'Part of the story'

So I watched the ABC special on Katrina last night in prime time. And around midway it veered off on a TV news tangent that is a personal peccadillo of mine. The segment focused on ABC's Cokie and Robin Roberts, who grew up in the disaster area. Robin's family was "unscathed," as was Cokie's mom and her mom's French Quarter townhouse. Good for them. Robin tearfully reacted to all the destruction. I've never been able to find things on their Web site, but this is close enough. The subhed makes the point: "Robin Roberts became part of the story as she reported on Hurricane Katrina." [emphasis added] It reminded me of a couple of years ago when I tuned in to watch the Olympics, and was treated to a report on what Lester Holt's day was like at the Olympics.

Hey Lester: The Olympics are about the athletes. Cokie, Robin: Actual victims of this catastrophe are suffering and dying. Report about them and what's being done to help them.

It's not about you.