Where is the outrage?

One week ago, an estimated 1.1 billion gallons of toxic coal ash and water burst through a retaining wall at a TVA coal plant in Tennessee. Of the 15 homes damaged by sludge as high as 6 feet, at least three have been called uninhabitable. Much of the ash flowed into the Clinch River, a tributary of the Tennessee. Environmental damage to the area will likely be severe and long term.

Some experts are calling this catastrophe the largest environmental disaster of its kind in the US. Others say that the 10.9 million gallons of oil spilled by the Exxon Valdez in Alaska pales in comparison.

Remember those days in March, 1989, when the national media pounced on Exxon, criticizing the company for its arrogance and slow reaction to the spill? The story went on for weeks, with the public and the media continually attacking the company. Exxon’s reputation still bears the scars of the crisis.

But this latest disaster in Tennessee has hardly registered on the importance scale of the national media. There were a few stories initially, but little ongoing reporting as people continue to be homeless, dead fish line the banks of the river, and area residents worry about ongoing health effects.

Where are the investigations into how something of this magnitude could have happened? Where are the questions about how the early estimates of the spill could have been so wrong? Where are the reports about why the TVA wasn’t more prepared to handle a crisis of this size?

What is the difference? Are we becoming so used to disasters that it’s old news? Are media organizations so bare bones these days they can’t cover anything beyond the presidential transition, Governor Blagojevich’s latest press conference, and Sarah Palin’s daughter? Or is because this disaster happened in Appalachia, a poor area not worth reporting on?

These days I’m even more cynical than when I was a reporter. Greed and corruption seem to be everywhere. Politicians say they are honored to serve the public, but many, if not most, of them really want to serve the interests of numero uno. Corporations and other organizations say they care about the public good, but for many, the public good is only important if it’s good for profits and bonuses.

I’ve been on vacation in Mexico for a week and in that time I’ve watched the governor of Illinois get arrested for trying to sell President-elect Obama’s senate seat; I’ve seen the highly respected and trusted owner of an investment firm rip off his clients and friends with an elaborate ponzi scheme; I’ve heard reports of a Los Angeles hospital CEO and the operator of a homeless facility conspiring to cheat Medicare by performing unneeded medical procedures on homeless people.

And that’s just the stuff we know about!

I fear the demise of the newspaper. Not only because I relish my moments with my morning coffee and paper, but also because I wonder who will fill the role of watchdog. Not that the press is always on top of things, flushing out the bad guys, but at least they catch the occasional politician, government employee, or executive with his hand in the cookie jar.

Sure, newspapers will still exist on line, but staffs have already been reduced to the point where something like investigative reporting is an unnecessary luxury. Can bloggers do the job? Will they have the resources and desire to accurately expose government and corporate excess, greed and corruption? We can only hope someone fills the vacuum.