Fox News Speaker Gives Harsh Report
On Fox News, a weatherman was given the task of reporting on the deadly Hurricane Matthew. The hurricane has already claimed the lives of hundreds in Haiti, and then the surging storm headed north toward the United States.
The Fox News reporter, Shep Smith, was using his influence to try and get the message across to Florida citizens to evacuate before the storm had the chance to claim more lives. However, the approach Smith took to getting his message out there was crossing the line between stern and inconsiderate.
Trying to get people to evacuate, Smith exclaimed, “This moves 20 miles to the west, and you and everyone you know are dead. All of you. Because you can’t survive it…and your kids die too.”
“When he said that I started crying because my grandson lives in Jacksonville and I called them freaking out like ‘Why aren’t you leaving?'” said Sydney Swanson.
Watching the news, Smith’s harsh way of stating things scared Mrs. Swanson so horribly that she was actually brought to tears. It’s absurd that a news reporter thought it was appropriate to say those things, making people so scared they cried.
As if this wasn’t appalling enough, Smith kept going to remark in annoyance that people aren’t moving due to, “freedom and stuff.” Smith called the media’s focus on Hurricane Matthew “smotherage” (coverage-smother) to imply that he was getting sick of the constant updates and reports on the problem.
During his report, there was footage shown of a house in Haiti being completely torn apart by Matthew, and Smith reported that the occupants did not evacuate. So Smith felt the need to sarcastically comment, “That was a good idea.”
Smith’s sarcastic, inconsiderate news report took an even more shocking turn when he blatantly remarked that the hurricane and the rising death toll better not interfere with his weekend plans.
“We’ll be live all night long tonight; I won’t be because I’m going to a family wedding. So if you’re supposed to get out, go ahead and get out, because if too many of you perish, they’ll send me down there and I need to go to this wedding, okay?” said Smith.
Hurricane Matthew ripped into the Bahamas. Rylee Bunner’s (’18) father took these pictures outside his Bahamian home. She said, “My dad sent these to show me the damage that was left from Hurricane Matthew. I felt sad because he was caught in the hurricane and was glad to hear he was safe.”
The current death toll has soared to over 400 people. 1, 000, 000 people lost power in Florida already.
This is a serious, devastating natural disaster; it is not to be taken lightly or made into a sarcastic obligation on the news.
All of our hearts here at Holt Tribe Newspaper Staff go out to the victims of Hurricane Matthew and the families of those who were lost.
