Tent City, California
The story of “Tent City,” Sacramento a supposed growing encampment of at least 200 people, down and out as a result of the current recession/depression, has recently flooded the news.
Photos of this place are not unlike those taken during the Great Depression, which feature hundreds of rotted shacks with a migrant homeless population walking among them like ghosts. Replace the broken shacks with ratty, synthetic fiber tents and you have Sacramento’s “Tent City.”
These pictures paint a frightening image for our nation as a whole as what else could this story possibly suggest than the fact that this country is in serious financial trouble? So much trouble that many American citizens are being forced to live in tents and scrounge for food..?
News flash! According to Fox News, the entire story of this “Tent City” is a fake, a crock, a lie…an example of poor journalism? It’s true that this story was reported on the Today Show by Matt Lauer and also featured on Oprah. Both reported the story as breaking news and, getting right down to it, as the truth.
This Sacramento “Tent City” has actually been around for at least 10 years, as Fox news found, with many of its inhabitants homeless drug abusers and mentally ill.
Sure, mistakes in journalism have been known to happen, especially under deadline pressure, but to some of the most well respected and well known news providers in American media?
The tent flap’s still open on this one.
Brittany @ May 5, 2009