How does a fire in Asbury Park, NJ, qualify as national breaking news?

[Fridays Child]

Don't get me wrong. I sincerely regret that people may be injured or killed by this fire but somebody please explain to me how this qualifies as breaking news during a nationally televised news program (MSNBC)?

The news networks need to conduct a serious re-evaluation of what's important news because it's not OJ, Britney, or Lindsay Lohan. And it's not an L.A. car chase or a New Jersey apartment fire. But it IS a press conference wherein Bush declares Nelson Mandela and his entire family were assassinated by Saddam Hussein.

Have any of them reported this yet or will we have to wait for KO? x(

[Vinca]

1. It boggles the mind. I'm surprised they don't cover jaywalking.

Anything to avoid talking about the drumbeat for war with Iran or the fact soldiers are being extended and extended with little time at home.

[asthmaticeog]

2. I blame Rove.

This is a classic Rovian distraction. Remember, it's only news if a DUer claims that it's underreported. Clearly NOBODY covered the speech.

[ck4829]

3. BREAKING NEWS: Cat stuck in a tree

It's coming, very soon.

[Fridays Child]

4. Bread and circuses.

:nuke:

[soleft]

5. Thank you for posting this, I didnt know about the fire

Low income senior citizens live in that building in a poor section of Asbury Park. I'm glad it's getting coverage.

[paparush]

6. 'Cause they don't want to announce that today $1 Canadian = $1 US

First time since 1976.

And commander cookoo bananas is still saying that the fundamentals (he can't even define that word) of our economy are strong.

[BlooInBloo]

7. I don't understand the criticism. DUers talk about that BS all day everyday...

... Why a double-standard?

[Fridays Child]

10. You hold an Internet discussion forum to the same standard as nationally televised news programming?

Would you expect a gardening magazine, for example, to publish war news?

[karlrschneider]

12. Only if it's between the roses.

:evilgrin:

[Fridays Child]

13. ...

:spray:

[BlooInBloo]

18. I don't think it makes much sense to criticize the media for talking about...

... what people are apparently interested in, no.

I wish people, like DUers were more interested in important/intellectually interesting things, but the fact is they're largely not. Like I largely blame the electorate for their government, I blame the consumer for having OJ on my tv 24/7. Thank goodness for EVE-online.

[Fridays Child]

19. Most people don't even know what EVE-online is.

Most people come home from work, turn on the news, and ingest whatever it is that the corporate media wish to feed them. The idea that mainstream news journalism has a duty to properly prioritize the delivery of information seems to have become, as Gonzo might say, quaint.

[Zywiec]

8. Why do you hate America? n/t

[Crabby Appleton]

9. casue the have video of it. nt

[Fridays Child]

14. Because, in the frenzy to be the first to televise every story, they've all lost their minds?

And, in the process, they've also lost all respect for their audience?

[donkeyotay]

15. That's it. They have affiliates with cameras. What they don't have are

news bureaus, investigative reporters, that kind of thing. Pictures, no content. Nothing to muss the masses.

[karlrschneider]

11. The fire was started by an out of control taser.

:eyes:

[rucky]

25. intended for a breastfeeding mother.

[Selatius]

16. Answer: It fucking DOES NOT QUALIFY.

Something of national impact would qualify as being issues of major importance. Health care, public education, decaying infrastructure, the war in Iraq, poverty in America, etc. qualify as national news.

[Retired AF Dem]

28. So a kid living in poverty that dies of starvation

is more news worthy than someone dying in a apt fire? Now before you blow a gut I'm just asking. Hell if I know.

[Selatius]

31. The issue of poverty should get coverage, even though individual cases may not.

I mean, when was the last time you heard of an American on US soil dying of starvation who wasn't in the wilderness as opposed to dying in a fire?

[bbernardini]

17. Because 3 firefighters were injured? Because Asbury Park is a dying town?

I know firefighters are injured every day, but that could be one reason. The other reason might be that Asbury Park is a town dying right before our eyes, and a fire in a big apartment building doesn't help matters.

[Occulus]

20. Where are all the New Orleans stories, then?

Why don't we see those every night?

[bbernardini]

21. Hey, I never said it was RIGHT...

:) Just some theories.

[hatrack]

22. FIRE! HOT! FLAMES! HEAT! NOISE! BIG TRUCKS! FIREMEN!

Given that that's about the level at which ADDmerica operates, it's pretty much all they need to avoid reporting the news.

[Beelzebud]

23. Because they want to distract you from anything of importance.

[KamaAina]

24. Asbury is close enough to BSNBC's Secaucus studios that they can go cover it

Almost anything even remotely spectacular that happens in the Tri-State area instantly becomes national news, just because it's so easy to get the breathless correspondents (not "reporters") to the scene.

As to Asbury being "dying", yes, it has been for quite some time -- so much so that the big developers are now moving in, on the choice areas near the oceanfront, anyway. Thus, lately, it has been showing signs of life. One wonders if the building in question might not be at the fringe of the redevelopment area... :tinfoilhat:

edit: Mom and Repuke Stepdad's weekend place is in nearby Long Branch, so this qualifies as somewhat of a local story for me.

[AuntPatsy]

26. For me as well my sister lives on the shore.

[americanstranger]

29. Secaucus and Asbury aren't really that close...

..especially if you're heading to Asbury via ground transportation - it would easily take you an hour or more if traffic was as bad as it usually is in North Jersey. I got stuck in a 10-mile jam on the NJTP a couple of weeks ago.

I'm thinking this fire is a big story due to the availability of chopper footage - and a news chopper could get from Secaucus to Asbury in a matter of minutes.

(BTW - the town is definitely showing signs of life - Mrs. Stranger and I spent a weekend out there when the School of Rock had its weekend festival this summer, and there's a lot of restoration of those beautiful old houses going on.)

- as

[KamaAina]

30. True, but if it were a similar building in a small Midwestern city,

they'd have to rely on footage from whatever affiliated station was nearby. Then it has to be real news (cf. the Minneapolis bridge collapse) or they won't do that.

[madinmaryland]

27. Because it is Bill Clinton's fault.

The Clenis strikes again!