Concerning the lack of media coverage for N.O., I think if I were you I would be just as glad NOT to have so much coverage. So much of what we hear and read about is the crime, gangs, looting and shooting taking place during and following Katrina and even now. If that is the main story of interest for the media, then you can't blame most of the rest of the country for being tired of having tax money thrown away to help rebuild. Why bring back a city that is still too dangerous for people to visit?
I know that many decent hard-working people are residents. But you re-elected a mayor who had no idea of what to do, even when phone calls to him were made prior to the storm hitting. Katrina did not center on N.O., the breaking of leveys which your local government had been warned would not stand up to a hurricane of this force, caused the flooding. No one there wnated to take the responsibility of spending money to fix the problem and prevent a possible disaster. Now you want the rest of the world to feel that somehow we are supposed to forget about everything else going on and jump to fix all fo your problems. The rest of the Gulf Coast of MS. took the direct hit. Many of those areas are hardly ever mentioned and are slowly trying to rebuild. Many people from area churches have given time and money to come and do as much as possible to help. Money is still being sent to be used in the re-building of all of the destroyed towns, including the Alabama coast. Alabama towns also had and still have the same problems you have, except they are not as interesting to most of the TV audience as they are not filled with crime, just ordinary people trying to do the best they can with the things they have and being grateful for the many people who have given above and beyond what might be expected of anyone.

It's been 11 months and only some of the rebuilding work has started. The cost of infrastructure of a community is tremendous. Poor areas have no assets to rebuild. My heart goes out to all of you. Those of us in Houston area were very glad that when Rita followed Katrina, that it did not hit our area. Almost all areas of the the eastern half of Texas took people into our Communities from Katrina and sent trailer loads of good to needed areas, but when a huge area is devastated, then we need to figure out alternate solutions to get things working and to get help to the needed areas.
What many of you have forgotten is what one of the Three Great Lies are: "Hi, I'm from the Government and I'm here to help you."
Let's get some of large Charitable Foundations to help out. Someone needs to ask Bill Gates to look again at where he needs to spend some of "His" Foundations money and help Americans first.

I am shocked that someone would even mention to the people on the Gulf to even think about moving somewhere else. Those places are their homes and they have roots there, no matter how bad their lives have been shattered and torn. Some of the most heart wrenching and warming stories have come out of these areas after Katrina (and they are still coming) and Rita. The people who left town and have not come back for one reason or another are the ones that keep yelling we want more help. Prime example there was a story in the news paper in Bham about a family that moved here after Katrina from N.O. 10 months later FEMA is telling them that they are no longer paying for their $1500 a month apartment that they need to find other means to pay for it, this family has had time to #1. Get jobs #2. Find a cheaper place to live. They are crying and whining because they do not have jobs or the money to pay for their apartment and they do not know where they are going and they had the nerve to say that they thought the people of Bham were kinder and would open their homes to them. The ones that stayed or came back after the storm DESERVE the help and I hope and pray that the things that my family and co-workers sent down were actually received by the ones that REALLY need it.

to lanie
it is painfully obvious that not only do you lack compassion but you have never endured tragedy;if so,you are so cold it merely means nothing. we are not sitting around waiting on anyone to bail me out nor countless others. may you continue to live in neverneverland.

11 months, shoot it's fixing to be a year. That sapsucker tore things up! Maybe in another year things will be even more normal. Or at least I hope for it to be better.

FYI...on Monday, Aug. 21st, Home and Garden Television (HGTV) is starting a series about rebuilding after Katrina, one year later. Just saw it advertised...9pm, I think...Interesting to see how they will report it....hopefully they won't forget Mississippi, as if the entire hurricane hit NO and no place else.....

Every time, I read these messages, I think: "If the tables were turned....and..." need I say more? Those of you who continously think the hurricane is gone and forgotten, better, WAKE UP and rethink the thought...Focus now and THINK before you speak...If you were caught in a "Katrina's" path and lost everything but a suitcase of clothes; wouldn't you be more interested in seeing TV news programs talking on the rebuilding efforts, and how YOUR community is progressing, instead of having the TV news programs focusing on war torn countries who despise Americans! HELLO! DUH! WAKE UP!! SMELL THE COFFEE! DING DONG! Gee, whiz people, this is not middle school here!!! Never in recorded history has a hurricane of this magnitude ever destroyed a stretch of population as this KATRINA, and some of you think the million or so people that it has affected should "shut up, forget about it and move on"! Wow, amazing Brotherhood! I am a KATRINA victim that use to live in Waveland (yeap, the hardest hit, no doubt about it...take a field trip down there and see for yourself~ you may grow a heart after all!) I moved on with my life, never asked for a Fema trailor, instead, moved into a rental home, found a job, and had my sixth child. I miss the gulf coast and the small community of GREAT people! I hope the news (all networks) report on the updates of the gulf coast every day just as the war is being reported on! Over a million viewers will watch! Are you one?

