Tim Graham, the Media Research Center's Director of Media Analysis, appeared on the Fox Business Channel, Monday, to discuss the media's hyperbolic coverage of "Hurricane" Irene.
   
Graham asserted, "Well, I don't think there's any doubt that the media are interested in trying to cover this 24/7 and it's a little hard to sell it as tropical storm coverage for hours and hours." Speaking of Al Sharpton's political hyping of the storm, Graham quipped, "He is not a meteorologist."

[See video below.]

He added, "There's no doubt that there was, you know, a lot of commercial reason to hype this thing as a hurricane. And as you suggest from Katrina, they have become politicized events as well."

A hurricane must reach winds of 74 miles an hour to qualify as catagory one . Irene only managed, for example, winds of 56 and 71 MPH (in Philadelphia and Cape May, New Jersey).