'Category 5' reporting on a Category 1 storm: Howard Kurtz
(NEWSER) - Cable news reported on Hurricane Irene as if it was Armageddon in the making, and in the end, the coverage was a tempest in a teapot, writes Howard Kurtz for the Daily Beast . "The tsunami of hype on this story was relentless, a Category 5 performance that was driven in large measure by ratings." Producers, keen to keep viewers, didn't want to break away from coverage, and played up footage from local stations. Politicians kept the drama high by holding constant press conferences. More»