Networks’ Plans for Katrina Anniversary

Investigations, Anchoring from Region Expected

Following are news releases from ABC, BET, Black Family Channel, CBS, CNN, C-SPAN, Fox News Channel, Tom Joyner’s Reach Media, National Public Radio, NBC and TV One on their plans for commemorating the first anniversary of Hurricane Katrina:

ABC

ABC News will report a division-wide series — “Katrina: Where Things Stand” — marking the first anniversary of the devastating hurricane. The comprehensive series, debuting Friday, August 25, will include: an ABC News “report card” on the local, state, and federal recovery efforts one year later; exclusive reports from the ABC News – Investigative Team; and a national and regional poll gauging confidence in the government’s ability to deal with the ongoing reconstruction and future disasters. Additionally, the series will revisit a number of compelling people and places from the storm to see how they are faring one year later.

On Friday, August 25, “20/20” will feature an exclusive report from Chief Investigative Correspondent Brian Ross. Ross will explore allegations of fraud and criminal misconduct involving the handling of Katrina claims at one of the country’s leading insurance companies. The investigation will also air on “World News with Charles Gibson.”

Beginning Monday, August 28, “Good Morning America,” “World News with Charles Gibson,” and “Nightline” will all originate from the Gulf Coast. ABC’s anchors and correspondents, who have covered this story extensively over the past year, will revisit the people and places devastated by the hurricane.

On August 28 and 29, “Good Morning America” will originate from New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Co-anchor Robin Roberts, a native of Pass Christian, Mississippi, whose own family was personally affected by the Hurricane, will report on the status of rebuilding efforts there and the long road to recovery that lies ahead.

Charles Gibson will anchor “World News” from New Orleans on both August 28 and 29. One year later, what lessons have been learned? Will the thousands of people who evacuated the city ever return home? ABC News correspondent Steve Osunsami, who has covered the situation in New Orleans over the last year, will report on the changing face of the city.

Terry Moran will co-anchor “Nightline” from New Orleans on Monday and Tuesday nights and will report on how the city is working to rebuild itself and move past the hardships of the past year.

On Sunday, August 27, George Stephanopoulos and “This Week” return to New Orleans for an exclusive interview with Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA). One year after their initial interview and memorable tour of the devastated area, what progress has been made and what is the political future of the region? Also on Sunday, “Good Morning America Weekend” and “World News Sunday” will have reports from the Gulf Coast.

“Katrina: Where Things Stand” will also feature updates from ABC News’ off-air reporters who were embedded last September with families displaced by Katrina. The reporters, who documented the families’ experiences with DV cameras, return to see what life is like one year later. Their updates will be reported across ABC News’ broadcasts and platforms, including extensive coverage on ABCNEWS.com. Additionally, a selection of online resources, including message boards, interactive features, and video clips, will complement all reporting on ABC News’ broadcasts.

The special coverage will also be reported on ABC News Radio, with radio correspondents Alex Stone and Jim Ryan reporting from New Orleans. NewsOne, the ABC News affiliate news feed service, will be offering live reports from New Orleans and the Mississippi coast with correspondents Yunji De Nies and Maya Kulycky. ABC News Now will provide live coverage on the first anniversary of with live reports from New Orleans and the Gulf Region, in addition to special guests and shows revisiting the people and places devastated by the storm.

BET

Her destructive winds, damaging waves and torrential rains ended long ago. But the tragedy and indelible marks of Hurricane Katrina remain. As the Gulf Coast region nears the one-year anniversary of the greatest natural disaster in modern U.S. history, BET News today (Aug. 7) launches a month-long series of daily news briefs and testimonials capturing life in the aftermath for Louisiana and Mississippi as the rebuilding continues. S.O.S: SAVING OURSELVES â?? ONE YEAR LATER is a poignant reprise by BET News that culminates on Tuesday, September 5 with a primetime special that takes a probing look at the regionâ??s future.

BET News has assembled a cadre of celebrities, community leaders, government officials and local citizens to lend voice and perspective to its series. These individuals either lived in or traveled to the ravaged region. Some were directly impacted by the storm, while others contributed time and money to assist in the relief effort. Noteworthy participants in the series include actress Holly Robinson-Peete; rappers David Banner and Ludacris; gospel duo Mary Mary; hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons; religious leader Bishop Paul Morton; New Orleans activist Kalamu ya Salaam; Mary Joseph of the New Orleans Childrenâ??s Defense Fund; and many others.

“Those powerful images of death and devastation in New Orleans and the surrounding region will be remembered forever,” said Nina Henderson Moore, BET Executive Vice President of News & Public Affairs. “The rebuilding effort since then has progressed, yet been controversial at many levels. This series will do more than just revisit the past. There are still many unanswered questions about the local impact, especially among African Americans; the government’s failures in the face of disaster; and the vulnerability of the area to future hurricanes. Ultimately, our series is part of BET’s ongoing effort to keep the public focus on this region and its recovery.”

In addition to the televised series, BET viewers can access extended coverage of the Hurricane Katrina anniversary and recovery at www.BET.com. On-line content includes news, features, chats with experts, opinion polls, blogs, photo galleries and links to community organizations providing assistance to the thousands of victims still needing help.

