Nashville: Known for country music and… flooding? It seems like few people are talking about it and few news organizations are covering it. Even though over 20 inches of rain flooded this growing city, 30 people died, the clean up will cost billions, and the city will take years to recover. Normally, that is cause for major media coverage (remember the floods in Iowa a few years back?) Certainly, the flooding of Nashville and surrounding areas are not on par with the devastation of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, but does that matter? Yes and no. No matter the disaster, people need help. No matter how great or small the loss of life, supplies and funds are needed.
It’s clear that this story has not been in the news that much. Did you know celebrities like Miley Cyrus and Nicole Kidman held a Nashville Flood Relief Telethon? Most did not see it or even hear about it. Did you know it could be one of the most expensive disasters in US history? With such a need for help in Nashville it is clear the message needs to get out. So, why haven’t we heard about the Nashville flood?
Here are three reasons why the Nashville flood went largely unnoticed by Americans and the media:
The oil spill and immigration took over the headlines. Sure, those are important news stories but what happens when a large city is in need of help? No one knows about it if the media does not report on it. Even the Times Square bomb plot continued to get press over Nashville. Newsweek blogger Andrew Romano agrees:
…the national media seems to largely to have ignored the plight of Music City since the flood waters began inundating its streets on Sunday. A cursory Google News search shows 8,390 hits for “Times Square bomb” and 13,800 for “BP oil spill.” “Nashville flood,” on the other hand, returns only 2,430 results—many of them local.
In that sense, it’s easy to see why the press can’t seem to focus on more than one or two disasters at the same time. Everyone is talking about BP and Faisal Shahzad 24/7, the “thinking” goes. So there must not be anything else that’s as important to talk about. It’s a horrible feedback loop.
It comes down to the media not making the story a priority, which leads to our next reason why the story went unnoticed.
The public loves sensationalism. There is a reason why the Jerry Springer show went on for 19 seasons: people like to see a good fight. Ugh. Howard Krutz at the Washington Post offers his take on the lack of interest:
…the Nashville story involved the all-too-familiar tale of a monster flood, even though it was a once-in-a-lifetime event for middle-class areas such as Bellevue. But try telling that to folks in Tennessee. Their view is that nobody died in Times Square.
From Pew Research
Clearly, the flood didn’t have the sexiness of a bomb plot, angry Americans, or the uncommon American oil spill. The “tale of the a monster flood” lacks the interest. The fear of a bomb or plane crash is more dramatic and more “real” for most, meaning real fear. The big news stories that make huge headlines are stories that involved a scared public. A story is much more appealing if there is a villain involved, especially if it involves terrorism in New York City.
We all have “news ADD”. I say this as a tongue and cheek. I think I can safely say that most people get their news from television. And why not? It is easy, fast, and it is in your living room. Our attention spans can only last so long until people get “bored” over a news story, or so the networks tell us. Romano continues:
Nashville floods never gained much of a foothold in the national conversation: the “narrative” simply wasn’t as strong…. the media can only trade on a story’s novelty for a few hours, tops. It is new angles, new characters, and new chapters that keep a story alive for longer… The Nashville narrative wasn’t compelling enough to break the cycle…
In the end, all these observations highlight the fact that people died, help is needed, and few a taking notice. There are news stories every day that go unnoticed: the daily death toll in Iraq and Afghanistan, bloody conflict in Sudan, children in poverty in India, and the list goes on and on.
The point is that we cannot claim ignorance and move on. We have a responsibility to help others in a time of need. If we claim to be a “Christian nation” then we need to start living out the story of the Good Samaritan in our nation and around the world.
If you want to help with the relief efforts through giving, serving, or volunteering please click here.
UPDATE: My friend and fellow blogger Karen (Buschman) Barnes lives in Nashville. Check out her blog post about the recovery efforts.
44 Comments
The only way I knew about the Nashville flood was that one of my people at work was actually going on vacation during the flooding. It was an absolute mess for her, she had to stay inside of a school gym, there were literally no supplies, except whatever people gave locally, especially with food. Somehow she got out of it, but I heard that she was still gone because of flooding in Nashville and I remember thinking, “There’s flooding in Nashville? Really? Why isn’t it on the news?” So, I knew about it only because she she was in it and luckily her and her family got back home safely.
You forgot one thing: there wasn’t a Republican in office for whom to blame global warming or poor decision making skills. In a Democratic preisdency natural disasters are natural whereas with a Republican, the disasters are humanly inspired.
Really interesting post and I think you’re spot on, especially reason #2
Good point Mark. Why would the “Lame Stream Media” care about
one of the reddest of red states? They see the home of country music as to
quote Janeane Garafolo ” a bunch of tea bagging rednecks, straight
up,” Kanye West dissing Taylor Swift at the MTV awards.
