East Coast Hurricanes get MORE ATTENTION by Media!

I live in Texas, close to Houston, and have noticed over the years, that Hurricanes that threaten the EAST COAST get a lot more attention than Hurricanes that threaten the GULF COAST get far less attention.

Now, I dont mean to make lite of anyone that has ever been affected by a Hurricane, but why is this?

When watching the national news, the situation seems to be similar to this:

EAST COAST THREATENED:
OUR TOP STORY TONIGHT, tropical storm BOB is showing clearly defined patterns, and all indications say that BOB could turn into Hurricane BOB in the Atlantic sometime this week, and could possibly make landfall in 6-9 days. We go now to XXXXX city, where citizens are already buying up water and boarding up their houses.

Whereas, a Gulf Coast Hurricane is almost like this:

Well, before we go, we have a very amusing story about a DOG WALKING HIS MASTER, this is soo funny, but first, Hurricane Bubba is expected to make landfall somewhere in Texas in the next 3 hours. We all wish them well.

Anyone else ever notice this?

The next one that hits New Orleans should be interesting. I've been reading that New Orleans is slowly sinking into the Gulf, so a hurricane at high tide would be disastrous.

Sinking City

'"New Orleans is basically a city in a bowl," says Shea Penland, a geologist at the University of New Orleans. "It's below sea level, the land has sunk, and as a result, the city has to pump water uphill over the levees into Lake Ponchatrain into the Mississippi River." That means that a monster hurricane could do this city in....'

Re: East Coast Hurricanes get MORE ATTENTION by Me

They do the same thing with blizzards: Weather Channel calls the Blizzard of Jan 26-28, 1978, a Noreaster that went up the East Coast! What Bull! It was a Hurricane that couldn't be called one, due to a couple of technicalities (over land, in the winter). The EYE passed right over Mansfield, Ohio (where I live)! I was here at the time, and I saw the satellite photos of it: classic Hurricane, except for the size: huge. Originated as a Gulf Low (tropical Low), and did NOT track up the East Cost. at 11 PM on 25 JAN 1978, the center of the low, was in Kentucky. Sustained winds were 75+ MPH.

Re: East Coast Hurricanes get MORE ATTENTION by Me

Simple, more population = more coverage. Look at the # of people on the E. coast from S. Carolina to Boston, and compare it with any other length of coastline. Don't forget, NYC is an island off the coast of NJ, which itself is the most densely populated state in the nation.
Just compare the population on the coast and 20 miles inland between the TX Gulf coast and from DC to Boston.

Now Florida is another story - there you have the most powerful and numerous hurricanes combined with a very high population. Key West to Jacksonville, very crowded.


So everyone in the path, and all their friends and relatives, will be watching the news to see what's happening. That makes advertisers happy, which means more money for the TV stations.

Re: East Coast Hurricanes get MORE ATTENTION by Me

You ought to see what they do with the west coast. Oregon and Washington could have an 8.0 earthquake, and the national news would be "California feels small tremble from nearby earthquake". Or, Oregon and Washington could experience a large volcanoe, and the national news would read "California braces for ash from north".

Well, they may not be that bad, but they're close.

Re: East Coast Hurricanes get MORE ATTENTION by Me

I'd say Bill H. is at least partially right. I'd say the MAIN reason, though, is that the news headquarters for the three major broadcast networks and at least major offices for the cable networks are in NYC. If you feel personally impacted or at risk, it seems like a bigger deal to you - even if you're trying to make impartial news decisions.

Re: East Coast Hurricanes get MORE ATTENTION by Me

Being someone who works WITH the news department at one of the networks, I'd say Bill H and Dave T have it down 90%. The OTHER 10% is kinda funny. East coast storms are MUCH less predictable! Remember, most tropical type storms are GENERALLY moving south to north (Let's call it an Arc from SW to NE)

Now, a storm that is 2 days out, if it shifts a couple of degrees on the Gulf Coast, it's STILL going to hit, and it might hit 50 miles off. Due to the angle of the East Coast, a 50 mile lateral shift moves landfall HUNDREDS of miles up/down the coast. This is why, 48 hours out, you tend to see Hurricane watches that cover a couple of hundred miles on the gulf, VS 3/4ths of the Eastern Seaboard. That means that due to the population density, we will literally have 40%-50% of the nation watching the storm. Heck, 24 hours before Isadore hit, the Hurricane watch went from the Tip of Long Island to South Carolina