What Does the Media Have Wrong?

[MrPete]

Throughout all these posts, now that I've caught up, all I keep reading is criticizm of the media.

 

Not having watched what everyone watched, and knowing that the media is reading here (I was even attempted to be friended here myself without even being on that ship :confused:), what is it that the media is reporting that is wrong?

 

Yes, I was glued to my set watching CNN the day the ship came in, yet all I heard was commentary trying to get the story, and then eventually eyewitness accounts (I was laughing to myself seeing the hysterical woman seem traumatized about a dark room, but I do realize there ARE people "ascared" of the dark).

 

And yet, the most memorable thing I remember was Terry Thorton getting shoved when THEY ended the PR session.

 

In any case, maybe we can help them "get it straight".

[PAPERBKWRITER]

Like most other stories the media suddently became experts on cruising although many addmited they'd never been on a cruise ship. Stupid comments like "they should have transferred everyone off the ship" and why didn't they just have parts and a work crew brought to the ship. "pax waded thru knee high human waste" the dumb comments just kept coming. And they were so generous with Carnival corp"s money demanding outrageous amounts for compensation.

[MrPete]

Like most other stories the media suddently became experts on cruising although many addmited they'd never been on a cruise ship. Stupid comments like "they should have transferred everyone off the ship" and why didn't they just have parts and a work crew brought to the ship. "pax waded thru knee high human waste" the dumb comments just kept coming. And they were so generous with Carnival corp"s money demanding outrageous amounts for compensation.

 

They must be Cruise Critic members. I read the same stuff here.

[gamecockvic]

Like most other stories the media suddently became experts on cruising although many addmited they'd never been on a cruise ship. Stupid comments like "they should have transferred everyone off the ship" and why didn't they just have parts and a work crew brought to the ship. "pax waded thru knee high human waste" the dumb comments just kept coming. And they were so generous with Carnival corp"s money demanding outrageous amounts for compensation.

 

Which media outlet advocated transferring to another ship? I'll bet it's the mysterious "they" that is responsible for all the bad in the world. We have developed a culture that attacks any report that disagrees with our "version" of what is and should be. I heard reports of passenger comments as well as those from family members about what should have been done. In my opinion, they have a right to say what they think. They "lived" it while we just read about it from the comforts of our homes. Yes, there may have been some exageration or ignorant comments, but I agree with the OP. I have not seen "biased" reporting on this, either.

 

I LOVE to cruise and have cruised Carnival. I will do so again.

[Cushing985]

I think you would get shorter answers if you asked the question "What did the media get right?" The answer would be when they stated the Triumph suffered an engine room fire.

[Raven Days]

I think the statement that made me the maddest was made by Donny Deutsch on CCN. His statement was that Carnival owned THOUSANDS of cruise ships, and that they could compensate each passenger with a cruise for life! Ohh and did you know that Carnival owns Royal and 75% of all cruise ships? Me neither. I watched the entire story as it unfolded on CNN when the ship came in. CNN - whom I do chose to get most of my news from - I detest Fox News - seemed to only want to focus on the negative comments. They would entirely breeze right on past anything positive that was being said, with a comment such as "well what was the worst thing"....irritating.

 

I am no Carnival Cheerleader, I do chose to cruise only Carnival right now...mostly because it suits me and I will eventually branch out to Royal - well after all it is Carnival owned right? The media says it is, so it MUST be true. And then you have people who are blaming the President! OMFG how the hello can this possibly be blamed on Obama? I try to remember that its just opinions of those who have no clue about what they are talking about and after opinions are just like, well you know and everyone has one.

 

I hope that helps to explain why I feel the media has done a hatchet job on Carnival. They are not doing it out of malice, I dont think. They are doing it for ratings. And to stir the poop a bit, but the results may be even more injurious then we can even know right now.

[dolphiness]

One of my favorites was the woman who was asked about the bathrobe she was wearing! Ohhh, cause they brought us HERE, and it's cold and I had no jacket cause we went to Cozumel! WELL..YOU CRUISED OUT OF GALVESTON IN FEB.!!! DUH!!! YA THINK IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN CHILLY WHEN YOU GOT HOME!!!! I hate STUPID!!!

[CrusinCyndi]

One of my favorites was the woman who was asked about the bathrobe she was wearing! Ohhh, cause they brought us HERE, and it's cold and I had no jacket cause we went to Cozumel! WELL..YOU CRUISED OUT OF GALVESTON IN FEB.!!! DUH!!! YA THINK IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN CHILLY WHEN YOU GOT HOME!!!! I hate STUPID!!!

