Journalism without brains, Katrina, CNN and you

I never worked for CNN or anything close to it, but I was a journalist. Not a huge journalist, but rather a feature reporter and I did have a small weekly beat with the oh-so-glam Planning Commission and City Council meetings. I know - I lived the life with my piddly paycheck and shared Mac in the office.

Rule number one with reporting - never, never, ever risk your life for a story. Period. You're on your own if you do and nobody will remember you for your stupidity.

Case in point - this Katrina story - if you haven't seen the stupidity on CNN, please turn it on RIGHT NOW. They keep showing these two IDIOTS who report for CNN knee deep in floodwaters earlier this morning - blowing around with Katrina and - well, just stupid. Does one need to be knee deep in floodwater with goggles on (not kidding) standing next to an Army power generator letting us know that he's standing in a parking lot? Um, we get it dude - we see the huge white mini-van being submerged behind you. Yes, we see the water coming in the window of the van and yes, we are aware that it's in a parking lot.

Oh, and that water coming from the sky, we know it's rain - as in water.

The sad thing is this - my husband and I were waiting for this guy to fall into the floodwaters and get swept away. You didn't see any women doing this sort of reporting, now did you? No. The women were INDOORS and reported from outside their hotels, in the worst cases. Water, storms, winds and bad weather like this ain't a woman's best friend. Bad hair days you know.

So, the question is this - why do they keep showing us on CNN 'what it's like to report a hurricane' - 'the tapes from today's stories, from our brave journalists' -- really, why?? Do they like pointing out how stupid their reporters are?

Apparently.

Look, as a journalist, I wouldn't stay in a meeting for more than two hours knowing the outcome would be 'at our next meeting we'll recap this" at 2:30am...not kidding either...and this was a paying gig too. There's NO WAY I'd be knee deep in some storm/sewage whatever water reporting to the world that there's "MORE WATER THAN THERE WAS SEVERAL MINUTES AGO" for crying out loud.

I wear waterproof Clinique 'workout' makeup and all, but COME ON! This was just way over the top.

Thankfully there were no reporter deaths from this hurricane, but mark my words, someday soon a CNN reporter will be remembered for their 'sacrifice'. Please - just prevent this and use your brain people.

Oh, and CNN, could you please, PLEASE stop calling it Hurricane Katrina? She's a tropical storm now laughing at us over NashVegas.

Okay, rant for tonight done - over and out!