The Journalists of Hurricane Katrina

Although Katrina's devastation has passed, the storm left an indelible mark on the nation. Tying people's lives in knots, it superseded anyone's expectations. The storm slammed into the Louisiana and Mississippi coast lines and ravaged entire cities. It ate up huge chunks of history in New Orleans, bringing a significant city to its very knees. The nation saw the disaster and quickly responded, but some say the one's who should have acted upon this, hesitated to do so. The storm punished a people who lived in an already degrading city--killing thousands and leaving almost nothing behind.

But often we do not think of the people who bring these images to us. We tend to look down upon them as scavengers and hawks waiting for the injured to breathe its last breath. It is the media, a self-resilient group that has been bringing you information since almost the beginning of time. Some individuals risk their lives to watch over controversy and destruction, waiting for something to happen in order to make your life more pleasant. As sick as this might sound, it stands some truth. News began as random information being reported from taverns and bars. It quickly spread to newsletters and print, movable type and dailies. Today the world expects to hear what is going on, it cries on top of mountains begging for some sort of moment in time.

Katrina was no different. The news quickly scattered around the country before, during and after it had left its imprint on an already toiled nation. Already billions of dollars in debt due to the Iraqi War. Already experiencing a moderate decline in jobs and a slow economy, inflated gas prices, the storm simply worsened all of these societal norms we experience today. The men and women who bring you this information live the same lives you do. They have children, families, hobbies, reasons to get up every day, just as you.

Recently, Andrew Fone, an award-winning journalist and Fox News Channel New England Bureau Chief, spoke at Emerson College in Boston about his experiences covering Katrina and his two trips down to New Orleans.