"Deadly Storm..." Ha.

The Wall Street Journal ran an article today called “DeadlyStorm Trudges East, Threatens Holiday Travel.” One of the biggest questions I have concerning the media is: when to publish (on the front page) news about weather on national newspapers, and why is it important? I posted about Typhoon Haiyan’s oncoming disaster for the Philippians and it was then that I wondered, why ISN’T this front-page news? The radar looked more like the eye of God than it did a typhoon.   Thousands have been killed, many are still missing. I said that we needed to care so we could either start sending aid for the people or so we can help get them out of there…which didn’t happen.

So this article about a ‘deadly storm’ that is threatening ‘holiday travel’ has made front page news. Ten inches of snow fell in some parts of Oklahoma, and freezing rain does make life a little difficult. Power might go out. People might be trapped in doors for a few days. Families might miss flights to see each other for Turkey Day.

Being from Northern Minnesota, this article made me laugh. 10 inches of snow is nothing. Sleet? Icy roads? What of them? There is more than one way to drive, especially when winter hits. It's called using caution. WSJ at least managed to say “An icy storm that started in the West and is blamed in at least 10 fatal accidents was bringing a mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain;” the key term being ‘is blamed.’ I wish the journalist would have said if these accidents are abnormal for the areas in Oklahoma and Texas. If this was the first time these storms have hit those areas, the news would be worthy of front-page news. Then we could start talking about climate change.

The author even called it an “Arctic mass” that is to “head south and east and threaten plans for Tuesday and Wednesday as people hit the roads and airports for some of the busiest travel days of the year.” I wonder what kind of weather we had this time last year. Winter weather always disrupts flight plans. Sleet is hard to fly through. It’s the risk that winter travelers take.

Maybe the reason why I find this hype ridiculous is because I’m from an area of the country where this weather isn’t just normal, it’s expected. This journalist does manage to make a lighter end of things by quoting someone in Oklahoma that is excited to see the snow.

This article makes me think, ‘why is this important?’ The journalist reported the facts, but left out the relevance to the bigger audience. Sure, it’s nice to know when flight plans may be disrupted, but is this worthy of front page news, above the article about the lack of preparation in the Philippians for the typhoon? Its placing would have made more sense if the journalist discussed the normal fatalities during bad weather in the same areas this storm is going through. Or even if they talked about how rare/normal these types of storms are for this time of year. I think the journalist missed the bigger picture.