I was surprised to hear via Utterli last night about gas shortages in North Carolina. Later a neighbor told me her friend in Georgia is experiencing even worse shortages.

I did a Google News search this morning and found only local coverage. Where’s the New York Times? The Today Show? It’s possible I missed some national coverage but it shouldn’t be so hard to find. As I conjure memories of 1970s gas lines I also wonder why this isn’t considered a big news story:

- Perhaps the mortgage bailout story swamps everything else
- Has the economic state of the news industry caused them to miss a regional story with potential national implications?

- Why the shortage? Is it the hurricanes? Something else? Why wasn’t the shortage anticipated?

Am I wrong in thinking this is a bigger story than the news media do? Is good old word of mouth, amplified by Twitter, Utterli et al, becoming a better source of news? Sometimes I wonder.