Comm 439 Katrina Powerpoint

2. Effective Coverage

3. Before: Effective Coverage Both of these pictures show I-10 West, a major evacuation route. On the left, was damage from Georges in 1998. The article “Washing Away” touched on how catastrophic it would be if flooded again. “Washing Away” June 23, 2005 New Orleans Times-Picayune “ The Army Corps of Engineers says the chance of New Orleans-area levees being topped is remote, but admits the estimate is based on 40-year-old calculations. An independent analysis based on updated data and computer modeling done for The Times-Picayune suggests the risk to some areas, including St. Bernard and St. Charles parishes and eastern New Orleans, may be greater than the corps estimates.”

6. After : Effective Coverage Radio: WBEZ September 9, 2005 African American victim talks about situation in and around superdome http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/296/after-the-flood 13:21

10. Ineffective Coverage

15. Ineffective video coverage during Katrina The first video is from NBC Nightly News on August 29, 2005, the afternoon after Hurricane Katrina. The second video is from CNN’s report, broadcasted at 9:00pm on August 29, 2005. http://tvnews.vanderbilt.edu.proxy.lib.umich.edu/program.pl?ID=801690 No mention of the broken levees or rising flood levels. (Start at 6:40-Stop at 8:58), later in the clip there is an interview with FEMA director Michael Brown saying how prepared they were for the inclement weather and saying they did a “great job” (12:00-13:10) http://tvnews.vanderbilt.edu.proxy.lib.umich.edu/program.pl?ID=801402 CNN has no mention of broken levees, and even on the “bottom line” flooding is not attributed to the broken levees, but to pump failures. (Start at 4:50-Stop at 7:25)

17. Man-Made Disaster