Posted on 09/03/2005 7:20:01 PM PDT by sTXsunAggie
...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.
(Excerpt) Read more at tv.yahoo.com ...
Geraldo had an armed bodyguard while he was on last night.
So guns are OK when the MSM needs them.
He always does and his name is Craig Rivera.
NBC sends armed guards to lawless Gulf Coast
Thursday September 1 2:14 AM ET
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."
Who would have thought that the rich are different than the people?
Jerry Rivers
On Weds. or Thurs. afternoon while Shep Smith was on camera, Shep asked for a different shot of N.O. from the cameraman. While camera angles were being changed we were treated with a quick screenshot of a dude carrying a very large weapon and wearing a sidearm.
Guess what? NBC also sent a medical technician in with them.
Really? That's very interesting. When he was in Iraq and Afghanistan, he packed a pistol himself. I thought he was softening his views on gun ownership and the right to carry. I should have known better.
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