rediscovery of poor

the washington post's media critic howard kurtz examines the sudden coverage the race and/or poverty issue in major metropolitan newspapers during the aftermath of hurricane katrina.

while the the nytimes and kurtz's own washington post featured articles about a 're-discovery', la times columnist rosa brooks remarked

"Apparently none of these ace reporters has ever set foot in Washington's Anacostia district, or South Central Los Angeles, or the trailer parks of rural Arkansas"

i think politicians and news media avoid the topic since its depressing and/or not comfortable for audiences to watch. as evidenced by katrina coverage, its only mentioned when it's convenient at that particular moment.

kurtz ends with a likely outcome

As the country begins the long slog of rebuilding New Orleans, with many of its poor scattered in other states, how long before the press moves on to more scintillating subjects?