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

Title"We were all there": Remembering America in the anniversary coverage of Hurricane Katrina
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2009
AuthorsSue Robinson
JournalMemory Studies
Volume2
Issue2
Pagination235-253
ISSN1750-6980, 1750-6999
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.

URLhttp://mss.sagepub.com/content/2/2/235
DOI10.1177/1750698008102054
Short Title`We were all there'