HUNTINGTON -- Diane Sawyer may have had the best intentions with her report on the poverty plaguing some areas of Appalachia. But Friday's "20/20" episode that featured the hardships of Eastern Kentucky families didn't sit well with area viewers.

"I actually began watching with the worst expectations," said Ernay Goble, a Marshall University senior from Inez, Ky.

And when it was over, Goble said her hometown was portrayed stereotypically -- a boarded-up town the coal industry had forgotten.

"There were some things I thought did not show my home in true light," she said. "I don't think they showed the people who live and work here who are thriving. I feel like they sought out the worst conditions and made it a story."

The show featured the stories of a talented high school football player who lives out of his truck because his parents and extended family live on a rural hill. They drink and fight constantly, and he wants more for himself.

Then there's a family relying on faith and food stamps to get through the month. Another little girl, who was featured in a news story five years ago, is still watching her mom try to get clean from her drug addiction.

But Chris Green, who teaches Appalachian literature and culture at Marshall University, said that while the broadcast touched on the severe problems faced by some in the mountains, it was ultimately a gross stereotype.

"Sawyer has selected special cases and represented them in a way that blames the victim by providing almost no discussion of the larger social economic realities, both in Appalachia and in America," Green said. "We would all have been better off without it. My hope is that my students will fight against such representations by learning to make their own (lives) that touch on the wholeness of Appalachian culture."

Sawyer, who grew up on Louisville, said her report was done with a purpose: to illustrate problems in the community, from the rise in illegal prescription drug dealing to the widespread use of a soft drink that is rotting teeth.

"Very few people make their way up into the hills and the hollows and the shadows to look at these lives," Sawyer said. "It's not easy to get there."

When Sawyer did a similar documentary on urban poverty in Camden, N.J., there was an outpouring of support for the children who were featured.

She thinks the children in Appalachia face a tougher future than the ones she met in Camden.

Children here, according to Sawyer, face fewer options, from working at Wal-Mart or fast food restaurants to dealing drugs or a life in the mines.

Statements like that, however, stirred many people to jump on their computers late Friday night and Saturday morning to comment on the "20/20" Web site. Within 12 hours, there were nearly 1,000 comments, many written by passionate people with a connection to Appalachia.

Some of the online comments shared the same sentiment as John Childers of Hamlin. He called The Herald-Dispatch to say the show almost made him vomit.

"Never in my life have I ever seen anything that so missed the mark," Childers said. "Everything in the broadcast was for shock value."

Childers said he would have liked Sawyer to point out that the type of poverty shown can be found in every state and around the world -- not just in Kentucky and West Virginia.

Some said the story brought to light how little the government does to help these people really escape the conditions.

One person who commented on the "20/20" site said she grew up in Paintsville, Ky., and had worked for a number of years for a social agency that gave out monthly checks from the government. But the money merely helped people survive until the next check came.

"It is much easier for the government to throw money at the area every month and then forget about the people than it is to actually work on figuring out how to create jobs, improve health and education and eradicate hopelessness," the person commented.

Others said the story really woke them up to the struggles many people across the country are facing.

A person identified simply as a Kentucky resident said the report was good at showing certain areas of the state that need help.

"Keep in mind ... that during the show, it was stated a few times that all of Eastern Kentucky is not like this ... The show focused on a certain area to let America see what is going on in our back yard."

To watch the show online, visit www. http://abcnews.go.com/2020.

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