Did the blackout affect anyplace outside of NYC?

Dan · Aug 15, 2003

The news from the national media regarding the blackout in the Northeast seemed to be along the lines of ...

Blah blah New York New York blah blah New York New York blah New York New York New York New York blah New York New York blah New York New York New York blah blah blah New York New York blah blah New York New York blah New York New York New York New York blah New York New York blah New York New York New York blah blah blah New York New York blah blah New York New York blah New York New York New York New York blah New York New York blah New York New York New York blah blah blah New York New York blah blah New York New York blah New York New York New York New York blah New York New York blah New York New York New York blah blah ... oh, by the way, Cleveland was affected. Blah blah New York New York blah blah New York New York blah New York New York New York New York ...

Buffalo, Toronto and Cleveland have subways were people could have been trapped, but WHO CARES? It's not New York City! Detroit and Rochester have hospitals where folks on life support could have been threatened, but WHO CARES! It's not New York City! Anyone else miffed by the NYC-centric coverage of the blackout in the Northeast?

tsc · Aug 15, 2003

uummm.....
.........million trapped undergound
.....the most public transportation dependant city
....during rush hour....95 degrees....and humid

Most hospitals have generators (of which most were up and running in NY)

The NYC new actually did run alot on Cleveland and Canada... it was continous coverage. I am one of the few in ny that actually had power last night.

gkmo62u · Aug 15, 2003

hard to get rid of that "Buffalo Complex" huh Dan?

I don't know what you are talking about, I saw interviews with the governor of Michigan, the mayor of cleveland, Governor Rowland of Connecticut.

And New York is the Story. Always. Let me see, people trapped under the Hudson River or a stop light out in Akron?

Cardinal · Aug 15, 2003

It seemed like it mostly affected New York's boroughs, including the Bronx, Manhatten, Albany, Cleveland, Toronto, Ottawa, etc., and perhaps a few other parts of the United States.

Zoning Goddess · Aug 15, 2003

The Orlando Slantinel had photos from many of the affected areas and a state-by-state description of the outages. I thought it was fair and balanced.

pete-rock · Aug 15, 2003

If any city has a right to be p***ed about the coverage, it ought to be Toronto. Granted, Toronto is in another country. But Toronto is close, it is a city the size of Chicago, it is the largest city in our nation's closest neighbor, and it was every bit as devastated by the same outage as the Northeast.

As a Chicagoan, I'll admit to an anti-NYC streak. But last night all I heard was, "New Yorkers trapped in subways...", "New Yorkers walking home...", "New Yorkers showing a spirit of cooperation..." And I'm thinking, "What about Canada's largest city?

gkmo62u · Aug 15, 2003

We don't live in Canada. No one cares about Toronto. Network newsies would be crazy to give more than a passing comment.

Canadian friends what was the CBC doing last night?

jmf · Aug 15, 2003

CBC

The CBC - regular, not sure about Newsworld - was covering the Blackout. At first with Ian Hanomansingh in Vancouvar and then they switched at 10AST to Peter Mansbridge on the street in TO.

BTW - What's with Peter's beard, how long has he had that??

CTV showed regular programming (Amazing Race). We don't have cable so I am not sure about any of the other channels.

michaelskis · Aug 15, 2003

Fox news had some footage from Detorit that I saw. But it was about a Tenth of what NYC showed.

Dan · Aug 15, 2003

gkmo62u said:
hard to get rid of that "Buffalo Complex" huh Dan?

Maybe. However, I was also miffed at 9-11 coverage when that happened.

Blah blah World Trade Center in New York New York blah blah World Trade Center in New York World Trade Center in New York blah World Trade Center in New York World Trade Center in New York World Trade Center in New York World Trade Center in New York blah World Trade Center in New York World Trade Center in New York blah World Trade Center in New York World Trade Center in New York World Trade Center in New York blah blah blah World Trade Center in New York World Trade Center in New York blah blah World Trade Center in New York World Trade Center in New York blah World Trade Center in New York World Trade Center in New York World Trade Center in New York World Trade Center in New York blah New York New York blah World Trade Center in New York New York World Trade Center in New York blah blah blah World Trade Center in New York World Trade Center in New York blah blah World Trade Center in New York World Trade Center in New York blah World Trade Center in New York World Trade Center in New York World Trade Center in New York World Trade Center in New York blah World Trade Center in New York World Trade Center in New York blah World Trade Center in New York World Trade Center in New York World Trade Center in New York blah blah blah World Trade Center in New York World Trade Center in New York blah blah World Trade Center in New York World Trade Center in New York blah World Trade Center in New York World Trade Center in New York World Trade Center in New York World Trade Center in New York blah World Trade Center in New York World Trade Center in New York blah World Trade Center in New York World Trade Center in New York World Trade Center in New York blah blah ... oh, by the way, a plane also hit the Pentagon. Blah blah World Trade Center in New York World Trade Center in New York blah blah World Trade Center in New York World Trade Center in New York blah World Trade Center in New York World Trade Center in New York World Trade Center in New York World Trade Center in New York ...

gkmo62u · Aug 15, 2003

Really, and I mean this in the most sincere manner, you should STFU on that one.

