Storms, oil, and the media

Nov. 12, 2012
All things being equal, a Category 1 hurricane that blows through oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico and threatens Gulf Coast refineries doesn't get as much national media coverage as one that lands in the middle of television networks and big-name newspapers in New York City.

All things being equal, a Category 1 hurricane that blows through oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico and threatens Gulf Coast refineries doesn't get as much national media coverage as one that lands in the middle of television networks and big-name newspapers in New York City.

But then Hurricane Sandy was not a normal hurricane once it collided with an arctic jet stream and a snow-packed cold front to create a "Superstorm" that crippled much of the country. The resulting flood of media coverage mostly was well reported. But competition to catch the public's attention produced a plethora of purple prose, such as one day-after headline that declared paradoxically, "The Sun Rises to Darkness and Devastation."

It brought to mind the journalism legend of the cub reporter dispatched by a big-city newspaper to cover the infamous 1889 Johnstown flood that virtually wiped out that rural Pennsylvania town. After slogging through the wreckage and the rain, the reporter wired his account to his editor, beginning with, "God sits weeping tonight in the hills above devastated Johnstown." His editor immediately replied, "Never mind the flood. Interview God."

Believe it or not, journalism today isn't nearly as bad as that "Yellow Press" era. But while mainstream news media have become more conservative, some public relations people have not. A recent PR release from protestors trying to stop construction of the Keystone XL pipeline at Winnsboro, Tex., proclaimed, "TransCanada tramples free press, police detain New York Times reporter, photographer on private property."

Yet the subsequent Times report was a balanced account of the confrontation with no mention of its author being held by authorities. Perhaps a reporter who is detained but not charged for trespassing didn't seem like much of an incident to a newspaper whose reporters have been kidnapped and even murdered covering news in less-tolerant countries.

Press freedom

In more than 30 years as a reporter, I can't recall any reporter or editor raising the issue of freedom of the press. The First Amendment to the US Constitution says in part, "Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech or of the press…." But the Supreme Court has consistently held it confers no special privileges on journalists not available to the general public. It's important, but not an Open Sesame, stemming from the founding fathers' experience of European governments passing seditious libel laws to gag free speech and free press. But short of punishing the media for what it reports, laws that limit reporters' access to news sources may be suspect but not necessarily unconstitutional.

Besides, any reporter worth his salt will find ways to skirt obstacles to get the news. That's what makes this business so interesting. For example, a midnight drive-by shooting that killed a night-watchman at a strike-torn refinery brought a covey of us reporters running to the crime scene. The homicide detectives we needed to interview were inside the plant, but a company official refused us admittance. Clustered on a public sidewalk outside the private property, we were concerned less about freedom of the press than the ire of our editors if we failed to file reports before the final deadline.

Just then a familiar medical examiner drove up and asked why we were outside the plant. When we explained our predicament, he loaded us in his van, flashed his badge, and drove us past the company man. "Wait here while I get the information you need," he said. When he returned moments later with the details, we poured out of his vehicle like a circus clown act and ran past the company representative to file our reports. Sometimes an inside connection will get a reporter further than a constitutional amendment.