Tuesday, October 30, 2012

The "duh" factor of hurricane coverage

So this morning I'm calling all my East Coast friends and family, and I've been through enough hurricanes to know I shouldn't waste time with cell phone calls and emails. Land lines always work, though, but the others are iffy when the power's out.

And yet two days ago I saw anchor after anchor tell viewers to check the Internet for updates to the storm. Even those geniuses at FEMA told people to use social media to stay informed.

Well, DUH!!!!! If there's no power, your desktop computer won't work, your laptop will eventually die, cell service is out in lots of places, and your Internet connection is most likely dead. Unless you have a battery powered TV, you're looking at a dark screen.

What works? Old fashioned land lines will generally always work when the power goes out.

But in our technology obsessed society, news people and the government miss the obvious point: it takes power to run technology.

Did I see anyone suggest that people get those hand crank radios to stay in touch? Nope. Did I see anyone remind the public land lines will work, and what number to call for information? No.

DUH!!!

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