Way out of line.

Or you should have winked.

Habanero · Aug 15, 2003

gkmo62u said:
Really, and I mean this in the most sincere manner, you should STFU on that one.

Way out of line.

Or you should have winked.

I agree with Dan, they hardly had any coverage of the two other sites and NYC plays the WTC card all the time, like they were the only peopel affected. They were not and not everything revolves around NYC.

steveanne · Aug 15, 2003

I totally agree Dan. But, it's funny here in Chicago because the local news really hates when New York gets press. They have reporters in O'Hare and reporters at Com Ed (local power) and they're asking people downtown coming off the El trains how they feel about it, blah blah, blah. If New York City is Marcia Brady, then Chicago is Jan Brady's weird, unnoticed alter-ego.

Also Dan, I share your pain when it comes to upstate NY. I am from Rochester (now in Chicago via Orlando) and it's tough to live in a metro area of over 1 million people and not get any notice because New York City is the only thing people think of when they hear "New York". One of my biggest pet peeves (and I'm sure you've heard this) is when you meet someone, tell them you are from Rochester (substitute Buffalo, Syracuse, Utica, etc.) - and they say "How close from where you live to the Empire State Building?" Or - "Wow, so it's lucky you still didn't live there when 9/11 happened". Or they ask, "So are you a Jets fan or a Giants fan then?"

NHPlanner · Aug 15, 2003

gkmo62u said:
Really, and I mean this in the most sincere manner, you should STFU on that one.

Way out of line.

Or you should have winked.

I disagree. The news is, and always has been, NYC-centric....regardless of the news item. I hardly think Dan's comments are out of line, and agree with him that the coverage was unabashedly directed at NYC instead of DC and Pennyslvania.

gkmo62u · Aug 15, 2003

Just the disrepectful tone, that's all. I think we forget the event. When the second building came down reports were that there could be as many as 20,000 dead. I think it was covered appropriately.

I think Dan's "blah blah world trade center" phase is offensive.

Cardinal · Aug 15, 2003

gkmo62u said:
Just the disrepectful tone, that's all. I think we forget the event. When the second building came down reports were that there could be as many as 20,000 dead. I think it was covered appropriately.

I think Dan's "blah blah world trade center" phase is offensive.

I see your point in wieghing the difference of the two events in the uncertainty of the moment. In shear terms of lives lost and physical damage, the WTC attack was the more significant event. Even as events unfolded, that was apparent. What disappointed me the most about the coverage was the network's constant replaying of the planes slamming into the towers and of the towers falling. It bothered me then, and it does more so now. Almost every reference to 9-11 is to the WTC. It would be good for the news to remember the Pentagon and PA every once in a while.

Chet · Aug 15, 2003

I agree with Dan too. Sorry George. NYC was not ground zero for the blackout, but it is being treated that way.

I am a bit amazed at how the media is reporting the public reactions as calm, controlled, "pulling together in crisis" etc etc.
I guess 9-11 had an effect on our social mores at a significant - even positive - level.

donk · Aug 15, 2003

Canadian friends what was the CBC doing last night?

Global had about an an hours of coverage at about 11, CBC newsworld was pretty much full time as was CTV Newsnet.

Runner · Aug 16, 2003

In all the news about the blackout I don't recall Texas being mentioned even once.

And that's a good thing! The AC has been working fine and Enron didn't have their stinking fingers in the mess (or maybe they just haven't been caught yet).

Wulf9 · Aug 17, 2003

Runner said:
The AC has been working fine and Enron didn't have their stinking fingers in the mess (or maybe they just haven't been caught yet).

It won't be Enron, but you can expect legislation to reduce environmental protection so that transmission lines can be built without review, coal can be burnt without air quality controls (already done by the Administration), and utility bills will go up to pay for the above.

gkmo62u · Aug 17, 2003

Fair enough guys, perhaps I am too quick to defend NYC.

Habanero · Aug 17, 2003

Before blackout

After blackout

Notice Toronto and Ottawa went completely black.

Downtown · Aug 18, 2003

On Howard Stern this morning they were talking about how hysterical people in NYC were getting when the power went out.

I guess I know that this really could have been a catastrophe, but really, was it worth this much fuss? I have a hard time getting too worked up about it, and kind of feel like the media is just blowing this way out of proportion. These things happen.

Habanero · Aug 18, 2003

Downtown said:
On Howard Stern this morning they were talking about how hysterical people in NYC were getting when the power went out.

I guess I know that this really could have been a catastrophe, but really, was it worth this much fuss? I have a hard time getting too worked up about it, and kind of feel like the media is just blowing this way out of proportion. These things happen.

Media blows a ton of things out of proportion. The pipeline that supplies 30% of the gas to the AZ Velley is down, but the media has hyped it as the next gas crisis of the 70s. There are mile long lines everywhere.

