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KATRINA CALENDAR: Tom Joyner, ‘Dr. Phil,’ TV/cable networks plan comprehensive coverage of Tuesday’s one-year anniversary.
*The following are a sampling of specials held in commemoration of tomorrow’s one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, which took more than 1,300 lives throughout the Gulf Coast and left New Orleans 80 percent underwater following a breach of the levees.
*Through his Web site BlackAmericaWeb.com (http://blackamericaweb.com), syndicated radio veteran Tom Joyner is launching a five-part series that explores various aspects of life in New Orleans now and examines what the future will hold. The site features articles, a photo gallery and downloadable audio from the families trying to recover. In addition, Joyner will donate $100,000 each to Xavier University, Dillard University and Southern University at New Orleans, three of the black colleges most heavily affected by Katrina. The BlackAmericaWeb.com Relief Fund, which distributed nearly $3 million in assistance last year, will distribute another $50,000 to 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 live in front of the Harrah's Casino on Canal Street.
*Today, NBC will air the hour-long special “Katrina: The Long Road Back.” It includes “In His Own Words, Brian Williams on Hurricane Katrina,” an expanded version of the NBC anchorman’s film that originally aired on Sundance Channel. Williams will anchor “NBC Nightly News” from the region today and Tuesday.
*ABC News’ “Katrina: Where Things Stand” represents what the network is calling a division-wide series including a “report card” on local, state and federal recovery efforts and a poll on national and regional confidence in the capability of government. “Good Morning America,” “World News with Charles Gibson” and “Nightline” will air from the Gulf Coast today, with anchors and correspondents returning to see people and areas hit by the hurricane’s power.
*“CBS Evening News with Bob Schieffer” will offer Katrina reports, while “The Early Show” will be anchored from New Orleans today and Tuesday by Harry Smith, who has visited the region repeatedly.
*Fox News Channel is putting all of its Katrina coverage under the headline “America’s Challenge: Rebuilding the Gulf,” which will include live reports from New Orleans by anchor Shepard Smith.
*CNN, a Peabody winner for its Katrina coverage, is sending anchors and correspondents to the region today for “Anderson Cooper 360” and “American Morning” with Soledad O’Brien and Miles O’Brien. On Tuesday, “Larry King Live” will feature Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., and musician Aaron Neville.
*Life strategist Dr. Phil McGraw will launch the fifth season of his daytime talk show with a special two-part “Dr. Phil,” to be broadcast today (Aug.28) and tomorrow. Among Dr. Phil's guests are new director of FEMA, R. David Paulison, who agreed to meet with the TV star at a FEMA trailer camp in St. Bernard's Parish. For the first time, some of the disenfranchised citizenry of New Orleans who have lost everything but who still need help to rebuild their lives, get the chance to come face-to-face with FEMA, and express their concerns to the director himself. Current Police Superintendent Warren Riley meets Dr. Phil in the Lower Ninth Ward where the levees were breached, and former Police Chief Eddie Compass refutes the story of his resignation as he talks publicly about being fired in an e-mail by the Mayor of New Orleans, Ray Nagin. Dr. Phil takes a tour of the mayor's own neighborhood with Nagin, then asks the mayor to explain what really happened between himself and Compass, a friend since they attended first grade together. Also included in the show will be footage from an Aug. 10 concert that Dr. Phil organized to benefit the New Orleans first responders -- police, fire department and EMS -- which was held on August 10.
*Filmmaker Spike Lee’s four-hour HBO documentary, “When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts,” is airing in its entirety on Tuesday, Aug. 29. The film focuses on New Orleans and what Lee condemns as the lack of a comprehensive rebuilding plan.
*The History Channel will look at National Guard heroism in the hurricane’s aftermath with “Katrina: Send in the Guard,” debuting Tuesday at 8 p.m.
*The documentary film “Hurricane on the Bayou,” narrated by Academy Award winner Meryl Streep, premieres in New Orleans tomorrow; Los Angeles on Sept. 8 and IMAX Theaters worldwide on Dec. 22. The MacGillivray Freeman Films project was shot in the city before and after the devastating storm. The film brings into focus the startling loss of Louisiana's rapidly disappearing coastal wetlands – New Orleans' first line of defense against deadly storms. The film stars legendary New Orleans music producer/songwriter Allen Toussaint, blues singer/guitarist and long-time wetlands activist Tab Benoit; 14-year-old fiddling prodigy Amanda Shaw; and zydeco accordion master Chubby Carrier. Also appearing in the film is Marva Wright, New Orleans' "Queen of Gospel." Through their eyes the tragedy the city faced during Katrina and its burning hopes for a revitalized future unfold. For more information, visit www.hurricaneonthebayou.com or www.macfreefilms.com.
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