Broadcasting & Cable
The feeling is all too familiar for New Orleans reporters and residents–the growing dread as an ominous dark mass inches closer to land. Not five years removed from the horrors of Hurricane Katrina, newsrooms at stations up and down the Gulf Coast are putting all resources into covering the devastating BP oil spill off their shores. With hurricane season officially underway, comparisons to storm coverage–and even Katrina itself–abound.
While Katrina claimed almost 2,000 lives, many are drawing a parallel between covering the storm and covering the spill. “As bad as it was, Katrina came, stopped and left us with a mess,” says WVUE New Orleans President/General Manager Joe Cook. “We’re not sure how long this one will go on for.” More…