Even though I've been listening to Mike Rosen here in Colorado for 16 years now I have to agree with you on this. Shep Smith's coverage of the hurricane Katrina (and Rita for that matter) was outstanding.
I disagree. I felt like Shep was part of the problem, adding fuel to the fire with his hysterical reports from the I-10 bridge. He was also among the journnalists who would report urban legends and hearsay as if it were hard news, therefore contributing to the emotional overreactions of all too many. When I saw drama queens like Shep and Geraldo grandstanding, I couldn't help but think about how they would sleep in warm beds and have hot showers later that night, how they had plenty of water to drink. When I hear statistics about how there were more journalists on the ground in NO than rescue workers, I can't help but ask: how can these weak reporters place blame on anyone for making a bad situation worse without taking credit themselves.