Life In The Bubble

I suppose at some point Lou Dolinar's comprehensive report at Real Clear Politics on the spectacular misreporting of Hurricane Katrina will penetrate the liberal media site  Romenesko, but not yet.

Dolinar:

Remember the dozens, maybe hundreds, of rapes, murders, stabbings and deaths resulting from official neglect at the Superdome after Hurricane Katrina? The ones that never happened, as even the national media later admitted?

Sure, we all remember the original reporting, if not the back-pedaling.

Here's another one: Do you remember the dramatic TV footage of National Guard helicopters landing at the Superdome as soon as Katrina passed, dropping off tens of thousands saved from certain death? The corpsmen running with stretchers, in an echo of M*A*S*H, carrying the survivors to ambulances and the medical center? About how the operation, which also included the Coast Guard, regular military units, and local first responders, continued for more than a week?

Me neither. Except that it did happen, and got at best an occasional, parenthetical mention in the national media. The National Guard had its headquarters for Katrina, not just a few peacekeeping troops, in what the media portrayed as the pit of Hell. Hell was one of the safest places to be in New Orleans, smelly as it was. The situation was always under control, not surprisingly because the people in control were always there....

As I say, none of this yet at Romenesko, though we do have link for Brenner on anti-press hysteria and Paying Iraqi Journos For Puff Pieces Could Hurt U.S. Credibility. And a letter proclaiming there's no justice in the world if the New Orleans Times-Picayune's Nola.com doesn't win an award for a detailed flood animation. That's the chief problem with Katrina coverage, of course--not enough awards.

Much coverage on the right side of the web including NRO's Media Blog and a proper column by Jonah Goldberg.