Getting mad and getting even

Media critics Tom Rosenstiel and Bill Kovach are disturbed by the emotionalism that plagued the MSM’s coverage of Hurricane Katrina. They note that emotional formulation of the news can distort coverage.
The coverage of Katrina undoubtedly was distorted. But did emotionalism cause the distortion, or were both the product of bias and an overwhelming urge to strike back at the Bush administration for the unpardonable sin of successfully dodging the MSM’s bullets for so long?