Did media go overboard hyping Hurricane Irene?

[August 30, 2011]  NEW YORK (AP) -- Television networks are defending themselves against suggestions they went overboard hyping Hurricane Irene during its march up the East Coast.

For days, The Weather Channel, cable networks and local news stations in affected communities reported on little else.

One New York resident says family members around the country were worried about him all weekend -- and he slept through most of the storm.

Network officials say they took their cues from meteorologists and public officials. They say they would've been wrong not to give big attention to the rare prospect of a hurricane headed directly for New York, the nation's most populous city.

The storm never became the big-city nightmare forecasters and public officials had warned about. But it toppled trees and power lines and washed away roads and bridges.

[Associated Press; By DAVID BAUDER]

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