Why was the highest point in Gavelston used for news media hotel and not a public shelter?

[itsrobert]

Does anyone know why the media is more important than residents of the city?

[frogcycle]

1. thens of thousands of residents, hundreds of media

get real

[iamjoy]

2. Would The Residents Have Wanted It

I mean, they were told to evacuate, but chose to stay put - why would they want to go to a public shelter? I guess the only advantage for some one who didn't want to evacuate going to a public shelter would be not having to drive, but the point is the city wanted them off of the island. When Nagin thought Gustav was going to be bad for New Orleans, the city didn't open shelters of last resort like the Superdome, they bussed the residents out of there.

[Geek_Girl]

3. I think I heard a news caster say

That many people were staying in that hotel as shelter. I'm sure they had to pay though.

[KharmaTrain]

4. Those Beachfront Hotels Are A Real Thrill Ride...

The best shelter for news crews are concrete garages...and you find those near hotels. A Weather Channel dude was saying the hotel he was camped out at had their skylight blown in and lots of windows blown out. Sure sounds like room service is gonna have one mess to clean up in the morning.

While I'm critical of the news baffoons who make fools of themselves while covering these things, I have a lot of respect for the techs and photographers who are trying to document what is going on...they're also the first to be of assistance to those who thought they could ride the storm out and learned otherwise.

I've been watching some guys driving around Galveston on hurricanecity.com...real fascinating stuff...while there's a lot of water, many of the buildings are holding firm...and hopefully the folks who remained are sheltered as well.

[tanyev]

5. I've seen a couple stories now where people who could get themselves there

were allowed to stay there. At this point, getting there is the problem.