The problem I have with the Liberals once they gained power
is: everything they said was against them and prejudicial and such,
that once they gained power they brashly displayed that exclusionary
elitist attitude and behavior that they railed against.
And if Blubber Boy Al Gore would have carried his home state(Tennessee) in
2000, they wouldn’t have good old Dumbass W to blame
for everything. C’mon November!
I’d also suggest not enough poor people, who–right or wrong–are viewed as helpless by the middle and rich class. Cynically, politicians get points and press for helping the poor and vilified for helping the well-off. Naples, FL was equally devastated by Katrina as New Orleans. They received no help, no attention, and no funds. They also refused to whine about it; they dug in and helped themselves. Perhaps Nashville doesn’t have enough whiners? (Please note, that was mostly tongue-in-cheek; people who need help aren’t whiners unless they refuse to be part of their own solution).
Sadly, you’re right. The only reason I knew about the flooding was because a local talk show host was there on vacation. Even then, he only said he was delayed a few days and didn’t broadcast the depth of the situation.
Rev. Rudnick, I saw this on the WordPress home page and thought it was an excellent piece. As a journalist and a Nashville student, it was really disheartening to see the media so far away from this story. Anderson Cooper and his team got down there eventually, but when I returned home to Chicago for the summer, I was amazed by how many people had no idea what was going on. It’s not too late to change the story, though…Nashville is going to need volunteers for quite some time to help fix the damage. I hope those who read this blog will get the word out regardless of news coverage and get some help to the residents of Music City! 🙂
Well said, Alan.
It is surprising that the flood did not get much coverage. I never heard much about it. I didn’t even know 30 people had died!
http://www.wutevs.wordpress.com
Thanks for the Nashville love Alan! I have lived in this city for 5 years now and I have never been more proud to call myself a Nashvillian! Another one of the reasons it has not gotten much coverage is because there are so many people helping each other here. Neighbors helping neighbors. Communities banding together to pitch in. It has been an amazing outpouring of serving one another right here in our own communities. A phrase started circulating from a popular local blogger – “We Are Nashville”, and it has caught on like wildfire. We are strong. We are resilient. We are helping each other through this.
I wrote a little blog post on the personal side of helping some people out. There are also a couple links to come incredible videos and images if anyone wants to check them out for more information:
http://kabarnes.wordpress.com/2010/05/10/nashville-rising-serving-together/
And I do also just want to point out quickly that there were a lot of poor that were affected by this flood. Bellevue (the upper middle class part of town) has been getting most of the coverage, but there is an area in SE Nashville where a lot of the immigrant population has lost everything. We helped gut a Mexican family’s trailer in a trailer park a few weekends ago. I’ve now heard of some immigrant families who lost everything, including their government papers, in the flood and now cannot even get FEMA assistance because they don’t have those papers… It’s heart wrenching.
Anyway, long comment, but thank you Alan for the post!
sarahnsh: I think your experience is common for those of us outside of the South. Thanks for sharing!
Tara: I saw the Anderson Cooper piece. It was interesting how he lamented leaving Nashville and spending so little time there.
Isn’t this just a bunch of other blogs combined?
http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/thegaggle/archive/2010/05/06/why-the-media-ignored-the-nashville-flood.aspx
http://www.section303.com/we-are-nashville-4366
Rebekah: Yes, I quote other bloggers/writers, it supports my intro and thoughts. Though I didn’t use or read section303 site, there are other citations such as the Pew Research poll. Isn’t the idea of blogging collaborating with others?
Karen: Thanks for your comments. I should have included your post about Nashville. I was encourage to read about it when you posted it on facebook. I included the link for people to check out. Blessings!
Another reason for lack of news coverage is the the city of Nashville is actually resolving to pull up their boots and pitch in and clean up, make do and turn the situation around themselves without crying out for and relying on government aid. It reminds me of the horrible hurricanes in Cozumel that did not receive tremendous coverage, and the day after the storms, with buildings crumbled by their feet, the locals banded together with brooms and shovels and cleaned it themselves. The city is now glowing with new business and thriving. The local ‘Nashvillians’ per Karen, are doing what they need to do to make their lives right again, and that, unfortunately, does not warrant ‘good press’. in my eyes, however, it is ‘goodwill’ and we should only hope to see more of it across our country.
PartTimeVegan: It’s difficult to compare disasters because they are all terrible. However, the gulf coast disasters reached unprecedented levels. Certainly the size of flooding in the gulf coast areas was dizzying. Though larger cities can do it, Nashville is an example of how we can all help. I think we can learn from their unity.