BET NEWS SPECIAL SERIES – SAVING OURSELVES: ONE YEAR LATER

SERIES LENGTH: August 7 – September 1, 2006; Daily News Briefs (60-seconds each);

SERIES SCHEDULE: 11:40 a.m., 2:20 p.m., 5:20 p.m., 7:40 p.m. (All Times ET/PT); Monday – Friday

SERIES FINALE: Tuesday, September 5 @ 7:30 p.m. ET/PT (30-minute special)

Black Family Channel

Added Aug. 29: Our program “KATRINA, AFTER THE STORM,” looks at what has and hasn’t happened in the last year.

We followed evacuees to Houston and Atlanta and watched them try to rebuild their lives. We hosted a Townhall Meeting with members of the media who covered

Katrina, who admitted that they reported a number of rumors about the alleged violence and looting in New Orleans.

We tracked the impact of the storm on two historically black colleges, Dillard and Xavier, as they tried to rebuild and help their students continue their education goals.

We also focused on the critical city election and the perception that blacks were being discouraged from voting. Another main focus is the problems in the New Orleans school district; how so few schools are re-opened and how the New Orleans kids have struggled in other schools like Houston.

The program also looks at key struggles that evacuees are facing in trying to come back home to rebuild their homes, and or businesses.

It debuts tonight, August 29, at 8 p.m. Eastern Time on the Black Family Channel. It repeats on August 30; and will rerun throughout September.

The program is the year-long work of two longtime NABJ Members, Greg Morrison, news director, and Ray Metoyer, executive producer, news. The bottom line is Katrina is an open-ended story. The recovery is just getting started and there are still more questions than answers. — Ray Metoyer

CBS

THE EARLY SHOW Will Originate From New Orleans Beginning Monday, Aug. 28

Beginning Saturday, Aug. 26, CBS News will provide comprehensive coverage of the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina on all CBS News broadcasts, CBSNews.com and CBS Radio News, including the ongoing recovery and rebuilding efforts and the area’s preparation for future hurricanes.

Beginning Monday, Aug. 28, The CBS EVENING NEWS WITH BOB SCHIEFFER(6:30-7:00 PM, ET/PT) and THE EARLY SHOW (7:00-9:00 AM, ET/PT) will provide extensive coverage of the anniversary, including updates on some of the people profiled last year whose lives were nearly destroyed by the storm. The CBS EVENING NEWS will include reports from CBS News correspondents Lee Cowan and Kelly Cobiella in New Orleans and across the Gulf Coast region, as well as EARLY SHOW Anchor Harry Smith. Pieces include a status report on the region’s school systems, a day in the life of an EMT team at one of only two full-service emergency rooms operating in New Orleans, and an interview with musician and New Orleans native Branford Marsalis.

THE EARLY SHOW will originate from New Orleans on Monday (28) and Tuesday (29) with Harry Smith anchoring live — and making his sixth trip to the region in the past year. He first reported from Gulfport, Miss., on Tues., Aug. 30, 2005 and was the first network morning anchor on the ground.

Beginning Saturday (26) and continuing into the week, EARLY SHOW National Correspondent and SATURDAY EARLY SHOW co-anchor Tracy Smith, as part of her sixth trip to the region in the last year, will offer a series of reports for which she tracked down all of the New Orleans residents she met one year ago, including members of a family she encountered at the New Orleans Convention Center who swore they would never return to their hometown. On Monday (28) on THE EARLY SHOW, Smith, who was one of the first network correspondents in New Orleans after the storm hit and spent two weeks on the ground reporting from across the city, will report on the U.S. Coast Guard heroes from last year. She traveled with the unit on an exclusive helicopter and boat survey and discussed how they are preparing for the next hurricane.

Tracy Smith will also co-anchor THE SATURDAY EARLY SHOW from New Orleans on Aug. 26.

On Sunday, Aug. 27, 60 MINUTES (7:00-8:00 PM, ET/PT) will feature an interview with New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin. In addition, FACE THE NATION (10:30-11:00 AM, ET) and CBS NEWS SUNDAY MORNING (9:00-10:30 AM, ET) will provide coverage of the one-year anniversary with contributions from CBS News correspondents in the Gulf Coast region.

CBSNews.com will provide complete coverage of the anniversary, looking back with an extensive archive of hundreds of video clips and photos, and looking forward at the rebuilding of New Orleans, lessons learned, and challenges faced. Harry Smith and Kelly Cobiella and their teams will provide web-exclusive video, photos, and stories for the anniversary, and CBSNews.com will provide live video webcasts of all commemorative events.

CBS Radio News Correspondents Cami McCormick and Peter King will report from the Gulf Coast region with follow-up stories about the survivors, evacuees, and rebuilding efforts. On Aug. 29, CBS Radio News will provide special reports throughout the day, as well as a special wrap-up report, “Katrina: One Year Later.”

CNN

As the first anniversary of Hurricane Katrina approaches, CNN maintains its ongoing coverage of recovery and rebuilding efforts across the Gulf Coast as well as its investigations to keep officials at all levels accountable for their roles in the disaster.

“Because we never left the Gulf Coast, this anniversary allows us to showcase our depth of coverage over the past year,” said Jon Klein, president of CNN/U.S. “Our bureau staff members are Gulf Coast residents, so they’re plugged into the story of Katrina’s aftermath on a deep level and able to work sources to unearth hard-hitting, in-depth reports.”