JNA · Aug 19, 2003

Talked with family in NJ, no black out.
some family were scheduled to leave out of Newark on friday only problem - delayed
know many people who did not go to work on friday, which was ok by them.

tsc · Aug 19, 2003

Habanero said:
Before blackout

After blackout

Notice Toronto and Ottawa went completely black.

and Detroit looked like it was out.. before the blackout.....

jordanb · Aug 20, 2003

Whine New York, whine.

Not to bash New York or anything

but I for one am completly sick of all the stories and internet postings about how horrible the blackout was. Maybe it's media distortion again, but I don't hear of Cleveland wallowing in self pity like NYC, and they actually friggin ran out of water!

The NYC subway forum is full of posts with subject lines like "Where were you when the lights went out?," "Kudos to Transit workers," and "Train stucked inside the east river tunnel..what a long walk," in which the author writes, "having those bacterial infested disgusting rat crowling over me while walked through that tunnel, iiillllllkkkkk, yuck. I would died if it happen to me."

The news is full of stories about "regular joe" New Yorkers doing things like directing traffic, and now the Mayor is "honoring" people for "heroic acts" during the blackout. What the hell happened in Buffalo? Did drivers just sit around and honk at eachother? Things that any responsible American would do for their fellow citizen get magnified to "heroics" when done in New York for some reason.

If I were to try to psychoanalyse the situation, I'd guess that NYC got a little too used to all of the attention and pity they got after September 11, and are willing to use any disaster, no matter how mild, to get the attention focused back onto them.

Dan · Aug 20, 2003

In a couple of hours, I'll merge your post with this thread ...

As far as what happened in Buffalo ... my parents told me that they had power, but that most areas in the suburbs were dark. In the city, there was still power, but a few areas were dark. Service on Metro Rail was not interrupted, and nobody was trapped in the tunnels. Power was restopred to most areas on Saturday.

I wonder what Canadians thought. "Looks like the hydro is oot, eh?"

simulcra · Aug 20, 2003

i for one am getting pretty tired of nyc blackout coverage. i mean, i hear passing remarks to how cleveland had no water (or raw sewage water?) but then huge swaths of time dedicated to the fact that there was a fireman playing bagpipes in manhattan, trying to bring people out into the streets and associate.

jordanb · Aug 20, 2003

Dan said:
In a couple of hours, I'll merge your post with this thread ...

Yeah, that's fine. I made it a seperate post because that was referring to media obsession with NYC, wheras I think there's also a lot of NYC obsession with themselves.

biscuit · Aug 20, 2003

The news media, being based mostly in New York, acts like New York is the center of the universe because, well, almost all New Yorkers act that way. I think it's in the book The Nine Nations of North America that New Yorkers are described as people who are honostly suprised to find that there is a civilized nation beyond the Hudson River.

I agree that it amounts to nothing more than whining. Yeah it's a big story when 50 million people lose power for a day but it's hardly a national tragedy. Growing up in the country, the power would often go out during ice or bigger snow storms, and when the power went so did the water. Once we had neither power nor water for a solid week. Yes it was inconvenient but hardly traumatizing.

So Boo-Hoo New York.

giff57 · Aug 21, 2003

This is an interesting view

jordanb · Aug 21, 2003

It must have been a pretty damn cloudless night that night.

My guess is that that's a photoshop. It looks just like a rather famous picture that was made from a composite of the cloudless portions of many nights' worth of satellite photographs.

Habanero · Aug 21, 2003

Tranplanner · Aug 22, 2003

Yeah, I'd say Giff's image is a fake - Ontario is still all lit up in that shot, when in fact we still had no power at that time.

As for coverage outside NYC, in Canada I would say the coverage was Toronto-centric. Toronto generates the same kind of contempt up here that NYC seems to be getting in this thread...

Rem · Aug 22, 2003

I don't find it humorous myself, but one of our media commentary shows had this to say:

Bush Panics As U.S. Again In Darkness:
"It's called 'Night' Mr. President" reassure advisers

Most impolite I would say. If you want to flame them try =http://www.abc.net.au/glasshouse/headlines.htm]here[/url].

tsc · Aug 22, 2003

what is all this pity crap about NYC... whatever spin the news put on it.... the element of "pity" was not evident here.

From what I heard from husband and wifes stuck in Manhattan... it was a great party. My co-worker in the cube next to me wishes she got stuck there with her husband for the "party". Another drove in just to see the stars against the city scape.

..... yeah,, maybe the restaurants are trying to sue for damages lost... but hey,, every one sues for everything.

BTW... my electric goes out too all the time. We get our share of storms... and lines often get hit knocking the power out.

Every area has their own fair share of extreme weather/incidents that causes inconveniences.... how about whenever they get 2 inches of snow or ice in the south.. and they shut down for days at a time???? Every region has their weaknesses...and strengths

Did the blackout affect anyplace outside of NYC?

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