We feel the American media outlets, in fact, went too far with their coverage. While the storm was truly devastating to a portion of the population, it did not deserve virtually exclusive airtime. For example, at one point Monday evening, 12 out of the top 14 stories on CNN’s website involved hurricanes (the other two were about a vice presidential candidate’s daughter). While other respectable news sources may have had, in general, slightly less coverage of Gustav, it has still far overwhelmed any mention of other notable events that were happening nationally and around the world.

The media frenzy has truly gone overboard and the additional coverage has not added any value to the stories. In fact, in some cases, blowing the situation out of proportion has had repercussions across the national stage. For example, President George W. Bush cancelled his appearance at the Republican National Convention this week so that he could better monitor Gustav’s progress. This move was necessary in part because of the failed response to Katrina three years ago; however—regardless of one’s political leanings—it is hard to imagine that the president could do any more about the situation from Washington, D.C., than he could do from St. Paul, Minn. Yet because of the media frenzy, he needed to make a show of how attentive he was.

This is already an age of information overload and low attention spans; we’ve grown used to sound bites, and, with the Internet, we don’t need to spend a minute longer reading the news than necessary. With that in mind, it is all the more important that we, as members of the press, cover as many of the important events of the day as possible, and present them according to their importance. At The Poly, we strive to do just that, and we urge you to let us know if there’s anything we could be doing better.