Katrina, US and us

With their presses and offices underwater, print and broadcast journalists in New Orleans are leaning on the Web to keep the news churning in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. According to the Wall Street Journal, the New Orleans Times-Picayune, which has been in operation since 1837, refuses to go unpublished even in the midst of the catastrophe. Managing Editor Dan Shea and many of his staff have...

I can't say I saw everything that the TV newscasters pumped out about Katrina, but I viewed enough repeated segments to say with 90 percent confidence that broadcasters covering the New Orleans end of the disaster demurred from mentioning two topics that must have occurred to every sentient viewer: race and class. Nearly every rescued person, temporary resident of the Superdome, looter, or...

The New Orleans Times-Picayune did not publish today, offering only an Internet edition while struggling to find a location to print Louisiana's largest newspaper. One consolation for reporters and editors is that it's not clear how many people would have a chance to read the 260,000-circulation paper. "Things are so bad in the city that there are no ways to get copies of the paper to anyone...

Last night, fearing for their safety, CBS News moved much of its team in New Orleans from their hotel to an overpass on Interstate 10. That's where national correspondent Tracy Smith was standing, preparing for a live segment, when a female police officer approached and handed Smith a pocketknife. "She told Tracy that if she was going to leave that spot, she was going to need it," says CBS...