CNN: Coverage of Hurricane Katrina

Whether tracking the path of Hurricane Katrina, reporting its devastating effects, exploring controversies that developed in the course of rescue and recovery, or presenting in-depth documentary explorations of events and issues, CNN provided important news and information to viewers. After its reports on the first effects of Katrina’s terrifying landfall, CNN broke news of a New Orleans levee breech at 2:27 a.m. on August 30, 2005, and confirmed the story at 3:02 a.m. This first notification was followed with more than two hours of updates examining the massive break in the 17th Street Canal. Anderson Cooper confronted officials with powerful questions regarding failures in government efforts to respond to the storm. Jeanne Meserve reported some of the most devastating accounts of victims’ experiences by phone when pictures were unavailable. CNN correspondents continued to report not only from New Orleans, but from Slidell, Louisiana, and Biloxi, Mississippi, as well. In addition to immediate reporting on the hurricane and the flooding of New Orleans, documentary explorations in the CNN Presents series examined other aspects of the storm. Sanjay Gupta, Drew Griffin, Elizabeth Cohen, and Beth Nissen chronicled the experiences of volunteers and professionals who assisted throughout the region. Paula Zahn anchored Children of the Storms, exploring the effects of the hurricane on children who moved to new cities and schools as well as those who remained in devastated coastal areas. Sid Bedingfield, executive producer of CNN Presents, supervised a team of producers, including Mary Ade, Robert Howell, Mike Mocklar, Heather O’Neill, Jennifer Pifer, Alfredo Delara, Emmanuel Tambakakis, Mike Chedwick, Dave Harrod, April Hock, Dave Timko, Karen Nolan Lawson, and Meg Pearlstein to create these in-depth reports, reminding us that the story of Katrina continues. For demonstrating the capabilities of a massive organization devoted to round-the-clock presentation and exploration of significant events, CNN receives a Peabody.