For the anniversary itself, CNN/U.S. will originate several of its programs, including Anderson Cooper 360° and American Morning, from the area. CNN will continue to solicit user-generated content for I-Reports — compelling video, audio or text approved for use on-air — and CNN Exchange — CNN.com’s destination for user-submitted content, as well as guest commentaries and polls.

Long after the storm hit the coast on Aug. 29, 2005, CNN continued extensive coverage, providing more than 500 reports and updates and several documentaries. CNN opened its Gulf Coast bureau within weeks of Katrina making landfall. In June of this year, the bureau moved into a permanent location in downtown New Orleans and now serves as a fully functional hub for nine correspondents, photojournalists and a production crew as well as a new Gulf satellite truck and a studio outfitted for live reports.

Such dedicated journalism continues for the one-year anniversary as CNN’s Anderson Cooper will anchor Anderson Cooper 360° from New Orleans for Monday, Aug. 28, and Tuesday, Aug. 29. During Katrina and its immediate aftermath, Cooper reported from across the Gulf Coast region for five straight weeks. Since then, he has returned to the region 22 times. Anderson Cooper 360° airs weekdays from 10 p.m. to midnight. (ET)

For the “Keeping Them Honest” segment of Anderson Cooper 360°, Sanjay Gupta, CNN’s senior medical correspondent, returns to New Orleans to take the city’s health care pulse. Nearly one year after debunking official reports that the city’s Charity Hospital had been properly evacuated, Gupta finds the hospital closed with a down-sized version operating out of a former department store. He also reveals glaring gaps in health care and coordination among other providers in the city.

CNN’s reports will also highlight the bright spots amid the disaster and include updates from the network’s New Orleans-based correspondents Sean Callebs and Susan Roesgen. Callebs profiles Coast Guard personnel who stepped beyond the call of duty to rescue stranded residents across the Gulf Coast. Roesgen provides an update on a neo-natal unit forced to evacuate after Katrina and several of the premature babies born at that time.

Larry King will host a special edition of Larry King Live on Tuesday, Aug. 29, with guests Sen. Mary Landrieu(D-La.) and musician Aaron Neville, who will perform during the program. Larry King Live airs each day from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. (ET)

Soledad O’ Brien and Miles O’ Brien, who both provided memorable reports from along the Gulf Coast soon after Katrina made landfall, will return to New Orleans. Miles O’Brien visits the city in the days before the anniversary to prepare a report on the state of the city’s levees. On Tuesday, Aug. 29, American Morning will originate from New Orleans with Soledad O’Brien anchoring from New Orleans and with Miles O’Brien in New York. American Morning airs each weekday from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. (ET)

The Situation Room, anchored by Wolf Blitzer, also plans to mark the first year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina providing comprehensive reports throughout the Gulf Coast region. The three-hour program, which launched just weeks prior to the historic storm, will make use of its multiple feeds and video wall to bring viewers key interviews from across the region. The Situation Room airs weekdays from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. and again from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. (ET)

Online, CNN.com will provide continuing updates to its on-going Hurricane Katrina special report, located at http://www.CNN.com/katrina. The special report includes articles about the rebuilding efforts in New Orleans and other Gulf Coast communities a year later; an audio slide show called “Voices from the Gulf Coast”; an interactive map detailing reconstruction and renovations of key landmarks across the coast; vital signs charts with the most current indicators for education, health care, population and other statistics for the area; and numerous video and image galleries.

CNN Pipeline also will feature live coverage of events taking place throughout the region, as well as reports on the progress of rebuilding efforts one year after Katrina made landfall. To provide users with access to as much information as possible, CNN Pipeline also has made available hundreds of on-demand video packages related to Katrina, beginning with the initial weather reports as the storm gained strength in the Gulf to recent packages from CNN Gulf Coast correspondents on rebuilding and recovery efforts.

In addition, CNN.com will solicit “I-Reports,” user-generated text, images, audio and video, for possible use on-air and inclusion on CNN Exchange, a comprehensive user-generated content destination on CNN.com that features user-submitted audio, video and text and also allows users to interact directly with the site’s news reports, commentaries and polls. Viewers can submit material through a “Send Your I-Report” link at CNN.com or by e-mail at ireport@cnn.com.

For Headline News, anchor Thomas Roberts returns to New Orleans to report live on Tuesday, Aug. 29. CNN’s Katrina coverage will reach a global audience through reports on CNN International and CNN en Español.

For its affiliates, CNNRadio plans to provide everything they need for their coverage, including an archive of sound from its coverage of Katrina last year. An hour of special programming hosted by Headline News anchor Chuck Roberts becomes available as a podcast on Monday, Aug. 21. CNNRadio’s Amanda Moyer will be reporting live from New Orleans for the network and affiliates on Monday, Aug. 28, and Tuesday, Aug. 29.

CNN Newsource correspondents Brianna Keilar and Kyung Lah will be available for affiliates from Louisiana and Mississippi.

CNN Worldwide, a division of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner Company, is one of the world’s most respected and trusted sources for news and information. Its reach extends to nine cable and satellite television networks; one private place-based network; two radio networks; wireless devices around the world; four Web sites, including CNN.com, the first major news and information Web site; CNN Pipeline, an on-demand broadband video service; CNN Newsource, the worldâ??s most extensively syndicated news service; and partnerships for four television networks and one Web site.

