A Tale of Two Cities
As many of you know, or considering how absentminded my generation is, don’t know, Hurricane Sandy did quite a number on NYC. Killing over 40 residents, destroying homes, and leaving hundreds of thousands in the dark and cold. It’s been almost two weeks since Sandy knocked out the city that never sleeps, and still, many are powerless and in the dark.
What amazes me is how disconnected the various parts of the city are. At times it seemed as if, lets say for example, the Upper West Side has never heard of the Rockaways or Staten Island for that matter. These are two of the hardest hit areas.
The cable news channel I work for put together a piece comparing the lives of residents that live in an area of the city that was least affected, and residents that lived in a more affected area.
The result?
Sound bites from the least affected area were of residents complaining about not getting their Starbucks for 3 days. Sound bites from the more affected area complaining about being cold and not having electricity.
It was as if the least affected area had no idea as to what was happening in the rest of the city. Instead of banding together, they bought their ventis and their bagels.
A journalist’s job is to bring attention to what’s happening and to hold those with power accountable, giving the viewer the opportunity to take that information and use it wisely.
I think there were some who saw the news and digested it as if what they were seeing was some far off place where disaster and destruction was a norm. They ignored their fellow citizens.
As of now it’s as if we live in two cities. Which one do you want to be apart of? I don’t think we should have to choose.
I realize this isn’t a very humorous post. But there’s always a time for being serious. Now.
