The number of times during the week that I actively consider the situation in New Orleans is exactly once a week. This is primarily due to, “K-Ville“, which airs on FOX television on Monday nights. The show centers around two officers of the New Orleans Police Department, and provides multiple perspectives on what it might be like to live as a Hurricane Katrina survivor. This piece of television entertainment serves as my only reminder (from the media) that things are not right in New Orleans.
The fact that I am only prompted (once a week) by some aspect of the media to consider lending my time and talents to help remedy the situation in New Orleans is borderline comical. Naturally, I could do much more in terms of staying abreast of what is happening (and not), and have done so on multiple occasions. Still, this is not about me — it is about the media.
Why is the media, especially the news media, not providing insight on the federal and local governments progress to rebuild what was lost? In other parts of the world, such as Kenya, the media is a critical voice for the people. I suspect that if the media was constantly broadcasting about the truth in the (lack of) effort in rebuilding New Orleans and the rest of the Gulf Coast states impacted by Katrina, the government would have to address those concerns with action. Instead, our extremely visible and colorful news media outlets continue to pander to the government.
Instead of being constantly bombarded with the entertainment news we are constantly consuming, we should demand news broadcasts that are clueful, authoritative in challenging the government (when the government is not acting in the best interests of the people), and utilize the news media as a platform to rally for positive change (both local and global) when applicable.
Right now, the situation in New Orleans is often labelled as dire. Despite the fact the government has raised billions of dollars to assist with rebuilding the infrastructure in New Orleans, change is not happening fast enough. Until that does, it should be the job of the news media to keep that in the forefront of our minds — and to ensure that the right parties are held accountable for their inaction.
