Hurricane Katrina exposed issues in journalism coverage of natural disasters. Good coverage is honest, asks tough questions, and provides context, while bad coverage focuses too much on sensational images over factual content. Early reports warned of New Orleans' vulnerability, though many residents did not take the threat seriously. During the storm, some journalists spread rumors and speculation instead of verified facts, while others like Soledad O'Brien challenged officials with tough questions. In the aftermath, coverage examined systemic failures and the human toll, while also documenting the city's recovery years later.

1. HURRICANE KATRINA COVERAGE Sarah, Sam, Brittney, Sahrish, and Ahrang

2. Criteria for Good Journalism Honest and accurate Adversarial (when necessary) Asks the right questions Contextualizes the issue Respectful Unbiased

3. Criteria for Bad Journalism Natural disaster angle Speculative Incomplete Overly sensational Image over content Unreliable sources Superdome

4. New York Times: July 4th 2003“New Orleans’s Hurricane Problem” “What is less well known is that New Orleans is an environmental disaster waiting to happen” “… it may be only a matter of time before the Big One hits. The time to prepare New Orleans for that frightening prospect is now.” Offers potential remedies

5. CBS News Report- Hurricane Ivan Concern that the city is below sea-level and prone to hurricanes “It’s better to be safe than sorry- if you want to take a chance, buy a lottery ticket. But don’t take a chance with this hurricane”- Aaron Broussard Footage of evacuation routes Discussion about safety measures

6. “Hurricanes don’t scare most here, survey says” • Up to 60% would stay home for Category 3 storm • No hurricane in past 30 years

7. “Gulf Coast Under Hurricane Warning” • September 14, 2004, Wolf Blitzer • Emphasis on images • Factual, with some speculation

8. Biased Katrina Coverage: Photojournalism

9. Geraldo Rivera- Sept 3, 2005 “Yesterday the sun set on a scene of terror, chaos, confusion, anarchy, violence, rapes, murders, dead babies, dead people-- I mean, it was -- I could not emphasize how horrible it was 24 hours ago, 24 hours later”

10. Chris Lawrence on Anderson Cooper 360- Sept. 1, 2005 “And off in the distance, over the Mississippi River, I can see just a thick cloud of black smoke rising up over the bridge. One of the police officers tells me that that is Oakwood Mall pretty much burning to the ground right now.”

11. Asking the right questions: Soledad O’Brien Interviews FEMA http://www.newseum.com/exhibits-and-theaters/temporary-exhibits/katrina/video-highlights/katrina-video-soledad-o-brien.html

13. “The President cannot resist the overwhelming weight of responsibility for the gravity of this disaster any more than the levees of New Orleans could resist the weight of water.”

15. Katrina Takes Toll on Truth “The wild rumors filled the vacuum and seemed to gain credence with each retelling -- that an infant's body had been found in a trash can, that sharks from Lake Pontchartrain were swimming through the business district, that hundreds of bodies had been stacked in the Superdome basement.” –LA Times, Sept. 27

16. Bibliography http://www.lightrailnow.org/images/no-hurricane-katrina-satimage-20050829_uwisc-cimss.jpg http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1008/25/acd.01.html http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.cnn.com/CNN/anchors_reporters/images/obrien.soledad.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.cnn.com/CNN/anchors_reporters/obrien.soledad.html&h=450&w=280&sz=22&tbnid=R7AbSRsewJ6GeM:&tbnh=127&tbnw=79&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dsoledad%2Bo%2Bbrien%2Bpic&zoom=1&q=soledad+o+brien+pic&usg=__Bw1FIG112_ECGRGziU_XSh2NtRI=&sa=X&ei=p1ZMTYLhE4X4gAf79eAg&ved=0CCAQ9QEwAw http://articles.latimes.com/2005/sep/27/nation/na-rumors27 http://www.katrinahelp.com/hurricane-katrina-10.jpg http://www.thehammer.ca/content/2005/0902/hurricane_katrina_bush.jpg