NYTimes buries levee neglect story

Do you think that Gail Collins, editor in charge of the Editorial page, and Bill Keller, executive editor of the rest of the paper ever communicate?  

It certainly seems that Collins, as usual, has a sharper and keener understanding of the real issues involved in the Bush administratiion's negligence toward New Orleans that does that MSM apologist, Mr. Keller.  

Go to the Editorial page  or VolvoLiberal's diary to see the difference. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/01/opinion/01thu1.html

The article to follow is written just that apologia mode.

Please note that the neglect of the New Orleans storm protection systems, (levees, etc) are buried in the article.  The Bush administration is not mentioned until the middle of the story.

Most crucially it continues the MSM media's meme that critical comments about this administration are portrayed not as facts with data backing it up (no mention of the Times-Picayune stories about the huge cuts in order to send money to Iraq), but rather as OPINION by those involved.Look at phrases like "Often leading the chorus was Alfred C. Naomi..."; phrasing like this triviliazes the real claims by the chief engineer, Mr. Naomi.

"Mr. Naomi grew particularly frustrated this year as the Gulf Coast braced for what forecasters said would be an intense hurricane season and a nearly simultaneous $71 million cut was announced in the New Orleans district budget to guard against such storms."  The criminal neglect is portrayed solely in personal terms. it was Mr. Naomi's "frustration"  rather than his administration deliberately shortsighted policies.

"He called the cut drastic in an article in New Orleans CityBusiness."  The reporters make it seem to only be his opinion rather than a fact.

Link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/01/national/nationalspecial/01levee.html

The Levee
Intricate Flood Protection Long a Focus of Dispute

By ANDREW C. REVKIN and CHRISTOPHER DREW
Published: September 1, 2005

The 17th Street levee that gave way and led to the flooding of New Orleans was part of an intricate, aging system of barriers and pumps that was so chronically underfinanced that senior regional officials of the Army Corps of Engineers complained about it publicly for years.

Often leading the chorus was Alfred C. Naomi, a senior project manager for the corps and a 30-year veteran of efforts to waterproof a city built on slowly sinking mud, surrounded by water and periodically a target of great storms.

Mr. Naomi grew particularly frustrated this year as the Gulf Coast braced for what forecasters said would be an intense hurricane season and a nearly simultaneous $71 million cut was announced in the New Orleans district budget to guard against such storms.

He called the cut drastic in an article in New Orleans CityBusiness.

In an interview last night, Mr. Naomi said the cuts had made it impossible to complete contracts for vital upgrades that were part of the long-term plan to renovate the system.

Read the rest of it; pretend it's like the the book "Where's Waldo"  See how many ways the NY Times buries the real story.

•  If it's in the NYT

  Than it's legit news. Soon it will be in other papers and maybe we might see it on TV, in between the rescue shots. I hope that it feels like New Orleans in the White House. Talking about watching the roof fall in.

  P.S. Does Rove have any anti-hurricane propoganda. Also, does anybody else see the irony is that the folks who bought us the Swift Boat Veterans may be run out of town by some real swift water?

  by makemefree on Wed Aug 31, 2005 at 09:35:19 PM PDT

  •  I'm of the opinion that

    this is a perfect subject for LTE's, and the time for those LTE's is right now, so that people will be talking about the negligence issue over the photo ops of the next few days.

    This is not just politics: It's the people holding their government accountable for failing to do their job.

    I posted my own LTE on this very topic in the front page "Iraq, Katrina, and Politcs" thread.

    And I agree that what you have here is sort of mixed news -- yes, they did bury it, but at least now it's in the Times.

    by jem6x on Wed Aug 31, 2005 at 09:41:22 PM PDT

•  If it's in the NYT

  Than it's legit news. Soon it will be in other papers and maybe we might see it on TV, in between the rescue shots. I hope that it feels like New Orleans in the White House. Talking about watching the roof fall in.

  P.S. Does Rove have any anti-hurricane propoganda. Also, does anybody else see the irony is that the folks who bought us the Swift Boat Veterans may be run out of town by some real swift water?

  by makemefree on Wed Aug 31, 2005 at 09:35:39 PM PDT

•  Excellent Analysis

  
  What cowardly journalism.

  by Ottoe on Wed Aug 31, 2005 at 10:02:47 PM PDT

•  On the News Hour this evening

  an analyst described several problems that contributed to the levee failure. Near the end of his list was the funding cuts that he said were sure to be controversial in the coming days. Easing the suffering is priority one now. The time for full throated criticism of Bush environmental policy is just around the corner.

  by gsp on Wed Aug 31, 2005 at 10:07:38 PM PDT