Sandy Makes Waves on ABC World News

Jillian Bloemer
jb351009@ohio.edu
@jillianbloemer

As Hurricane Sandy has grown in magnitude, so has its presence on social media. It is clear that over the past week or two, news of the hurricane has strongly overpowered news of the presidential election on the ABC World News with Diane Sawyer Facebook page. News of the presidential election has been low as this news source seems very geared toward keeping its followers updated on everything Sandy-related. Their page is cluttered with stories about the many canceled flights, tips on how to track Sandy's path and links to pictures of her destruction on their website and ways to donate.

One of the more powerful photos that has been getting a lot of attention was a picture of Spc. Brett Hyde, Tomb Sentinel, 3d U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) who continued to keep watch over the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, despite Sandy's constant downpour.

In addition to this photo shared by ABC (left), I have seen similar photos of the Tomb's Honor Guard circulating throughout social media sites. Similar images (below) are quite powerful and are provoking captions like "Soldiers: 1. Sandy: 0."

It's apparent that much of what has been going on with the election has been put on hold while the country prepares & prays for those who will be affected by the destruciton that Hurricane Sandy is sure to bring.

ABC World News with Diane Sawyer