREE syllables in the word. Lets say in together slowly... As-i-nine. You can do it. I have faith in you.
2 - That faith I have in you is a bit limited. I may be holding you to too high of a standard. Maybe we should master counting first. Monday..1 day, Tuesday...2 days, Wednesday...3 Days...Thursday...four days. It's been 4 days since the hurricane hit, 3 since flooding began.
~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~
An intelligent deaf-mute is better than an ignorant person who can speak.
[ edited by fenix03 on Sep 1, 2005 06:59 PM ]
posted on September 1, 2005 08:34:15 PM
Des - what I do not understand is... why does Walmart need to stock guns and why, in an evacuation situation, were the guns not removed from the store or at least locked away in a hidden and secured location? They had 36 hours notice of an impending disaster which history tells us often results in looting. Why were they left in a location that would leave them susceptible to this type of behavior?
They were showing a pharmacy owner today that went back to his pharmacy to reclaim a monster of a safe. Inside this safe was his stock of narcotics. When he was informed of the evacuation he locked everything up and thanks to that foresight they were kept out of the hands of looters. He was on his way to turn them over to the DEA.
If you are not going to have gun control there at the very least needs to be strict regulations regarding how these arms are stored in evacuation situations.
Can we at least agree that that would be a reasonable option?
~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~
An intelligent deaf-mute is better than an ignorant person who can speak.
posted on September 1, 2005 09:45:14 PM
I doubt Walmart could have a safe big enough to store the content of their sporting goods. And in any case, it probably would be futile.
These "desparate" people Cheryl refers to are using forklifts in case Helen's "disposable diapers" are too heavy or behind concrete walls.
I'm not saying they should KILL the looters. Shoot them in the leg, slow them down. The alligators gotta eat too.
[ edited by desquirrel on Sep 1, 2005 10:05 PM ]
posted on September 2, 2005 08:51:19 AM
Prof, When was the last time you heard a MSM outlet state a PRO GUN comment?
Besides the article shows the hypocrisy of the MSM, as if to say DO AS I SAY NOT AS I DO
I gave my liberal neighbors son a book for his birthday. He went crazy trying to find where to put the batteries.
[ edited by Bear1949 on Sep 2, 2005 08:57 AM ]
