Then Flores asks about Danielle’s children, at which point things get tense. “Four feet of water to go get them food on the first day, yeah, that’s a lot of sh–,” exclaimed Danielle. “But y’ll trying to interview people during their worst times, like that’s not the smartest thing to do. Like, people are really breaking down and y’all sitting here with cameras and microphones trying to ask us what the f— is wrong with us. And you really trying to understand with the microphone still in my face, with me shivering cold, with my kids wet and you’re still trying to put the microphone in my face.”

Jim Acosta, who was anchoring the coverage, broke away from the interview. “Sounds like you have a really upset family there.”

A great number of people out there have recognized the value of having a 24-hour network deployed for what may end up as a top story of the 21st century. As Jason Samenow of the Capital Weather Gang has pointed out, Harvey marks the most “extreme rain event” in U.S. history — with more than 50 inches of rainfall through Tuesday afternoon. As for its damages, there’s an estimate of $160 billion making the rounds. “Parts of Houston, the United States’ fourth largest city, will be uninhabitable for weeks and possibly months due to water damage, mold, disease-ridden water and all that will follow this 1,000-year flood,” AccuWeather president Joel Myers is quoted in USA Today.

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And President Trump sized it up this way: “This is historic. It’s epic what happened” — though he has no credibility when it comes to matters of proportion.

What we have here, though, is a catastrophe whose breadth and impact correspond with the resources and motivations of CNN, a network of nearly 4,000 news professionals prone to over-cover the news story of the day. We all remember the poop cruise and MH370, events where CNN received heaps of condemnation for elevating to world crises. “I think that if people want to be critical of CNN for over-covering a story, that’s totally fine with us,” said CNN Worldwide President Jeff Zucker about MH370.

No such defenses will be necessary when it comes to Harvey, a cataclysm that finally justifies the network’s tireless “BREAKING NEWS” banner. CNN has covered the official response to the storm; the weather forecasts; the levees; the rescue efforts; the damage; and so on. And it has incorporated interviews with flood victims into the coverage.

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As does every other network out there. Flip over the MSNBC or Fox News or any other broadcaster, and you’ll hear from Houston residents who are trying to deal with this disaster. These folks are interviewed in the streets, in shelters, in boats. Overstating the importance of covering Harvey’s victims is a tough thing to do: The human impact of a hurricane drives rescue efforts, informs government response and helps charities to raise funds for the recovery effort. This is an urgent public service, even if the coverage also drives ratings and profits. In providing it, reporters from CNN and other outlets have chipped in with rescue services, too: CNN’s Ed Lavandera, for example, assisted in a rescue captured on camera; CNN’s Drew Griffin* on Wednesday assisted a motorist in escaping from his floating truck; and Fox News’s Matt Finn helped a woman who was “nearing collapse.”

In keeping with this ethic, CNN’s Flores was seeking interviewees on Tuesday afternoon. From the looks of things, she pre-arranged the interview. She asked reasonable and newsworthy questions. She showed respect. And her interviewee blasted her in an extraordinary bit of venting that helped to frame the desperation of Harvey’s victims. “The people of Houston are going through a very difficult time. Our hearts go out to this woman and her family. Our reporter handled the situation graciously,” noted CNN spokeswoman Barbara Levin.

Leave it to Trump White House aide Kellyanne Conway to prey on CNN — the target of numerous “fake news” attacks from her boos, the president — for the headline-making interview:

The shame here falls on Conway, who demonstrates that the media will always be hammered under this administration for doing their jobs. After her attack, Conway received a reminder or two about the media’s work in Texas, for instance:

And in an appearance Tuesday afternoon on Fox News, she said, “We want to thank the media for really connecting people with the information they need.”