Rantz: Seattle unifies to mock coronavirus ‘ghost town’ report by NBC News
Mar 4, 2020, 9:09 PM | Updated: Oct 8, 2024, 7:36 am
The downtown Seattle skyline. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
(AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
NBC News is being incessantly mocked for a remarkably stupid headline claiming fears of the coronavirus have turned Seattle into a “ghost town” when, well, it’s not. Not even a little.
The headline for the report by Los Angeles-based Alicia Victoria Lozano, originally labeled “Seattle a ‘ghost town’ as residents face uncertainty of growing coronavirus outbreak.” In the story online, they made a slight alteration: “Seattle feels like a ‘ghost town,’ business owners say as they face life in coronavirus hot spot.”
Neither is true.
Huh?
Those of us who actually live here realize that Seattle hasn’t come to a standstill, with folks hiding indoors for fear they’ll catch the coronavirus. It’s clearly true that some people are choosing to work from home and traffic, in some parts, is lighter than normal. But there are more people walking outside now than they are on a coronavirus-free Sunday when a Seahawks game is on. That’s when it can almost feel like a ghost town.
The “ghost town” line comes from one business owner. She wasn’t even talking about all of Seattle. She was talking about Pike Place Market. The article literally says:
“It’s like a ghost town,” Francisco said about the famous Pike Place Market where she has her shop.
Yet, this was put in a headline (granted, a great one, albeit patently false) to describe all of Seattle.
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Unifying
We’re in the middle of a divisive primary election season and people are arguing over politics. Yet, NBC News brought us together, unified against this absolutely dumb dumpster-fire of a headline.
No, @NBCNews, Seattle isn't a "ghost town" and perhaps this writer should leave L.A. and visit us a bit? It's obviously fair to say some folks are staying home from work or school. That's true. But ghost town? That's something one person said that has no basis in reality. https://t.co/PMEPSvrZTu
— (((Jason Rantz))) on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz) March 4, 2020
The author of the NBC Seattle "Ghost Town" headline needs to subscribe to WSDOT traffic cam updates. pic.twitter.com/3y3Nv5J7TC
— WPC Olympia Watch (@OlympiaWatch) March 4, 2020
Seattle is NOT a GHOST TOWN! Six lanes of stop and go traffic at 8:45am and a quick stop @pike_place for some beautiful tulips! Seattle is as vibrant as ever. #dontbelievethehype #CoronaVirusSeattle 💐 pic.twitter.com/5xzREnTOux
— Jill Taylor 🎙 (@JillOnSTAR) March 4, 2020
Wow Seattle really is a ghost town – this place used to be full of highly paid workers! #waelex #bloomberg pic.twitter.com/l80vL1n2DY
— Jim Brunner (@Jim_Brunner) March 4, 2020
My family and friends in Seattle say it's most definitely NOT a 'ghost town.' I have no idea how this rumor is going around…. https://t.co/oboTHQwZ5J
— RHEA PANELA (@RheaKTVZ) March 5, 2020
if anyone’s wondering what it’s really like in seattle from someone who actually lives here, this was my experience yesterday: taught class with all students present; got on a busy train; saw lots of folks at the dog park & bookstore for a friend’s reading. not a ghost town.
— jane c. hu (@jane_c_hu) March 4, 2020
Seattle the “ghost” town. Full commuter buses and just slightly reduced regional traffic. pic.twitter.com/Xww3X8T8p1
— Andrew Austin (@transitdude) March 4, 2020
We aren’t lying about our city because we want to do some damage control. I’d celebrate the ghost town status: Less traffic, buses will be on-time, and less germs to go around. We’re just fixing some, dare I say, fake news coming from NBC.
Listen to the Jason Rantz Show weekday afternoons from 3-6 p.m. on KTTH 770 AM (or HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). Subscribe to the podcast here. Follow @JasonRantz on Twitter.
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