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Founded in 1968, Reason
advances a free society by developing, applying, and promoting libertarian
principles, including individual liberty, free markets, and the rule of law.
Reason produces respected public policy research on a variety of issues and
publishes the critically acclaimed monthly magazine, Reason. Together, our
top-tier think tank and political and cultural magazine reach a diverse,
influential audience, advancing the values of individual freedom and choice,
limited government, and market-friendly policies.
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Adrian Moore is vice president of research at Reason Foundation, a non-profit think tank advancing free minds and free markets. Moore oversees all of Reason’s policy research and conducts his own research on a wide variety of policy issues. Dr. Moore is widely published on public policy issues and frequently discusses them on television and radio. Prior to joining Reason, Moore served 10 years in the Army on active duty and reserves. He earned a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of California, Irvine.
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Writing in Reason magazine, Daniel Rothschild observed: Much reporting on the Gulf Coast has been inadequate at best, applying a cookie-cutter template to a scenario that's far too unique and important for trite narratives. Unfortunately, these stories are likely to continue. With [the] second anniversary of Katrina, reporters and editors have again turned their attention to the Gulf Coast. And as expected, they're resurrecting the old saws that have ill-informed the public the last two years.
This prompted Rothschild to write a 3 part series on the myths of Hurricane Katrina. Myth Number One: The main impediment to rebuilding the Gulf Coast is a lack of federal money.
Talk with people on the Gulf Coast area and you'll soon learn the
primary problem they face is not a lack of funding, but the mass
confusion created by federal, state, and local governments about the
rules of the game when it comes to rebuilding. Confusing and
contradictory regulations, showboating by politicians, and stunningly
complex bureaucracy have only exacerbated the problems of people who've
already been through hell and have kept people from making the
decisions they need to make to get on with their lives. (read the rest here)
Myth Number Two: "New Orleans" and "the Gulf Coast" are synonymous. Rather than deal with the nuances affecting communities in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, the media like to cover New Orleans as if it is synonymous with the entire area affected by Hurricane Katrina. This is similar to the way the media often treats "Africa" as if it were one extremely large, monolithic country.Many well-researched stories by dedicated reporters have come out of New Orleans in the past two years. But what's largely missing is any coverage of the Louisianan parishes near New Orleans, or of the many counties in Mississippi also hit by Katrina. In the aftermath of Katrina, the Red Cross provided assistance to some 4 million people, although only 450,000 people lived in New Orleans. President Bush's disaster declaration covered 90,000 square miles. New Orleans encompasses only 350 square miles, almost half of it water. Many parts of New Orleans did not flood, but over 99 percent of buildings in neighboring St. Bernard Parish did.Why, then, does New Orleans receive the majority of the media coverage? Reporters disproportionately focus on New Orleans because it's more interesting, it fits more preconceived narratives, and it is, paradoxically, both a simpler and more complex story than other areas damaged by Katrina. (read the rest here) Myth Number Three: The Gulf Coast is suffering from a lack of leadershipIn his opening column to the recent issue of Time devoted to New Orleans, managing editor Richard Stengel reports that his impressions of the city's recovery efforts are based on "conversations with everyone from Mayor Ray Nagin to jazz great Terence Blanchard."That sounds impressive, but truth be told, "everyone from the mayor to a famous jazz musician" isn't a terribly wide range, and misses a good deal of the city. The tendency of journalists to look first to political leaders-who, to say the least, usually have other motives for pushing a narrative-and big names explains why so much of the media has gotten post-Katrina New Orleans so wrong. Turning first to the great and the good to get the story is an easy mistake to make in a society where everything from the foods we eat to the way we garden is subject to the whims of the ruling class.But leadership isn't something you are elected into. There have been plenty of leaders on the Gulf Coast over the last two years. It's just that their names don't roll off the tongues of magazine editors, or appear in newspapers or campaign ads. (read the rest here)
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