The wall-to-wall media coverage of the disabled cruise ship that was towed into port Thursday night has generated criticism from those who say the passengers were never in any real trouble and too much time was spent over dramatizing the story. Of course, the situation was difficult, but passengers had food, drink and the peace of mind knowing they would be rescued.

During CNN’s coverage of passengers disembarking from the ship, reporter Martin Savidge was shut down by one of the passengers when he attempted to equate the incident to Hurricane Katrina.

“The isolation factor you described, this is the same sort of thing that many people who went through Katrina in New Orleans – those that were left behind – they never heard anything either,” Savidge said, referring to the lack of communication with the mainland. “I imagine that’s something very similar.”

“Yeah, but let’s keep it in perspective. Katrina was a major devastation. We’re in a freaking cruise ship,” the composed passenger shot back. “Two different things.”

Watch the segment via CNN/Mediaite:

During his radio show on Friday, Glenn Beck and co-host Pat Gray discussed the overkill coverage of the disabled cruise ship. He also noted how it only took about 72 hours for some passengers to start behaving like “animals.”

“It took three days for someone to describe the passengers of the cruise line as ‘animals’,” Beck said. “How long does it take for society to fall apart? One, two three [days].”

Beck acknowledged that it was a “bad situation” and “these people have a right to be pissed off.” He also encouraged listeners to be prepared for situations in which society could potentially break down.

You can stream episodes of “The Glenn Beck Radio Program” on TheBlaze TV here.

 

(H/T: Noah Rothman, Mediaite)