OHHhh I see now...we the serfs are not responsible enough to own private firearm to protect ourselves but the media mites can hire armed guards to protect themselves......OK for them but not for us.
LINK to Story
NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - NBC News has sent private security personnel to the increasingly dicey Gulf Coast region to help keep its employees safe while covering the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
The private security officers, usually former soldiers or police, are licensed to carry firearms and are trained to keep the situation under control so that journalists can do their jobs safely. That's becoming increasingly difficult in New Orleans and in Gulfport, Miss., where there aren't enough police or National Guardsmen to keep the streets safe.
News crews have witnessed looting and other crimes as well as lots of gunfire in the days since Hurricane Katrina swept through Monday. Supplies of food, water and fuel are nearly nonexistent, and, in the 90-plus-degree heat, tempers have grown short. CBS News reported that gangs of gun-toting looters were roaming the streets; several television networks reported that New Orleans was pulling 1,500 police from the search-and-rescue mission to deal with looting and lawlessness in the streets.
"We've never been in a situation domestically like this, where the populace has been cut off from the rest of the world and there's no food and water," NBC News vp newsgathering David Verdi said.
It's not unusual for networks to hire security forces. Armed personnel accompany news crews in Iraq and Afghanistan; they've been used domestically for situations like the Los Angeles riots in 1992, when dozens of people were killed and hundreds injured. But NBC News is the first to publicly acknowledge that it had taken such a step.
Other networks either declined to discuss security or said the situation hadn't risen to that level yet. But late Wednesday, CBS News had been advised by New Orleans police to leave its location after a special "48 Hours" because it couldn't guarantee the crew's safety after dark.
There were no reports of journalists being injured, but Verdi said he didn't want to take that chance. He believes having the security will help with safety.
"In this instance, I truly believe just having a security presence will keep us safe," Verdi said. "I don't anticipate any sort of confrontation in any of our locations."
Fox News vp newsgathering John Stack acknowledged that safety was an issue and said that Fox News is taking measures against not only possible crime but also the lack of food, water and threat of diseases. He noted that many Gulf Coast residents hadn't eaten or gotten fresh water in three days.
"I don't know how much longer that they can be expected to stay calm. These people have gone through a lot," Stack said. "But we're certainly hoping that appropriate relief kicks in before that becomes an issue."
Extra National Guard troops will help stabilize the situation, particularly in New Orleans, said Jon Banner, executive producer of ABC's "World News Tonight."
"It's something our teams are aware of, and we're taking some precautions," Banner said. He said ABC News never talks about details of security matters.
Meanwhile, the broadcast and cable networks continued to pour more resources into the Gulf Coast. CBS News had at least 10 correspondents in the region, including three who arrived Wednesday. That doesn't include CBS Newspath and CBS Radio correspondents that also are there, CBS News senior vp Marcy McGinnis said.
McGinnis doesn't see the story coming to a close anytime soon, either.
"No one knew that the aftermath, rather than being a second-day story, would get worse and worse," McGinnis said. "The worst hasn't happened yet. The story hasn't peaked yet."
Jack Womack, senior vp newsgathering at Atlanta-based CNN, agreed.
"This one is a marathon. It's going to go for a long time," Womack said Wednesday.
News organizations have had to rely on techniques and technologies normally used in wartime and usually not in the U.S. Cell phone service has been sporadic at best, and electricity is out in many places and not coming back anytime soon. Satellite trucks have been the only reliable communication system, and correspondents and crews are out of touch for hours and days at a time. A lot of transportation in New Orleans is via boat.
"This compares to absolutely nothing that we've ever done before, and we've been here 20 years," Womack said. "It's so enormous, so devastating. It's hard enough to tell that story. But it's like a military operation in terms of our people and our supply lines."
For CNN, that meant getting help from Turner Broadcasting and CNN International, both based in Atlanta. CBS News, in addition to its own efforts, got supplies from its owned-and-operated station in Miami, WFOR. The station sent two carloads of gasoline, food and water from Miami to the Gulf Coast, McGinnis said.
"The situation that is affecting the communities that we are operating in is affecting us," ABC's Banner said. "The fuel shortages, the water shortages, the lack of sleeping space is something that we're all dealing with."
There's also the question of disease, with heat, toxicity in the water and decomposing bodies causing health issues. McGinnis said she is concerned that health would be a big problem sooner rather than later with the long hours and lack of sleep and food that the crews are facing.
CNN already is working on plans to move some of its crews out and newer, fresher crews into the region.
"These people, they've been around there since Saturday, around the clock," Womack said. "We're going to look at a second wave (of personnel)."
Networks reported another day of on-again, off-again technology. Satellite trucks worked well, but in some cases, the all-news channels were forced to use lower-quality videophone pictures in and around New Orleans even on Wednesday. Fox News' Stack said the videophone doesn't get used often in the U.S. because there's always high-quality video production equipment nearby.
"That's the uniqueness of this story. We're in the southeastern part of the U.S., but we might as well be in a Third World country," Stack said.
Stack said the on-air staff gets credit but the behind-the-scenes people, particularly satellite truck operators, should too.
"The units they command are mini production centers, the communications centers both audio and visual. They provide power with their generators," Stack said. "They are the lifeblood of our medium, and that's the way that we communicate to our audience and back to our network."
Banner, McGinnis, Stack and the other executives say that what they've got to deal with is minor compared to the bigger picture.
"What's happening to us is nothing. It's a blip compared to the tragedy that has occurred," Banner said. "We do the best that we can, and we try to stay focused on the real nature of the disaster, which is an unimaginable horror for tens of thousands of people who are homeless or who have lost loved ones."