 

LOL..I have to agree with you

[Traveller20074]

The most disturbing piece I saw (and I watched very little of the coverage)were the two moms talking about their daughters on the cruise crying and wanting their mom. The adults can take care of themselves, it's the kids I was concerned about :(

 

 

So...was THAT embellished? I don't think so, but who knows

[SUSIEK]

What I found to be comical was how many people keep referring to the ship as "the boat" !

Makes me cringe...lol.

[Steppy08]

I think the statement that made me the maddest was made by Donny Deutsch on CCN. His statement was that Carnival owned THOUSANDS of cruise ships, and that they could compensate each passenger with a cruise for life! Ohh and did you know that Carnival owns Royal and 75% of all cruise ships? Me neither. I watched the entire story as it unfolded on CNN when the ship came in. CNN - whom I do chose to get most of my news from - I detest Fox News - seemed to only want to focus on the negative comments. They would entirely breeze right on past anything positive that was being said, with a comment such as "well what was the worst thing"....irritating.

 

Donny Deutsch is a moron. We heard the same interview and laughed out loud at the "thousands of ships" comment.

 

What intrigued my husband and I while we were watching was the media's desperate insistence that this was a horrible tragedy and people were now scarred for life. Almost every single interview the passengers said "yeah it sucks but it's really not that bad and the crew has been great." The CNN reporters were visibly disappointed that no one said anything worse.They were practically giddy with delight when they finally had a tearful 16 yr old girl to interview, and then kept calling her and interviewing her every 15 minutes.

[Raven Days]

The most disturbing piece I saw (and I watched very little of the coverage)were the two moms talking about their daughters on the cruise crying and wanting their mom. The adults can take care of themselves, it's the kids I was concerned about :(

 

 

So...was THAT embellished? I don't think so, but who knows

 

I dont know. Its hard to say. Maybe the girls were being overly dramatic (they are 12 for Gods Sakes and most 12 year old girls are way overly dramatic) or it could just be that they feed of everyone else's hysteria. My daughter - at the age - would have been having a blast. I think the kids reacted the same way most of the adult passengers did. Some took it in stride, while others just flipped out or shut down. Kids take cue's from their parents on how to react in a emergency. If the parents are freaking out, chances are the kids will too. I always tired to remain calm and then when every thing was over - I would go somewhere away from my kids and cry. I never let my children see that I wasn't in complete control of the situation and that they had no reason to be afraid. But in all fairness, me or my kids have never been put in this type of situation, so I really do not know how I would react. I travel with my grandchildren now, so I would want to believe that I would fall back to my "mommy mode" and make sure they were taken care and felt safe and had no cause to call their mom crying.

[bguppies]

It isn't just the media, but the actual passengers "exaggerating" how bad things were.

 

Saw an elderly lady in a wheelchair talking about how she had to take half her medication prescribed amounts, to get through.

Then she relayed how she had to be taken down below decks (to the infirmary, which she made that sound like an Indiana Jones adventure) and how the red bags were piled 30 feet high down the hall next to the infirmary.

That was her exact quote.

30 foot high piles of red bags.

 

Now any of us who has walked off the ship, next to the infirmary or taken a Behind the Fun tour, knows there is no such hall, with 30 foot tall walls. If anything I'm ducking down there at 6' 1".

 

But yet the media took her account as the gospel truth.

 

I have just been trying to sift through the news coverage, like I do with reviews for a ship I want to book.

I throw out the complete raving reviews and throw out the complete negative reviews and go with the ones in the middle, majoritywise.

 

When they interview passengers, I ignore the handful of people who make it sound like it was a fun little adventure and I ignore the stories of how those four days were like surviving Katrina or some other true catastrophe.

 

Just go with the more realistic stories, both negative and positive.

 

Bill

[usd2bmd]

My frustration with the whole portrayal in the media is this...they seem to have lost the focus that these people were on a cruise ship. Were they uncomfortable...yes they were. Was it not what it was supposed to have been..most definitely. But talking about "the suffering" aboard the ship is a bit much. There is real suffering in the world...people who don't know eniough to appreciate plumbing because they never had it.

 

The fact that news outlets got lists of cell phone numbers of passengers to call them to get "their take" on the mishap is ridiculous. The people they talked to know as much about what caused it as you and I do.

 

Hindsight is always 20/20. Let's put it in perspective...nobody died , nobody was injured.focus on what really matters. People saying carnival should give them free cruises for life are exagerating.

Will there be a revamp of the procedures...yes most likely.

 

I would like to think if I was on the ship I would have remembered where i was (in the Caribbean) and still try to make the most of a bad situatuion.

 

It would have been nice to see the news do a story on some of the crew that continued to go above and beyond to make all of those people happy (or at least try). That would have made a good story.

 

The issue is we as a society have come to expect everything and throw a hissy fit when it isn't delivered on a silver platter...

