When reporter Michael Perlstein stayed on the front lines of the New Orleans Times-Picayune's hurricane Katrina coverage, he had no idea what he was getting into.
Getting up at 5 a.m. to meet a 2 p.m. deadline, Biloxi Sun Herald reporter Josh Norman is in the eye of the storm—working 15-hour days covering the death and destruction of Hurricane Katrina in the small town of Pass Christian, Miss.
Now that the military has moved in and other state agencies have responded to Hurricane Katrina’s aftermath, some would think that all is under control. It isn’t.
This was my first time covering a hurricane, and as luck would have it, it was one of the deadliest hurricanes in history.
Denver Post reporter Elizabeth Aguilera and Post photojournalist Craig Walker are in Metairie, a suburb of New Orleans. Elizabeth talked to fellow Post reporter Amy Herdy and provided this first-person report, sent Thursday, Sept. 8.
I arrived on Monday afternoon and spent about a week covering the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in the outlying areas of New Orleans.
Running through the coverage of Katrina, like an electric current, was outrage. It is an emotion that stands out in television coverage because it is rare. Most reporters shy away from letting their emotions show.
Coverage of any disaster, whether it is man-made or natural, can be a difficult venture for a newsroom. While it has been particularly devastating, Hurricane Katrina is similar to other disasters in that it caused death and destruction—and grief for many people.
Now that a major storm has struck the same regions that were battered last year, people face something called re-traumatization. What does that mean and what can we do about it?
The stories of Guatemalans reveal a community haunted by civil war and genocide and threatened by the drug trade and gang violence.