Thanks for your blog.
I live in Bellevue, in the hard-hit River Plantation. I almost wonder if there was not a national coverage blackout here. (I know we live in America and those things aren’t supposed to happen…I’m just say’in). Remember Katrina…. it clearly showed the face of local, state and federal government’s ineptness during that disaster. Once bitten, twice shy??
I came out of this flood at the high-ground-end of the neighborhood and had only rain damage to roof and ceilings, but it took out most of my neighbors across the street on the Harpeth River side of the road. My brother range me about five days later and said, “Heard Nashville had a flood”……. He lives in Minneapolis. I blogged about the devastation in my little corner of the world. http://www.postcardsfromgastronome.wordpress, “Wishing Nashville Hope”.
The floods in Nashville were deep and the results were beyond comprehension. I sincerely hope that the good citizens of ALL the flooded areas will rehabilitate their homeland and resolve to come back stronger than ever! May God bless them.
Writing for several people who are interested, I hope this message is read by two residents of Spring Hill (also flooded) who work in Nashville, and we hope the two are safe and sound. One of them is referenced at my own WordPress blog.
Thanks from Ralph, http://draaiorgelfan.wordpress.com, “Wanted – The Dean Martin Show!”. The reference is to Micki McGlone/Raynee Steele.
I was just down in Nashville this past weekend for National AmeriCorps week, and we spent the weekend helping with flood cleanup and relief. The situation over there is, as expected, pretty desperate. There are so many people who need help right now, anything from donations of food, clothing, and personal items to help rebuilding their homes. A lot of people in the areas most affected do not have much insurance, and certainly not flood insurance, and as a result have lost everything. The city has really pulled together and is working hard to get everyone back on their feet again. That kind of unity is really inspiring!
As a Tennesseean, I’m glad I was able to help in what little way I could. Please consider donating to the Red Cross, donating old clothing and furniture, monetary donations, and even your time! There are many talented, dedicated volunteers in Nashville right now who are willing to help – not for nothing are we the Volunteer State!
http://www.volunteertennessee.net/
So sad
ziggy@vlocity.co.za
[…] Alan Rudnick of “On the Bema in Ballston” echoed the same sentiment regarding the Nashville floods. His observations on why Nashville ended […]
Alan,
I stumbled upon your blog this morning and I felt compelled to write and say thank you for writing this. Your blog reminded me vividly of what we went through in 2008 when the floods hit here in Iowa, on top of the F-5 tornado in Parkersburg.
We took a backseat to the presidential race in 2008, and when people saw the devastation, they “moved on” to another big story.
My feeling about the sensationalism is as the same as yours. But, I am prone to say that it’s better not to have the proliferation of the national media in Nashville. They would get in the way of the efforts of the great people of Nashville and Tennessee in helping those who were affected by this flood and clean up the mess.
We were able to expedite the clean-up efforts here in Iowa quicker than anticipated because there wasn’t a camera and an on-air personality sticking a microphone in front of us, asking how angry and despondent we are that we lost homes, businesses, and lives.
Iowans were too busy helping each other. There was no time to be angry and pointing fingers to blame, which is what the national media expected us to do and to relay that to their viewers.
The people of Nashville need our support, volunteerism, and prayers. That’s more important that asking why the media has ignored much of what has happened there.
It’s true, it was horrible. Residents couldn’t get anywhere and small towns were bascially closed down. My husband was supposed to go to visit friends and was told not to bother that he wouldn’t be able to cross over the creek which ended up over 6 feet deep. We only knew about it because of friends and the “little” blurbs that made the news.
Thank you for this post. I get my news from the internet so I had an idea that things were bad, called a friend with family members in Nashville and found out it was beyond bad. Prayers for all of you. And our country. It’s messed up.
Thank you for talking about this. I recall seeing one major headline on it…and the rest of the relief efforts and updates I’ve heard at church. I certainly want to participate in the efforts to help folks on the road to recovery!
Great read too!
TBOE
The same unfortunately happened to Hurricane Ike in Houston-Galveston. Before the storm, anticipation set in, but after… nothing.
Then again, I’m not extremely unhappy about this as there weren’t many casualties from Ike. It wasn’t Katrina #2, thankfully….
I live in Knoxville TN, and knew about the flood because of local weather reports, and the fact that many people around here have family and friends in Nashville. I was really incensed that the national news started their programs with stories about the attempted bombing in Times Square, rather than this historic flood. I think one reason that there wasn’t more about it in the national news is that most of those news companies are based out of New York, and as such, are New York news centric. It didn’t matter that the Times Square event didn’t amount to anything- the fact that it happened in New York City made it a bigger deal.
