PressEthic

The media coverage of Hurricane Katrina is going to save lives in Texas. The images of the starving, stranded, desperate, and dead citizens in New Orleans are too powerful to be ignored when weeks later another hurricane threatens. Thanks to the exhaustive and comprehensive, not to mention impassioned, media coverage, it looks like this nation will learn from its mistakes.

First of all, people are leaving now. According to this New York Times article by William Yardley and Jennifer Bayot, Hurricane Rita is predicted to hit land on Saturday. But today, local governments are already closing schools and telling people to work together to evacuate threatened cities. President Bush is urging everyone to heed the evacuation orders. And, chances are, more people are going to listen. No one wants to be the person shown in rescue footage or another body described on the streets. Katrina showed everyone that the inconvenience of evacuation is a small price to pay for personal safety.

Secondly, the government is preparing better for the possible impending disaster. According to the article:

The acting director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, R. David Paulison, said in Washington on Tuesday that 45 truckloads of water, 45 truckloads of ice and 8 truckloads of ready-to-eat meals were being staged in Texas in advance of the storm. Nine urban search-and-rescue teams and nine disaster medical assistance teams also are to arrive.

After the government’s embarrassment after FEMA’s inadequate hurricane response in New Orleans, the new director will obviously be working harder than ever to avoid a repeat in Texas. Local governments likewise are switching into disaster avoidance mode.

The public is informed and the government is stepping up its performance, all because the media is watching.