C-SPAN

Book TV on C-SPAN2 marks the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina on Sunday, August 27 with special programming from noon to midnight. From 5 to 7 p.m., Book TV will air LIVE, “The Katrina Collection: An Afternoon with Authors,” a panel discussion with various authors such as Douglas Brinkley, Ken Foster and Jed Horne, followed by a Q & A with the audience. The event is hosted by the Press Club of New Orleans and reairs from 10 p.m. – Midnight.

At 9 p.m. ET, Book TV’s “After Words,” the weekly author interview series, features the Wall Street Journal’s Robert Block, author of DISASTER: Hurricane Katrina and the Failure of Homeland Security, joined by guest interviewer James Lee Witt, former director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The attached backgrounder lists the complete Book TV schedule on Sunday, which includes special author events that Book TV captured this past year that’s related to Hurricane Katrina. Featured guests include Michael Eric Dyson, photographers from the Dallas Morning News, and Ivor van Heerden.

“An Afternoon with Authors” includes:

• Douglas Brinkley “The Great Deluge: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast”
• Jed Horne “Breach of Faith: Hurricane Katrina and the Near Death of a Great American City”
• Mark Schleifstein, co-author “Path of Destruction: The Devastation of New Orleans and the Coming Age of Superstorms”
• Chris Rose “1 Dead in Attic”
• Ivor van Heerden “The Storm: What Went Wrong and Why During Hurricane Katrina; the Inside Story from One Louisiana Scientist”
• Richard Campanella “Geographies of New Orleans: Urban Fabrics Before the Storm”
• Tony Dunbar “Tubby Meets Katrina: A Tubby Dubonnet Novel”
• Contributing Writers “Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?”
• Robert Smallwood “The Five People You Meet in Hell: Surviving Katrina”
• Ken Foster “The Dogs Who Found Me: What I’ve Learned from Pets Who Were Left Behind”
• Mary Beth Romig, co-author “Missing New Orleans”
• Mary Fitzpatrick, editor “New Orleans: An Epic City”
• Photographers and contributors to “Katrina: The Ruin & Recovery of New Orleans” (a publication of the Times-Picayune)

BOOK TV ON C-SPAN2 SCHEDULE ON SUNDAY, AUGUST 27

Noon

Jed Horne “Breach of Faith”

The metro editor of the New Orleans’ Times-Picayune chronicles each phase of Hurricane Katrina. During his discussion Mr. Horne describes how he thinks President Bush and the Department of Homeland Security mishandled the natural disaster and discusses current efforts to rebuild the affected areas. This event was hosted by Octavia Books in New Orleans. Recorded 7/12.

1:15 pm

Ivor van Heerden “The Storm: What Went Wrong and Why During Hurricane Katrina — The Inside Story from One Louisiana Scientist”

Ivor van Heerden talks about his and his colleagues’ efforts to protect New Orleans against hurricanes prior to 2005 and their investigation into the cause of the flooding in the city after Hurricane Katrina hit in September 2005. Mr. van Heerden argues that state and federal officials largely ignored plans that would have protected the city and then tried to jam up scientific investigations into the cause, forcing him and other scientists to go directly to the media. He says that the condition of the levies in New Orleans are still poor, leaving New Orleans vulnerable as the next hurricane season approaches. The talk was hosted by Octavia Books in New Orleans. Recorded 5/30.

2:30 pm

Michael Eric Dyson “Come Hell or High Water” author Michael Eric Dyson criticizes the U.S. Government’s response to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. The author argues that the Bush administration and FEMA’s failure to provide aid in a timely manner is another reminder of the deep class and racial divide in America. He analyzed the problems displaced survivors of Hurricane Katrina are facing today, and debated if the storm was caused by God. This event was hosted by Eso Won, an African American bookstore in Los Angeles, California. Recorded 2/24.

4:15 pm

Doug Brinkley “The Great Deluge”

In “The Great Deluge,” author Douglas Brinkley recounts the events of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. Throughout the book and during his presentation, Mr. Brinkley introduces several New Orleans residents who used their own resources to assist in the disaster relief efforts. This event was hosted by Octavia Books in New Orleans. Recorded 6/7.

5-7 pm

“Live” from New Orleans The Press Club of New Orleans hosts “The Katrina Collection: An Afternoon of Authors” includes: Doug Brinkley, Ivor van Heerden, Jed Horne, and many others

7 pm

Dallas Morning News photographers panel

Dallas Morning News photographers Michael Ainsworth, Melanie Burford, Barbara Davidson, Tom Fox, and Irwin Thompson participated in this panel discussion of their work documenting hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. During this illustrated program, the photographers use examples of images from the book to describe the difficulty of working in a disaster area. The photojournalists discuss people they met and photographed while on assignment, and how this experience compares to other major events they have photographed. The Dallas Morning News won a Pulitzer for its coverage of Hurricane Katrina. Recorded 2/23.

9 pm

After Words: Robert Block, author of “Disaster”, interviewed by James Lee Witt In their new book, “Disaster: Hurricane Katrina and the Failure of Homeland Security,” co-authors Robert Block and Christopher Cooper provide new details on the federal government’s response to the greatest natural disaster in US history. One year after the event, Mr. Block discusses the book with James Lee Witt, former FEMA Director during the Clinton Administration. To be recorded Monday 8/21.

