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So I'd like to get some thoughts on this. See we used to have this thing called the Fairness Doctrine and most people focus on the fact that it mandates voicing both points of view on contentious issues and that news reporters immediately point out theories or falsehoods for what they are, the law also mandated things like local news and the emergency broadcasting system.


With this in mind, last Monday an emergency rocked the Denver Metro Area. At 6:30 pm, a power surge caused a massive explosion at the Xcel substation at 14th and Jackson knocking people down for several blocks and causing rolling blackouts for several hours throughout Denver, Aurora, Glendale, Commerce City, Northglenn, Thornton, Westminister, Wheat Ridge, Federal Heights, Lakewood, Edgewater, Sheridan, Englewood, and Littleton. The fire and smoke could be seen for 20 miles, almost every fire department in the Metro Area responded and Rose Hospital, on of the major (and most notorious) hospitals in the city had to be evacuated.

Friends were calling me in a panic wondering what was happening. One of my friends was hurt in the initial shockwave from the blast.

How much local news coverage was given? No preemptions or emergency broadcasts. Fox cut in a blurb between two or three commercial breaks. The radio stations had a blurb or two. Most local news shows had a 5 minute blurb on it. Residents are still trying to find out if they or their property or the city were hit with dangerous chemicals from the explosion. We have no exact numbers on how many people were hurt or if anyone was killed.
Most of the people I work with are from South Aurora, Greenwood Village, Highland's Ranch, Lone Tree, and Centennial. They wondered what the cloud and bright light was about but didn't know anything had happened. One of them got a call from a panicked elder relative but told him he was crazy and that if something serious happened he "would be hearing about it on the news."

Anyone See a problem with this?


http://www.kdvr.com/media/photo/2010-06/181064240-07180925.jpg

http://www.kdvr.com/media/photo/2010-06/180303400-07180929.jpg

http://www.kdvr.com/media/photo/2010-06/denver-explosion_54163956.jpg

I think the problem is that your only new sources are the TV and radio.

Originally posted by Symmetric Chaos
I think the problem is that your only new sources are the TV and radio.

Newspapers can't give you emergency information and the only way the internet can is if you have an RSS feed that's open.

Man, we are straight ****ing this planet up.

You should dived into the flames, then it woulda gotten more media coverage

Originally posted by Darth Jello
Newspapers can't give you emergency information and the only way the internet can is if you have an RSS feed that's open. That's not true. Google has real time updates and you could also try twitter for real time updates.

RSS isn't generally real time anyways. But obviously you have to actively look for stuff on the internet, like you have to actively look for news on TV.

Though I can understand your problem, it would be better if local news stations would give more time to the actual important news for its locals.

is that guy in the pic doing yard work ? or is that a dog on a leash...guess the dog would need to go after an explosion like that..

The only problem I see is that your local news teams are slow and useless.

Either that or perhaps the blackouts affected their ability to broadcast.

I don't see the problem, here.


Could someone explain to me how the "Local Media" is "Ignor Emergency"

If this is true: " Fox cut in a blurb between two or three commercial breaks. The radio stations had a blurb or two. Most local news shows had a 5 minute blurb on it. Residents are still trying to find out if they or their property or the city were hit with dangerous chemicals from the explosion."

Then this is not true: "Local Media Ignores Emergency"

Also, "Most local news shows had a 5 minute blurb on it" is not insignificant. A 5 minute segment is HUGE for a 30 minute local news station. Most top stories last 3-5 minutes. So how does making top story across most to all local news stations equate to ignoring an emergency? (In case any of you are missing it: the top story is the first story and it lasts the longest out of all stories: 3-5 minutes.)

Originally posted by RE: Blaxican
Man, we are straight ****ing this planet up.

i know we really are. but who cares as long as theres profits to be made.

maybe the police and company, who need to be very careful about what they say in the 24 hour news cycle and in the world of the sound byte inditement, are waiting until they know the answers to the people's questions before telling them anything?

Its also worth noting that we tend to also critisize the media for overplaying things which are not so harmful. It could honestly be a case of the company not wanting to say anything at risk of liability and the news having nothing to cover...

I tried to type something similiar earlier but guess modem didnt send it thru....I get darth jello....we get a little thunderstorm and they interupt my shows 5-6 times to tell me what I already know..its storming...but something crazy like that explosion they only mention it a couple times during commercials...errr

Really, what do you want them to do? They have covered it. Chances are likely it's being investigated, so it's hard for the news to give out info about it until they actually have that info.

Originally posted by Darth Jello
So I'd like to get some thoughts on this. See we used to have this thing called the Fairness Doctrine and most people focus on the fact that it mandates voicing both points of view on contentious issues and that news reporters immediately point out theories or falsehoods for what they are, the law also mandated things like local news and the emergency broadcasting system.

Are you saying that news organizations are not required to cover the news, and we need to reactivate the Fairness Doctrine to make them cover the news?

It seems like the news did cover the event, even though they were not required by "big brother" to do so. I see no reason to bring the "Fairness Doctrine", or as I would call it, the "big brother doctrine" back into existence.

CNN should have broadcasted this event.

How about preempting the right-wing talkers and shit music on the radio along with the reality shows and summer reruns on tv, activating the emergency broadcast system until power was restored, telling people what was going on and directing them to food, water, and shelter if they needed it?

Nobody even did a news crawl!!!

There could have been looting, the fire could have spread, their could have been panic!!!

I'm not even gonna comment on the idiots who went outside, looked up, saw smoke and firing billowing out of their city, and big chunks of darkness, and responded by shrugging their shoulders and going back inside to take a shit or whatever.

Your President is horrible, he should have been at the scene making a speech and taking action.


Why are you complaining to us on a forum? do it to the news channel or to the people that did you wrong.

Originally posted by jaden101
The only problem I see is that your local news teams are slow and useless.

Either that or perhaps the blackouts affected their ability to broadcast.

They still have gadgets with Twitter and Facebook and other stuff to communicate. If reporters can't keep up with the local news then yeah, they're slow an useless.

Better things should be happening because of the oil but that does not seen to be any interest so what ever.