By Scott Libin
Around midday Friday, MSNBC added to its television coverage of Katrina a visual element designed to hold the powerful accountable: a running clock tracking the time since the storm came ashore on the Gulf coast.
The graphic at the bottom-right corner of the screen joined powerful images and sounds of suffering hurricane victims awaiting aid. The words “HURRICANE KATRINA” sat atop the phrase “DAY 4” and a digital readout of hours and minutes elapsed since landfall Monday.
Mark Effron, MSNBC vice president of news/daytime programming, said the clock was not intended as a political statement, but as an objective measurement of how much time relief has taken to reach refugees in and around New Orleans.
“We decided we were going to do this to underscore how long it has been since the hurricane came ashore,” Effron said Friday afternoon. “We think the story goes beyond red state or blue state, and goes back to what people can expect when you’re an American…
“It’s up to the viewer to decide if the response is adequate or not.”
By mid-afternoon Friday, MSNBC had removed the digital clock, leaving only the storm name and “DAY 4” because, Effron said, “We thought it might be confusing with the hours and minutes.” At 5 p.m., the time returned, but showing hours only — no minutes.