`We were all there': Remembering America in the anniversary coverage of Hurricane Katrina

Abstract

The study of Hurricane Katrina's anniversary coverage in a dozen national and local mainstream outlets and six books explored whether the journalism followed the `typical' commemoration patterns that press historians have described. Nationally, the press demonized New Orleans as an example of what the country needed to avoid — politically, economically, structurally, morally. Locally, the press did not set agendas, but rather focused on the importance of ritual in recreating a lost community. Instead of creating a mnemonic quagmire, these seemingly disparate narratives sought to restore faith in American redemption, collectively, at a time of national unrest. Such research exemplifies the tension between dominant institutions of the press, government and the Church, how authority is asserted, and the process by which all of this plays out in the news media, forming collective memory according to national ideals and local interests.