The 2019 flood story that got buried under the rebuild

Last week I finally read the full report on that Nebraska town hit by the 2019 flood, and the headline said 'rebuilding strong' but the real story is that 3 years later only half the businesses came back. The local paper quoted a diner owner saying 'we got a new sign but lost our regulars,' which hit me because the coverage then was all about the water rising, not the slow bleed after. Now I'm seeing the same pattern in that river town in Vermont from last month, same gap between the emergency footage and the 6-month follow-up. Are we just wired to watch the disaster and ignore the boring recovery, or is the media actually dropping the ball on purpose?

2 comments

2 Comments

logan_gonzalez4d ago

They aren't dropping the ball, the follow-up stories just don't get the clicks.

lewis.brian3d ago

Same reason everyone ignores good news, just want the drama.