It's been two years since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita hit the Gulf Coast.
Two years since the levees broke and changed the face of an entire city, state and region.
And despite hopeful signs of renewal, New Orleans and many parts of the Gulf Coast are still in disrepair. So how much has really changed? How much has stayed the same?
On this special one-hour edition, we'll meet day laborers, grassroots organizers, hear musicians, and we'll visit the lower 9th ward - the area most devastated by the floodwaters.
Featuring:
"Music Montage" - New Orleans voices gathered by producer George Ingmire and sound editor, Matt Fidler, composed music and put together piece
"Remembering New Orleans News Flash" - various news voices reporting on Hurricane Katrina
"Lower Ninth Ward" - Diamonds Eugene, Lower Ninth ward resident, takes us to his home six months after the flood
"Common Ground Collective" - Floyd Brooks, Ninth Ward homeowner; Malik Rahim, co-founder Common Ground; Gabriel Cohen, Common Ground volunteer
"Sit down with Malik Rahim" - producer George Ingmire talks with Common Ground's co-founder about New Orleans today
"Youth Radio's Angelica Robinson" - Angelica Robinson, narrator and lower ninth resident; Robert, Christopher, Raymond Robertson, brothers; Robert Sr. and Angelique, dad and mom
"Re-imagining the Shotgun" - Timothy Holmes, new homeowner; Emilie Taylor, design-build project leader; Charles Lucia, Tulane University architecture student; Lauren Anderson, neighborhood housing services
"Immigrant and Migrant Laborers" - Israel Lopez, Senor Jose Castillo, Manuel, Lorenzo Alvarado Duran, immigrant labor workers; Marco Amador, National Day Laborer Organizing Network member and New Orleans Worker Center for Racial Justice field worker
"Mexican Consulate" - Arturo Balderas and Mirella Rangea, consulate workers; Professor Elizabeth Fussell, Tulane University sociologist
"New Orleans Musicians" - Joe Cabral, Iguanas co-founder; Keith Frasier, Rebirth Brass Band drummer; Lt. Governor Mitch Landrieu; Terence Blanchard, Trumpeter and New Orleans native
Senior Producer/Host: Tena Rubio, Open Society Institute Fellow
Associate Producer: Puck Lo
Contributing Freelancers: George Ingmire, Matt Fidler, Justin Beck, Youth Radio's Angelica Robinson, Eve Troeh, Reese Erlich, Sarah Olson
Sound Editor: Matt Fidler
Interns: Samson Reiny and Joaquin Palomino
Special thanks to all of those who made this show possible -- especially to Steve Masar, Phillip Babich and Mike Lamar.
Basic Rundown:
00:00-00:59-Segment 1
001:00-6:00-Segment 2 (5-minute optional music/sound interlude)
06:00-20:05-Segment 3
20:05-21:05-Segment 4 (1st break)
21:05-37:35-Segment 5
37:35-38:35-Segment 6 (2nd break)
Please call us if you carry us - 510-251-1332 x101 and we will list your station on our website. If you excerpt, please credit early and often.
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David Swatling
Posted on August 22, 2007 at 09:24 PM | Permalink
Review of 2 Years After Katrina: Still Weathering the Storm
Every radio station in the US should make use of this Katrina special - tailered to your needs with one-hour & half-hour versions, or individual segments. I listened to the full hour which flew by even though I'd heard some of the material in a program last year. But it's all been refreshed and updated.
It begins with a rich montage of voices and music, followed by a recap of original news coverage which ends with a voice filled with so much emotion I found tears filling my eyes - and this at only 8 minutes into the program. A powerful introduction!
The stories which follow are all excellently produced testaments to individual grit and determination in the face adversity and frustration: the passionate organizer of Common Ground, abused immigrant construction workers, a 15 year old girl who weathered the storm with her family.
What's extraordinary is how often the word "hope" is still spoken - despite the appalling failings of the Bush administration. It's unfathomable that one of America's great treasures has been left to fend for itself while billions are spent waging war in Iraq. I'm not a particularly religeous person but I say, God bless New Orleans and God bless the National Radio Project for this inspiring reminder of the city's indomitable spirit and will to rise again.