Reuters/VNU
LINK to Story
NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - NBC News has sent private security personnel to the increasingly dicey Gulf Coast region to help keep its employees safe while covering the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
The private security officers, usually former soldiers or police, are licensed to carry firearms and are trained to keep the situation under control so that journalists can do their jobs safely. That's becoming increasingly difficult in New Orleans and in Gulfport, Miss., where there aren't enough police or National Guardsmen to keep the streets safe.
News crews have witnessed looting and other crimes as well as lots of gunfire in the days since Hurricane Katrina swept through Monday. Supplies of food, water and fuel are nearly nonexistent, and, in the 90-plus-degree heat, tempers have grown short. CBS News reported that gangs of gun-toting looters were roaming the streets; several television networks reported that New Orleans was pulling 1,500 police from the search-and-rescue mission to deal with looting and lawlessness in the streets.
"We've never been in a situation domestically like this, where the populace has been cut off from the rest of the world and there's no food and water," NBC News vp newsgathering David Verdi said.
It's not unusual for networks to hire security forces. Armed personnel accompany news crews in Iraq and Afghanistan; they've been used domestically for situations like the Los Angeles riots in 1992, when dozens of people were killed and hundreds injured. But NBC News is the first to publicly acknowledge that it had taken such a step.
Other networks either declined to discuss security or said the situation hadn't risen to that level yet. But late Wednesday, CBS News had been advised by New Orleans police to leave its location after a special "48 Hours" because it couldn't guarantee the crew's safety after dark.
There were no reports of journalists being injured, but Verdi said he didn't want to take that chance. He believes having the security will help with safety.
"In this instance, I truly believe just having a security presence will keep us safe," Verdi said. "I don't anticipate any sort of confrontation in any of our locations."
Fox News vp newsgathering John Stack acknowledged that safety was an issue and said that Fox News is taking measures against not only possible crime but also the lack of food, water and threat of diseases. He noted that many Gulf Coast residents hadn't eaten or gotten fresh water in three days.
"I don't know how much longer that they can be expected to stay calm. These people have gone through a lot," Stack said. "But we're certainly hoping that appropriate relief kicks in before that becomes an issue."
Extra National Guard troops will help stabilize the situation, particularly in New Orleans, said Jon Banner, executive producer of ABC's "World News Tonight."
"It's something our teams are aware of, and we're taking some precautions," Banner said. He said ABC News never talks about details of security matters.
Meanwhile, the broadcast and cable networks continued to pour more resources into the Gulf Coast. CBS News had at least 10 correspondents in the region, including three who arrived Wednesday. That doesn't include CBS Newspath and CBS Radio correspondents that also are there, CBS News senior vp Marcy McGinnis said.
McGinnis doesn't see the story coming to a close anytime soon, either.
"No one knew that the aftermath, rather than being a second-day story, would get worse and worse," McGinnis said. "The worst hasn't happened yet. The story hasn't peaked yet."
Jack Womack, senior vp newsgathering at Atlanta-based CNN, agreed.
"This one is a marathon. It's going to go for a long time," Womack said Wednesday.
News organizations have had to rely on techniques and technologies normally used in wartime and usually not in the U.S. Cell phone service has been sporadic at best, and electricity is out in many places and not coming back anytime soon. Satellite trucks have been the only reliable communication system, and correspondents and crews are out of touch for hours and days at a time. A lot of transportation in New Orleans is via boat.
"This compares to absolutely nothing that we've ever done before, and we've been here 20 years," Womack said. "It's so enormous, so devastating. It's hard enough to tell that story. But it's like a military operation in terms of our people and our supply lines."
For CNN, that meant getting help from Turner Broadcasting and CNN International, both based in Atlanta. CBS News, in addition to its own efforts, got supplies from its owned-and-operated station in Miami, WFOR. The station sent two carloads of gasoline, food and water from Miami to the Gulf Coast, McGinnis said.
"The situation that is affecting the communities that we are operating in is affecting us," ABC's Banner said. "The fuel shortages, the water shortages, the lack of sleeping space is something that we're all dealing with."
There's also the question of disease, with heat, toxicity in the water and decomposing bodies causing health issues. McGinnis said she is concerned that health would be a big problem sooner rather than later with the long hours and lack of sleep and food that the crews are facing.
CNN already is working on plans to move some of its crews out and newer, fresher crews into the region.
"These people, they've been around there since Saturday, around the clock," Womack said. "We're going to look at a second wave (of personnel)."
Networks reported another day of on-again, off-again technology. Satellite trucks worked well, but in some cases, the all-news channels were forced to use lower-quality videophone pictures in and around New Orleans even on Wednesday. Fox News' Stack said the videophone doesn't get used often in the U.S. because there's always high-quality video production equipment nearby.
"That's the uniqueness of this story. We're in the southeastern part of the U.S., but we might as well be in a Third World country," Stack said.
Stack said the on-air staff gets credit but the behind-the-scenes people, particularly satellite truck operators, should too.
"The units they command are mini production centers, the communications centers both audio and visual. They provide power with their generators," Stack said. "They are the lifeblood of our medium, and that's the way that we communicate to our audience and back to our network."
Banner, McGinnis, Stack and the other executives say that what they've got to deal with is minor compared to the bigger picture.
"What's happening to us is nothing. It's a blip compared to the tragedy that has occurred," Banner said. "We do the best that we can, and we try to stay focused on the real nature of the disaster, which is an unimaginable horror for tens of thousands of people who are homeless or who have lost loved ones."
Reuters/VNU
