New Orleans, Biloxi Papers Mark Katrina Tragedy

By: Joe Strupp Two years after Hurricane Katrina, the two daily papers credited with covering the tragic event best and under the most difficult conditions commemorated the anniversary by honoring its survivors with Page One tributes.

The Times-Picayune of New Orleans and The Sun Herald of Biloxi, Miss., which shared a Pulitzer Prize last year for their hurricane reports, each turned over most of their front pages to the local victims and residents, reminding readers that they are the ones most impacted.

"We've written a lot about all of the problems, the slowness of recovery, the dysfunction of government," Times-Picayune Editor Jim Amoss told E&P. "But the real bright spots are what New Orleaneans have done to help themselves and what people from around the country have done as volunteers. I think this page reflects that."

The Times-Picayune's front page included a mix of comments from residents and hurricane evacuees about their experiences during and after the deadly storm, ranging from a woman whose baby was born the next day to a man who said he was given shoes at a church by someone who took them off his own feet after hearing of the need for clothes. "I still have them and would love to return them with thanks if I ever find him," the man, now in Orlando, Fla., wrote.

The Times-Picayune headline above the quotes, a simple "THANK YOU."

The New Orleans daily also teased to an inside editorial directed at President George Bush, who is visiting New Orleans to commemorate the hurricane anniversary. Titled, "Treat us fairly, Mr. President," the editorial urges Bush to provide proper government aid to the region.

"Nobody wants to have to compete for disaster relief. But that is what Louisianians have had to do in the two years since Hurricane Katrina struck," the editorial said, in part. "Despite massive destruction caused by the failure of the federal government's levees during Katrina, despite the torment caused by FEMA's slow response to the disaster, despite being hit by a second powerful hurricane less than a month later, Louisiana has had to plead to be treated fairly by our leaders in Washington."

Amoss said about 90% of the paper's news space on Wednesday is devoted to Katrina-related stories. "It is so much on everybody's mind," he said. "It permeates just about every section."

At the Sun Herald, Page One offered a similar tribute to local residents with a collage of photos of residents in different activities since the hurricane. In the center, a front page column by Editor Stan Tiner. The headline: "Who are these people?"

In his column, Tiner sought to answer that question, calling them his heroes.

"I have seen them in the crucible of their great loss, pain and suffering and I can bear witness to their dignity, strength and resolve," Tiner wrote. "They are the heirs of Camille, and the survivors of Katrina, so the straightness of their spines comes from the legacy of standing up again and again from all the mean seasons of time on these shores."