10 pm — midnight

Re-Air of “An Afternoon with Authors”

Added Aug. 28: C-SPAN will simulcast two, popular call-in shows on WWL Radio in New Orleans Tuesday as part of the networkâ??s LIVE coverage of the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. A complete schedule is listed below and also available online at www.c-span.org.

All times are Eastern.

10 a.m. – Noon Simulcast of â??The John â??Spudâ?? McConnell Show,â?? on WWL 870 AM and 105.3 FM Radio, New Orleans

Guests include members of the House Democratic Caucus Katrina Task Force and New Orleans City Council President Oliver M. Thomas, Jr.

12:20 p.m. Address by President George W. Bush

President Bush and Mrs. Bush remark on Gulf Coast recovery from Warren Easton Senior High School, New Orleans.

1 – 3 p.m. Citywide Interfaith Service (Ecumenical Prayer Service)

National, state, and local leaders will reflect and offer inspirational words of encouragement at the Citywide Interfaith Service. Clergy from various religious backgrounds will offer scriptural readings and prayer.

Speakers include: Dr. William Shaw, President of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc.

Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rainbow Push Coalition Lieutenant General Russell L. Honore

3 – 6 p.m. Simulcast of “The Garland Robinette Show,” on WWL 870 AM and WWL 105.3 FM Radio, New Orleans

Tentative guests include New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin (D) and Gov. Kathleen Blanco (D-LA)

Fox News Channel

FOX News Channel (FNC) will present “America’s Challenge: Rebuilding the Gulf,” coverage of the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, beginning on August 26th. Anchor Shepard Smith will lead the network’s coverage, providing live reports and hosting both Studio B and FOX Report from New Orleans and Mississippi throughout the week, beginning on August 28th. Greta Van Susteren will also take her show on the road where she will host On the Record from New Orleans beginning on August 28th. FNC correspondents Jeff Goldblatt, Rick Leventhal, and Kim McIntyre will provide live reports from the region during the week.

FNC Special live programming will include:

August 28th

• 3 PM/ET-Studio B with Shepard Smith from New Orleans
• 7PM/ET-FOX Report with Shepard Smith from New Orleans
• 10PM/ET On the Record With Greta Van Susteren from New Orleans August 29th
• 3 PM/ET-Studio B with Shepard Smith from New Orleans
• 7PM/ET-FOX Report with Shepard Smith from New Orleans
• 10PM/ET On the Record With Greta Van Susteren from New Orleans

August 30th

• 3 PM/ET-Studio B with Shepard Smith from Mississippi
• 7PM/ET-FOX Report with Shepard Smith from Mississippi August 31st
• 3 PM/ET-Studio B with Shepard Smith from Mississippi
• 7PM/ET-FOX Report with Shepard Smith from Mississippi

Fox News Radio will offer listeners live coverage of major ceremonies marking the anniversary, as well as reports and updates from correspondents in New Orleans and across the Gulf coast. Shepard Smith will anchor his radio program, The FOX Report, each day beginning at 5PM/ET.

foxnews.com will provide Internet users with up to the minute news reports and updates of the anniversary. Beginning on August 22nd, the site will offer an in-depth look at one Louisiana city’s road to recovery, as a foxnews.com correspondent spends a week in Slidell to report on how its citizens are recovering one year after Katrina. FOX News Channel (FNC) is a 24-hour general news service covering breaking news as well as political, entertainment and business news. For over four years, FNC has been the most watched cable news channel in the nation and currently presents 11 out of the top 12 programs in cable news. Owned by News Corp., FNC is available in more than 85 million homes.

Tom Joyner

Added Aug. 25: Tom Joyner, labeled the ‘Voice of Katrina’, is bringing the power of his nationally syndicated radio show, his website – BlackAmericaWeb.com – and his Foundation to energize the recovery of New Orleans, one year after one of the nation’s worst natural disasters.

To help shed light on the on-going issues, his website – BlackAmericaWeb.com, with more than 1 million registered members, has started a five-part series that explores various aspects of life in New Orleans now and what the future holds.

BlackAmericaWeb.com’s editorial staff has conducted dozens of interviews throughout the Gulf region for its stories and has captured pictures for a poignant photo gallery and downloadable audio that is available at BlackAmericaWeb.com (http://blackamericaweb.com). The featured articles will focus on the economy, education, child trauma, housing and race relations.

Joyner, host of the nation’s #1 syndicated urban radio show, also will donate a total of $300,000, that’s $100,000 each to Xavier University, Dillard University and Southern University at New Orleans, three of the black colleges most heavily affected by Katrina’s storm. The BlackAmericaWeb.com Relief Fund(r), which distributed nearly $3 million in assistance last year, will distribute another $50,000 or $1,000 to 50 families who are still recovering.

Several of these families are expected to attend the Aug. 29th broadcast of the Tom Joyner Morning Show, which will be broadcasting live in front of the Harrah’s Casino on Canal Street.

Joyner will air a series of editorial and musical vignettes on various aspects of how Katrina impacted lives in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Tom Joyner Morning Show affiliates WYLD-FM 98.5 in New Orleans; WDLT-FM 98.3 in Mobile, AL and WJZD-FM 94.5 in Biloxi, MS will be among the contributors.

