Martha's Vineyard, MA - If you think the last few days of seeing news reporters standing in ankle-high water, or anchors forecasting doomsday and “what if”scenarios, along with video of wind blowing trees was entertaining, well, expect to see much more of it.

The mainstream media including the Weather Channel, CNN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC, marched out reporters to all the areas of potential damage.  Many of those journalists were seen standing in areas that represent what they want you to think is hazardous, or what looks the best on camera.  In the world of 24-hour cable cycles, the networks treated Irene like a war - dramatic music, flashy graphics and scary projections based on what other storms have done.  They were not the only group to gorge on anti-climatic foreplay.

Elected officials - from the mayor of Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina to the President of the United States - appeared at podiums and were heard on phone calls to media outlets, talking about how prepared they were, issuing more warnings to the public to take precautions.  Get supplies (which gave hardware home supply stores a boost), stay at home, and of course, stay tuned to them for the latest.

No lawmaker wants to be the next Ray Nagin or Mary Landrieu.  Every news agency wants to have their “60 Minutes” moment.  All want to seem like they are prepared and taking the situation very seriously. But somewhere on the path between no coverage and hysteria, GPS (or common sense) went out like the lights in Martha’s Vineyard and other towns in Irene’s path.

Even after the rain had completely stopped and the wind had fizzled down to a gentle breeze, reporters performed their live shots – still clad in raincoats – hoods tightly pulled around their heads. They were apparently undaunted by the reality of people walking around them in shorts and casual wear going about their business.  It reminded me of the old journalist slur that says “Don’t let the facts get in the way of a good story”.

All storms have the potential to kill just like any drive on the highway.  But the over-dramatization of the  so-called “100 year storm” that quickly transformed into a Category 1 hurricane which then quickly became a tropical storm, was sickening.  I cannot be the only one who thinks the exercises were self-serving gyrations to scare people into watching them so that commercials could be aired. Is it possible the news stations were disappointed by the lack of damage?

I’m not a meteorologist, but having covered many of these storms and talking to people who actually lived through the real “storms of the century,” it never seemed like Irene was the killer the mainstream media was making it out to be.  It is yet another small reason why people of reason and good will may choose to distrust the mainstream media.  These are agencies that apparently have no respect for your own ability to determine degrees of danger on a scale of 1 to 10.  So instead of reporting a “4” or “5” story on that scale, they give you no choice but to push that “11” button and wait for the sky to fall.