Specials take new look at Katrina

Associated Press

NEW YORK

ABC’s Robin Roberts and Fox News Channel’s Shepard Smith, who anchor specials this weekend about the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina’s devastating Gulf Coast landfall, both had reasons to avoid the topic.

Mississippi native Roberts reported on the hurricane in 2005 while living through a harrowing few hours not knowing whether her mother and sister had survived. Smith was the point person for a network with many viewers who did not want to believe that government mismanagement had cost people their lives.

Fox News begins the television remembrances today at 10 p.m. with “Hurricane Katrina, Storm of a Lifetime.” ABC’s “Katrina: 10 Years After the Storm” airs Sunday at 10 p.m.

Fox’s show includes recollections from survivors and government officials, including former FEMA head Michael Brown and Andrew Card, chief of staff to President George W. Bush.

Smith said he believed that a decision was made early in the disaster not to save some people in need, although he did not accuse anyone specifically.

Here are some other television plans to mark the Katrina anniversary:

“Katrina 10 Years Later: Through Hell in High Water,” debuts at 8 p.m. Wednesday on BET, with news correspondent Jeff Johnson as host. The documentary focuses on New Orleans.

“Katrina: The Storm That Never Stopped,” airs at 9 p.m. Tuesday on CNN. Anderson Cooper returns to the Gulf Coast to revisit people who he reported on in the wake of the hurricane to see what has happened to them in the years since.

CBS News said it will report on the anniversary throughout its various broadcast and digital platforms, but didn’t offer specifics.

NBC News also plans no specials, but Lester Holt will anchor “Nightly News” from New Orleans next Friday, and Al Roker will report for the “Today” show.

The Weather Channel is looking ahead, not back, with a special, “Katrina 2065,” at 8 p.m. Thursday.