REACH Media, Inc. founded by radio and television personality, philanthropist and entrepreneur Tom Joyner, is a multi-media company formed as the parent company of The Tom Joyner Morning Show and several other businesses that will target African-Americans through radio, television, event production and the internet. Radio One . . . the nation’s seventh largest radio broadcasting company (based on 2005 net broadcast revenue) and the largest radio broadcasting company that primarily targets African-American and urban listeners, owns 51% of Reach Media, Inc.

NBC

Marking the one year anniversary in which Hurricane Katrina devastated the city of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast region, NBC News’ award winning coverage “Katrina: The Long Road Back” will continue across all NBC News platforms, including the network, MSNBC, CNBC, Telemundo, MSNBC.com, NBC Mobile and NBC News Radio beginning on Friday, August 25, 2006. And as part of NBC News’ ongoing commitment to reporting on the recovery and rebuilding efforts in the Gulf Coast region, many of the division’s anchors, correspondents and programs will originate live from the region during the one-year anniversary.

Highlighting NBC’s coverage on Monday, August 28, will be “Katrina: The Long Road Back,” a special one-hour primetime documentary anchored by Brian Williams, airing at 8:00 p.m., ET on the broadcast network. The documentary will include Williams’ acclaimed report, “In His Own Words: Brian Williams on Hurricane Katrina,” commercial free, which captures devastating images of destroyed areas in New Orleans while focusing on Williams’ reflections of his experience and the experiences of others living in the Superdome when the hurricane hit. The special will also provide an in-depth look at a community’s reaction to the destruction, as well as the discovery of the forgotten people in the New Orleans Convention Center. In addition, Williams will update viewers on many of the people he met while in the Superdome to see how their lives have been dramatically altered over the past year.

NBC NEWS ON BROADCAST

Marking the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, “Dateline NBC” will air an in-depth report documenting how the aftermath of Katrina affected the Lindy Boggs hospital staff and patients trapped inside. Hoda Kotb interviewed patients who were in the hospital, their family members and the heroic, and often resourceful, doctor and nurses who fought to save their lives. The hour-long broadcast will air on Friday, August 25 at 8:00 p.m., ET. In addition, “Dateline’s” correspondents and producers will post personal video blogs reflecting on what they saw on the ground during the aftermath of Katrina on www.dateline.msnbc.com.

On Sunday morning, August 27, “Weekend Today” will have a split edition with Campbell Brown anchoring from New Orleans and Lester Holt from New York. Guests will include Christopher Cooper and Robert Block, authors of “Hurricane Katrina and the Failure of Homeland Security,” and the program will profile a family to returning to New Orleans to rebuild. “Weekend Today” will also present the donations from the “Today Turns the Page” book drive to school librarians across the region.

Also on Sunday, “Meet the Press with Tim Russert” will present an exclusive interview with the Mayor of New Orleans, Ray Nagin.

On Monday, August 28, “Today” will cover the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina with live reports from New Orleans and throughout the Gulf Coast, led by NBC News’ Brian Williams, Campbell Brown, Lester Holt and the NBC News team of correspondents. “Today” will report on the status of the reconstruction efforts, and will check in with many of the storm victims that viewers met last year during the disaster’s aftermath. In a special reunion, Campbell Brown will visit the young Charles Evans, who at eight years old became the voice of those waiting for aid. Matt Lauer and Ann Curry will have an exclusive interview with former FEMA head Michael Brown and will talk with New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin. The broadcast will also follow-up with those families who received homes built on Rockefeller Plaza’s Humanity Plaza and were transported to the region devastated by Katrina.

Brian Williams will return to the Gulf Coast region for the 11th time and will anchor “NBC Nightly News” live on Monday, August 28 and Tuesday, August 29. Coverage will include reporting from NBC News’ Campbell Brown, Lester Holt, Carl Quintanilla, Lisa Myers, Martin Savidge and Bob Faw. “Nightly News” will examine the hardest hit areas in the Gulf Coast region, specifically parts of Mississippi and New Orleans one year later, and report on what is working and what is not, who has returned home, how residents are faring and who has not returned and why. The broadcast will revisit familiar faces and will report on those who have made a difference in the continuing recovery of the Gulf Coast region.

MSNBC

MSNBC will mark the first anniversary of Hurricane Katrina with live coverage from the Gulf Coast, as well as documentary programming devoted to the historic storm and the area’s recovery. Joe Scarborough will be on location in Mississippi on Monday, August 28 and Tuesday, August 29. Featuring key interviews and reports from around Biloxi and Gulfport, he will provide updates throughout MSNBC daytime programming and will host “Scarborough Country” on location both nights (9-10 p.m., ET). Rita Cosby also heads to New Orleans, where she will report throughout MSNBC dayside and primetime on Monday and Tuesday. Cosby will visit the Superdome, the infamous Convention Center and will fly over the city with the National Guard, as she measures the city’s progress toward recovery. On Tuesday, August 29, Lester Holt will host “Rising from Ruin, Revisited,” (10 p.m., ET), a one hour documentary that traces the lives of three New Orleans families since the storm, and at 11 p.m., ET, MSNBC will present “Catastrophe: Katrina,” a riveting hour that examines the fury and destruction of Hurricane Katrina.