[mpace58]

I find it funny the number of people saying they will not get on another cruise ship after what happened. All I can say to them is

 

"I guess you no longer get on a plane, train, bus, or driver an car. At least no one died on the cruise ship." :rolleyes:

[Steppy08]

My frustration with the whole portrayal in the media is this...they seem to have lost the focus that these people were on a cruise ship. Were they uncomfortable...yes they were. Was it not what it was supposed to have been..most definitely. But talking about "the suffering" aboard the ship is a bit much. There is real suffering in the world...people who don't know eniough to appreciate plumbing because they never had it.

 

Hindsight is always 20/20. Let's put it in perspective...nobody died , nobody was injured.focus on what really matters. People saying carnival should give them free cruises for life are exagerating.

 

I agree. There was ONE anchor on CNN who actually got it right...

 

She said "Yes, this was a disastrous cruise, but it was NOT a disaster. It is not a tragedy."

[Cindy]

There were a couple things that made me chuckle and think I needed to offer my assistance to the reporters so they could get their ship terminology correct. I think my favorite was a female reporter on CNN telling everyone how dangerous it would be to dock the ship without using the stabilizers!:rolleyes::p:eek:

[ttown]

My favorite was the lady who said the ship was listing 45 degrees. At 45 degrees they would have turned over. Maybe they listed 4 to 5 degrees but that doesn't sound very dramatic.

[yogimax]

Talking about the media... why did Carnival take down the "Tent City" before the ship docked?

 

Why did Carnival not allow the folks getting off the plane in Houston talk to the media?

 

Sure the media got some things wrong, like terminology. But you cannot dispute the vast majority of reports from the passengers who spoke of the deplorable conditions.

 

Actually, Carnival should be very happy that the media has not focused on the pre-existing problems of Triumph and asked the question of why it was allowed to sail in the first place. I mean, even warnings were given here on CC!

[The4Cruisers]

Sounds like I wasn't the only one that was hoping some ill dog just did his business where that one drama queen got off the ship and kissed the ground?

[Cindy]

 

Sure the media got some things wrong, like terminology. But you cannot dispute the vast majority of reports from the passengers who spoke of the deplorable conditions.

 

Actually, Carnival should be very happy that the media has not focused on the pre-existing problems of Triumph and asked the question of why it was allowed to sail in the first place. I mean, even warnings were given here on CC!

 

I'm not a cheerleader, nor am I disputing or trying to diminish in any way the experiences of those who were on the ship, but...

I think it's irresponsible and premature to link the Triumph's recent propulsion problems to the fire unless/until the investigation establishes a causal link. If that link is found, I'll be first in line to slam Carnival management and call for changes.

Since I've read passenger reports that the propulsion problems were repaired before the cruise on 2/2 that went off without a hitch, I think it's reasonable to let the experts conduct a thorough investigation before I proclaim Carnival knowingly set sail with a ship that would jeopardize passenger safety.

[yogimax]

Sounds like I wasn't the only one that was hoping some ill dog just did his business where that one drama queen got off the ship and kissed the ground?

 

I seem to remember the pope kissing the ground as well when he landed in the United States. Guess he was a drama king!

[bonsai3s]

My frustration with the whole portrayal in the media is this...they seem to have lost the focus that these people were on a cruise ship. Were they uncomfortable...yes they were. Was it not what it was supposed to have been..most definitely. But talking about "the suffering" aboard the ship is a bit much. There is real suffering in the world...people who don't know eniough to appreciate plumbing because they never had it.

 

The fact that news outlets got lists of cell phone numbers of passengers to call them to get "their take" on the mishap is ridiculous. The people they talked to know as much about what caused it as you and I do.

 

Hindsight is always 20/20. Let's put it in perspective...nobody died , nobody was injured.focus on what really matters. People saying carnival should give them free cruises for life are exagerating.

Will there be a revamp of the procedures...yes most likely.

 

I would like to think if I was on the ship I would have remembered where i was (in the Caribbean) and still try to make the most of a bad situatuion.

 

It would have been nice to see the news do a story on some of the crew that continued to go above and beyond to make all of those people happy (or at least try). That would have made a good story.

 

The issue is we as a society have come to expect everything and throw a hissy fit when it isn't delivered on a silver platter...

 

...eloquently said. Welcome to Cruise Critic. Yes, we were hoping the media would do a story on the outstanding crew...perhaps Carnival told the crew not to speak to the media.

[rlkubi]

Yes but she was doing it to get attention only.

[yogimax]

Yes but she was doing it to get attention only.

 

Sure... she was doing it to get attention, not because she was happy to be back on land after spending almost a week in hellish conditions on the Triumph.:rolleyes: