Networks apply Katrina coverage lessons to Gustav

ST. PAUL, Minnesota (Hollywood Reporter) - In 2005, Brian Williams anchored "NBC Nightly News" from New Orleans and shone a light on the devastation left by Hurricane Katrina.

On Monday night, he was back in the Big Easy to report on Hurricane Gustav. But the news was not as grim since Gustav weakened before hitting land and rebuilt levees appeared to be holding surging floodwaters out of the city.

"It's sad. It's desolate," Williams said by telephone Monday from New Orleans. "But the good news behind it is that the evacuation worked."

Williams said it was a little dicey during the storm Monday morning but that he never really felt in danger, unlike in 2005, when he watched the roof peel off the Superdome. "There was no similar moment here," he said.

Fox News Channel anchor Shepard Smith, who drew praise for his coverage of Katrina, agreed that it was a different New Orleans and Gulf Coast that dealt with Hurricane Gustav. Wind-wise, Gustav was comparable to Katrina, he added.

"The crew had everything packed and ready to go because we didn't know how many minutes we had to escape the city" if the levees broke," Smith said.

"Just all around, you either get lucky or unlucky," he said. "I think unless your house was damaged, New Orleans was lucky (Monday)."

Smith praised the response to Gustav, saying that the National Guard and state authorities were ready and that the vast majority of residents left.

"The response to this storm is the polar opposite of the response to (Katrina)," Smith said. "They were ready, and people got out and it was impressive."

Williams and Smith were among the many networks stars who left the Republican National Convention coverage in St. Paul to travel to the hurricane zone. Williams said that because of the storm and the convention, it would likely be a "split-screen week." But he looked forward to returning to St. Paul and the convention.

Katrina hit with such force and devastation that the TV networks weren't prepared both to cover the story and to handle such issues as keeping crews safe, fed and housed, and bringing video from the region to New York.

"What we learned the last time (during Katrina), that's all front and center now," NBC News president Steve Capus said.

Late last week, the networks quietly began prepositioning satellite trucks, producers and technical staff as well as gathering such staples as fuel and food. Top talent -- including Williams, Smith, CBS' Katie Couric, ABC's Charles Gibson and CNN's Anderson Cooper -- arrived over the weekend.

The aftermath of Katrina was the first time in recent memory that armed security guards were needed during news coverage. Some network executives said they were deploying them this time, but declined to discuss plans in detail.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter