Hello.. Mississippi.. checking in!

This is from a friend of mine's blog.. Paul. He posted exactly what I have been thinking. As a state LA did not have as much overall damage as the state of MS. Entire towns in MS are gone.. leveled.. flat, literally not one thing left standing.... Anyway I'll let Paul stand on the sopa box for me!

In recent days, we've heard some complaints that national media - I'm sure it's largely about television outlets - have overlooked the conditions on this state's Gulf Coast in favor of the deterioration of New Orleans.
News decisions are weighed on unseen scales which can appear unfeeling.
Most often, the question is asked, "How many people will this impact for how long?" On a national level, from that perspective the question is easy to answer in terms of deploying assets - reporters, cameras, etc. New Orleans is a bigger story from that aspect alone in terms of flooding. Add the evacuation problems, the (at least limited) mayhem and the dead and we see why so much attention was paid.
But, some Mississippians argue - Why are our problems seemingly ignored?
At least much of New Orleans is still standing, they say. We have coastal towns which no longer exist - they were blown away as if by a by nuclear weapon and cities as much as three hours inland were impacted (Meridian, for example). Our northern cities are working feverishly to accomodate our neighbors from the south, opening shuttered schools and converting civic centers into long-term shelters.
Why isn't anyone paying attention to this, they ask?
As a native Alabamian, I've long suspected that national media look at the South with a jaundiced, superior eye. No one native to the South is capable of uttering a coherent sentence, the thinking seems to go.
However, in this case, I think the media are following sound news judgment on the whole.
Sure, Geraldo has, as is typical, lost his marbles a few times as word comes that some aspects of the New Orleans portion of the story have been overblown (the looting was supposedly limited to a very small area of town, for example).
But not all outlets are ignoring the plight of Mississippi and those of us in the state certainly understand how soundly the coast got licked. I know of a lady who was searching for nearly 20 friends from the coast last week. The loss of life and property there is still unfathomable.
If anyone reading this blog is unaware of the impact Katrina had on this state, please look at the following sites for a sampling.

The Clarion Ledger, Jackson

The Commercial Dispatch, Columbus

The Sun Herald, Gulfport/Biloxi

WLOX-TV Biloxi

WAPT-TV Jackson

The Meridian Star, Meridian

WCBI-TV Columbus