In December 2005, a contingent of Poynter faculty and staff members, along with representatives from the Dart Center for Journalism & Trauma, traveled to the Gulf Coast region to work with journalists who were dealing with the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
In anticipation of the three-day concurrent seminars in Biloxi, Miss., and New Orleans, Poynter faculty members asked each participant to write a short essay about his or her experiences in the days that followed the storm.
Those essays, published here for the first time (with the permission of the journalists who wrote them) will continue to appear on Poynter.org throughout our weeklong remembrance of the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.
Some of the participants agreed to go one step further and provide us with an update of their experiences, which you will find after some of the essays.
Below is a compilation of the essays, which we will update throughout the week.
- “Pictures Find New Purpose,” essay & epilogue by Matt Stamey, staff photographer, The Houma (La.) Courier
- “From Seeking to Rescuing,” essay by Arthur Lauck, staff photographer, The Advocate (Baton Rouge, La.)
- “Home Away from Home,” essay & epilogue by Ronnie Crocker, day city editor, Houston Chronicle
- “Comeback Kid,” essay by Ron Franscell, managing editor/features, sports & presentation, Beaumont (Texas) Enterprise
- “Unforgettable Source,” essay by Dee Dixon, reporter, Beaumont Enterprise
- “Our Lives, Ours to Cover,” essay by Ted Jackson, staff photographer, The Times-Picayune
- “Bright Spots, Communication Lapses,” essay by Jessica Willey, reporter, KTRK-TV (Houston)
- “A Time When Less Is More,” essay by Vicki Zimmerman, news director, WAFB-TV (Baton Rouge, La.)