CNBC “Squawk Box” (6 – 9 a.m., ET) will feature co-anchor Carl Quintanilla co-anchoring “Squawk Box” from New Orleans and filing reports all day, and CNBC’s Dylan Ratigan will anchor “On the Money” (7 p.m. with rebroadcast at 11 p.m., ET) live in New Orleans. Quintanilla will also report for “NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams” as he did when Katrina hit a year ago.

TELEMUNDO

US Spanish-language speakers can also tune into Telemundo Network for their news coverage entitled, “Katrina: Un Ano Despues” (Katrina: A Year Later). Renowned journalists, Ilia Calderon and Francisco Cuevas, will provide a three-day comprehensive live coverage from New Orleans, starting on Sunday, August 27 on “Titulares Telemundo” (12:30pm/11:30c, or after the local news). The coverage continues Monday and Tuesday on “Cada Dia con Maria Antonieta” (7am/6c), followed by “Al Rojo Vivo con Maria Celeste” (5pm/4c) and “Noticiero Telemundo” (6:30pm/5:30c). Telemundo’s broadcast will focus on stories related to the local Hispanic community and how the newly migrated Hispanics that arrived after Katrina helped rebuild the city.

MSNBC.COM

MSNBC.com’s coverage will include a special monthly installment of its National Press Club award-winning series, Rising From Ruin (www.risingfromruin.msnbc.com). MSNBC.com reporters will be on the scene examining what has been accomplished since Katrina devastated the area. They will revisit some of the great personal stories told throughout the year, including the struggles of an inner-city family from New Orleans that relocated to Atlanta, an insurance agent from Pascagoula, Miss., who lost his beachfront home and a 75-year-old widow, Giselle “Gigi” Brown, who lost her mobile home in Louisiana and is now living in a FEMA trailer in Mississippi.

Partnering with the Dallas Morning News, which won the Pulitzer Prize for photography for its coverage of Katrina, the site will feature a slide show of 20 of the newspaper’s best images. In addition, “The Daily Nightly“, the blog for “NBC Nightly News” will feature entries from New Orleans.

Video coverage will include the story of a group of poor and disabled residents who rode out the storm in a motel in Waveland, Miss. Among the survivors was a one-armed Vietnam veteran who seeks out hurricanes but ended up fighting for his life as the storm battered the motel inhabitants. In addition, the site will have all “NBC Nightly News,” “Today,” and “Dateline” segments available on-demand.

NBC MOBILE AND NBC RADIO

NBC Mobile will provide regular coverage of, and updates from, New Orleans and the Gulf Coast region throughout the one-year anniversary, with video blogs from Brian Williams and the NBC News correspondents reflecting on their past Hurricane Katrina experiences.

NBC News Radio will also have hourly updates from the NBC News team of correspondents reporting from the region.

National Public Radio

NPR recognizes the one-year anniversary of the devastating hurricane with “Katrina: Where The Money Went,” a themed multi-part series airing August 27-30 throughout the NPR News program schedule and examining the trail of personal, private and public money that has become intertwined with the natural disaster.

The series features a cross-section of NPR journalists reporting from Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, and coverage on all three NPR daily newsmagazines Morning Edition, Day to Day and All Things Considered; the daily news information program News & Notes and the daily talk show Talk of the Nation. The special series builds on NPR’s ongoing commitment to coverage of the hurricane and its aftermath, which has included establishment of a bureau in New Orleans.

“This catastrophe wrecked the lives of millions and exposed huge deficiencies in our national response system,” said Kevin Klose, President and Chief Executive Officer, NPR. “NPR will not leave this story nor these Americans – we will continue to report this difficult chronicle of failure, loss and hope.”

NPR coverage begins on the Sunday, August 27 All Things Considered with an overview of the Gulf Coast region one year later. Coverage the following days will pursue three angles:

• August 28 – how individuals’ and families’ financial security has been affected.
• August 29 – rebuilding and businesses in the region, plus the role of such industries as marine clean-up, trailers and casinos.
• August 30 – federal and municipal funding: what’s been spent and and what is needed?

NPR journalists contributing to the themed series include Robert Siegel, Melissa Block, Noah Adams, Steve Inskeep, John Ydstie, John Burnett, Wade Goodwyn, Pam Fessler, Julie Rovner, David Schaper, Joe Shapiro, David Greene, Howard Berkes, Daniel Zwerdling, Audie Cornish, Evie Stone, Mike Pesca, Molly Peterson, Cheryl Corley, Alex Cohen, Karen Grigsby Bates, and Joshua Levs. They are reporting from such areas as New Orleans; Gulfport, Bay St. Louis, Waveland and Hancock County, MS, and Houston, TX.

www.NPR.org will complement the broadcast coverage with extensive visual tools and graphics. Included are pre- and post-Katrina maps; a profile of New Orleans’ shifting demographics; slideshows narrated by NPR journalists who covered the story, and a video version of Morning Edition host Steve Inskeep’s upcoming August 11 “Day in the Life of New Orleans” report. The site will feature an interactive graphic of New Orleans’ Honeysuckle Lane, a residential street repeatedly visited by All Things Considered host Robert Siegel for a series of updates and town halls. NPR correspondent Noah Adams, who blogged on NPR.org during the storm and its aftermath, will return to the region and revive his blog.

Among the broadcast series’ elements are:

• Robert Siegel returns for the fifth time to Honeysuckle Lane, the New Orleans street he has followed since September 28, 2005 and where he hosted a town hall in April; this time, he updates listeners on the residents who remained and those who have returned.
• The talk show Talk of the Nation will produce two one-hour town halls, with an audience, focusing on post-Katrina race relations and the status of evacuees. Neal Conan hosts.

Other reports will examine whether smaller towns have been able to rebuild, the influx of evacuees on the finances of Houston and Baton Rouge and how the region’s three casinos were able to return to business so soon after the devastation. . . .

Added Aug. 25: Listeners of “Talk of the Nation” on Monday, August 28 will hear the candid stories of Katrina survivors who have yet to return home. Video profiles of two of these guests will also be available on www.NPR.org at 2:00 PM (ET) on that day thanks to a first-ever collaboration between NPR and the National Black Programming Consortium (NBPC).

Sharing their stories on video â?? what they experienced, what they left behind, where are they now and their plans for the future â?? will be “Talk of the Nation” guests and New Orleans natives Vincent Trotter and Sonya Salvant. Trotter, 30, was a jailer with the Orleans Parish Criminal Sheriffâ??s Office who oversaw the evacuation of hundreds of prisoners; he now lives in Houston. The 67-year-old Salvant evacuated to Houston with her 93-year-old father.

The “Talk of the Nation” page on the NPR website (www.npr.org/programs/totn) will feature the video features and will also have a link to NBPCâ??s “The Katrina Project,” a multi-media site with video profiles of more evacuees, features, reporting, films and interactive elements. It was launched in November 2005 and is updated on a regular basis. The anniversary update will include a “user generated content” area, where NPR listeners and others can post their own Katrina-related videos on the site.

“The National Black Programming Consortium is a critically acclaimed provider of content to television and online, and its Katrina Project is a creative, thoughtful and inspiring effort,” said Sue Goodwin, Executive Producer, “Talk of the Nation.” “Weâ??re thrilled to be teaming with them on this and we know our listeners will welcome the opportunity to see as well as hear these survivors.”

NBPCâ??s mission is to move African-American content forward in all mediums. A non-profit media arts organization founded in 1979 and funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, it commissions, acquires and funds film and video projects. The videos that appear on the Katrina page were produced for NBPC by Linda Goode Bryant, the award-winning director of “Flag Wars.”

TV One

TV One will air a mix of documentary and public affairs programming on the evenings of Sunday, August 27 and Tuesday, August 29 in recognition of the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.

On Sunday, August 27, TV One airs an evening of programming dedicated to the aftermath of Katrina, including:

5 PM â?? “Survivor Stories” – This half-hour documentary chronicles survivorsâ?? stories from Gulfport, MS to New Orleans and the rapid response of churches that came to the rescue by setting up shelters, collecting donations and providing other services. The film also portrays the critical role religious faith played in helping survivors cope with the disaster and its aftermath.

5:30 PM â?? “Hope and Recovery: After the Storm” is a half-hour documentary that examines the national recovery efforts and the impact of the tragedy on the citizens of New Orleans and the Gulf region through first-hand accounts, including an interview with New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin.

6 PM â?? “Americaâ??s Black Forum” offers insight and analysis on national issues from the African American perspective.

6:30 PM â?? “Sharp Talk with Al Sharpton” explores the federal response to Hurricane Katrina and how African Americans have reacted to it.

7 PM â?? “TV One Access” includes an interview with Spike Lee about his Hurricane Katrina documentary that is airing on HBO.

8 PM â?? “State of the Black Union” â?? The final episode of TV Oneâ??s four-part special on Tavis Smileyâ??s “State of the Black Union” event looks at â??Memorable Momentsâ?? from the day-long conference of black leaders, and includes policy discussions about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and testimony from Katrina victims.

9 PM â?? “TV One on One” with Cathy Hughes features an interview with Tavis Smiley, who talks about how Hurricane Katrina motivated him to pull together the New York Times best-selling â??Covenant with Black Americaâ?? book of essays designed to lay out for African Americans a social and economic blueprint for action.

10 PM — “New Orleans: My Home, My Life, My Love” â?? TV One premieres this documentary which chronicles a group of survivors and their attempt to flee a hurricane ravaged New Orleans and the aftermath in the wake of the Hurricane Katrina Gulf Coast disaster. This hour long special also airs on Tuesday August 29 at 10 PM.

On Tuesday, August 29, TV One airs a night of commemorative programming from 9 PM to midnight, including:

9 PM â?? “Song for New Orleans” â?? Andre Braugher narrates this one-hour documentary is a celebration of the cityâ??s musical legacy and its recovery. Produced in cooperation with Hearst-Argyle television by Boston-based Parallax Productions, Song for New Orleans tells the story of how Hurricane Katrina separated the Rebirth Brass Band â?? one of the cityâ??s most iconic musical groups â?? and the groupâ??s efforts to reunite, setting out on a mission to reestablish the cityâ??s musical traditions and legacy, which includes being the birthplace of jazz, one of Americaâ??s original art forms.

10 PM – “New Orleans: My Home, My Life, My Love” (see Sunday, Aug. 27 at 10 PM)

11 PM â?? “State of the Black Union” (see Sunday, Aug. 27 at 8 PM)

Midnight â?? “TV One on One with Cathy Hughes” â?? Tavis Smiley interview (Sunday, Aug. 27 at 9 PM)