@Anna: I think it’s all about implications here, isn’t it?
The New York story could’ve had huge implications for any major American city. Since we can’t control floods, the EFFECTS of the flooding in TN were less important.
On the other hand, I do agree with you in that coverage was weak. I WISH it would have been due to a lack of damage or casualties, but that wasn’t the case. And I do agree with a New York-centric news system, but quite honestly, that’s how things run, even in the age of globalization.
-Josh, http://transmorgified.wordpress.com/
I really really enjoyed this blog having written something similar recently about a different natural disarster (http://jamesblogofmedia.wordpress.com/2010/04/21/hundreds-of-people-dead-who-cares-the-bloody-planes-have-been-grounded/). Really great article, I look forward to reading more from you in the future.
James 😀
maybe we’re flooded with floods and disasters. I didn’t realize that 30 people died. It was definitely ignored by the media.
Great post but you forgot one reason. Obama hates white people. Coverage or not he should have at least done a fly over by now.
As was mentioned in several posts above, we in Nashville are a part of that mainstream America who pick ourselves up and help ourselves and others. Fortunately, for the most part ‘entitlement’ means we are entitled to work our butts off. I had the opportunity to visit Opry Mills last Saturday. This is the large mall complex adjacent to Gaylord Opryland Hotel. My first reaction was, “Why don’t they tear it down and start over?” It was a mess! But in talking to a man who has taken part in renovation and recovery all over the country, his statement was , ”
At least it’s not Katrina!” He then explained what he meant was that during the Katrina clean up, he was serving food to the residents and many REFUSED to accept meals offered to them on paper plates. In contrast, he stated that in Iowa, the very people who lost the most were the ones who invited the workers into their homes to feed THEM. He said he had been told to expect to be fed TOO much in Nashville. Difference in geography, culture, or simply personal responsibility???!!
Thanks for posting this! I’m the only member of my family who doesn’t live in Nashville. I’ve had several friends come to me and say, “Apparently there was a flood in Nashville? Is your family OK?” It’s amazing in the worst way possible how slowly the news spread. Thankfully, the most my family lost was a couple of cars and a job. But they were very fortunate. Most others were not. If I didn’t have such a strong connection to the city, I probably would have never even known.
Thanks for posting this! The lack of coverage for the flood is very sad although I had already lost a lot of confidence in our national media. Nashville is a great city and it’s been beautiful to see neighbors stepping up to the plate and helping one another. We’re all exhausted but hopeful. Outside help would definitely be appreciated but we’ll continue on rebuilding our city one brick at a time.
Didn’t know about this at all: much as I don’t believe in the “liberal media bias” (most editors are conservative), even Fox didn’t pick this up…. I think there’s a spreading conception of most of the South as having stagnated, which makes a lot of people care less because they’re too busy focusing on the up-and-coming centers of change.
I have no idea if that makes sense to anyone not living near a big city.
Excellent. I think the lack of looting and murders certainly played a role as well.
It’s sad that Nashville was overlooked because the flood wasn’t sexy enough for mainstream media. They will cover the crap out of every hurricane that comes ashore, but only because they can put their anchors outside in harms way. Flood news doesn’t make for good television, so they ignore it, eventhough it was a the disaster we should be paying attention to.
It is true that Nashville was in the news for the first few days when the initial flooding happened but a peep since… I had not even heard of the telethon!!!
It’s great to see some attention being directed towards Nashville. I have lived here for nine years and never have I been so proud to live here. My own mother did not even know about the flood until I called her days afterward to let her know that I was alright.
My place of employment has been destroyed, many of my employees’ homes have been destroyed, but it is amazing to see this city band together to pull each other up out of the ruins.
Thanks for this article. I just happenned to move from Nashville to California a few days before this flood hit. Both my parents had significant flood damage.
[…] Nashville: Known for country music and… flooding? It seems like few people are talking about it and few news organizations are covering it. Even though over 20 inches of rain flooded this growing city, 30 people died, the clean up will cost billions, and the city will take years to recover. Normally, that is cause for major media coverage (remember the floods in Iowa a few years back?) Certainly, the flooding of Nashville and surrounding area … Read More […]
New Orleans was a “chocolate” city. Nashville is 80% white. There’s your answer as to why the media ignored it. Also, note the conduct of the residents: One city not only cried for government help – they literally almost blamed Bush for summoning Katrina, and then began looting and shooting. The other city quietly began to rebuild.
The facts are the facts.
[…] 3 Reasons Why the Nashville Floods Went Unnoticed […]
[…] 3 Reasons Why the Nashville Floods Went Unnoticed […]