MMMM # 504 --- The Virignia TV Selfie Murders, and Katrina Remembered

   

  The father of the reporter who was murdered on live-TV in Virginia is vowing to make gun control his issue.
     I sincerely grieve for his loss.
     But I would remind him that the murder of 20 elementary school children and a half dozen teachers and other adults by a crazy boy in Connecticut had zero impact on gun laws. 
     The workplace murder of two media types by a former co-worker---even on live TV---isn't going to move anybody to do anything.

     A Washington Post columnist wrote about the media-centric nature of the killings:

The relationship between murderers and media outlets flows both ways; reporters have long recognized the news value in reaching out to a killer, sometimes even when a crime is in progress.

###

     The 10th Anniversary of Katrina cause a flood of coverage, reported the on-air remainder of The Times-Picayune newspaper:

As of mid-week, 613 news-media representatives (many of whom were local) had registered with the city's "Katrina 10" coverage-resources program. Dozens more came in the weeks and months leading up to the anniversary to pre-report their stories.

Many residents of New Orleans had anniversary fatigue even before the actual anniversary arrived. 

Alabama had its own Katrina memories, including then Governor Bob Riley standing next to then President George Bush when he praised his FEMA director on his other side. "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job"....as people died.

Director Michael Brown was days away from being out of work when he received that compliment. CNN talked with him five years ago, on the 5th anniversary.

The former FEMA head told CNN that he winced when President George Bush said the now infamous line, "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job."
"I knew the minute he said that, the media and everybody else would see a disconnect between what he was saying and what I was witnessing on the ground," Brown said. "That's the president's style. His attitude and demeanor is always one of being a cheerleader and trying to encourage people to keep moving. It was just the wrong time and the wrong place."
Brown headed FEMA under the Bush administration and resigned in September 2005, two weeks after Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast and 10 days after President Bush famously complimented him.

     Refugees from the storm came in droves to Alabama, including some who stayed.

 [The Monday Morning Media Memo is a longstanding feature of www.timlennox.com.]