I recently returned from Waveland after a couple weeks helping with the recovery effort. When I arrived I was shocked and heartbroken to see how little the area had changed in almost a year. And the conditions that most are living in is unbelievable for the USA. People don't have water, electricity, babies don't have diapers, etc. etc. I would like to see MSNBC and all media, especially with the anniversary coming, put out a call to all Americans to stand up and help your fellow countrymen. In talking to people since coming home I've discovered that most Americans aren't aware of how dire the situation still is there. And believe me seeing it on TV is nothing like actually walking the area and talking with the people there. You have something to say about those folks, or that area??? Get you but down there and stand beside them. And all the time I spent with those folks I never once heard a complaint. Nor did I see a hand out expecting anything. They are proud Americans rebuilding their lives, hearts, homes, and families and they have an intense gratitude for those that come and stand beside them. I was most often the one in tears over their situations and they were comforting me and blessing my heart. They have a true American grit which I don't see much of anymore in America's big cities. Do you have water in your kitchen?? Flip a switch and have light?? Open your frig for food??? Share your blessings.
Spend some time with the folks in Waveland. Your heart will be changed forever. Mine is. Can't wait to go back and hammer more nails, lay down more shingles, and give (and get) more hugs. Kathy Sluznis

I have only lived here for 5 months now, and I have seen how much destruction there really is here. I am not sure where the 500 million went, but do people think it is cheap to clean up such destruction? If you have not been here to see just what is going on and how much destruction there really is you can't fully understand how much it has cost or how much more is needed here. It is a shame that people did take advantage of the debit cards, but that was not everyone here, Most of the people here are fighting to rebuild in their life long homes. It has taken many people to use their own money , not government aid to rebuild. There is more going on here than they can ever show on the news, you have to see it to believe it!

To Lisa Breaux, All Other Storm Survivors, and Everyone Else Who Cares About Gulf Coast Recovery and Wants More News Coverage:

Here's how to let TV news programs know we want to hear more about rebuilding efforts on the Gulf Coast--not "people in war-torn countries who despise Americans."

NBC Nightly has a blog, dailynightly.msnbc.com. I'm using this as an example because I watch NBC Nightly every night and often post on dailynightly--but I imagine many other news programs have similar blogs or other opportunities for viewers to provide feedback.

After your favorite newscast doesn't cover the Gulf Coast, post a comment to complain about the lack of news coverage and ask the newscast to air Gulf Coast coverage.

Also, provide positive feedback after each newscast when Gulf Coast news is covered. And compliment them on the quality of their reporting. And, if you're a Katrina (or Rita or Charlie or any other storm) survivor, or someone who has helped out in the storm zone, add something from your own experience or about what you're currently going through.

Your comments may not always be posted--sometimes mine aren't--but I'm sure someone at the network is reading them (which they'd have to do to be able to decide what to post and what not to)--and hopefully getting the message. So don't let their not being posted faze you, and DON'T GIVE UP. I haven't--I keep trying.

Oh, and Lisa--I'm so happy you've been able to move on with your life--which you richly deserve after all you've been through. You're not a victim--you're a SURVIVOR. I wish all other storm survivors could be so fortunate. And because you miss the Gulf Coast, I hope you're eventually able to return to a rebuilt Waveland.

Pat in Alabama--I too had noticed recently that much New Orleans coverage on TV has been about crime, etc. and am also worried about such negative publicity's effect on Americans' desire to nurse her back to health. I figure the media's interest in crime is because it gets ratings.

The media should tone down the New Orleans crime coverage and instead focus on positive recovery news that would cast her in a good light. New Orleans needs favorable coverage that plays up what's valuable about her and her people and show Americans why they should help keep a strong, healthy New Orleans alive. Because she has decent, hard-working people who simply want to rebuild their homes and bring New Orleans back.

I do not mean outright devastation or hardships in New Orleans should be sugar-coated, glossed over, or not mentioned at all. Because then other Americans would think, Why help New Orleans? She looks as normal as Peoria, Illinois. News depicting hardships and destruction shows why New Orleans still needs a great deal of help. The media should report the hardships while emphasizing the efforts New Orleanians are making to overcome them and make their beloved city whole.

Here's an outrage which has gotten my hackles up: Yesterday President Bush announced a $230 MILLION donation in humanitarian aid to LEBANON. This at the worst time--when it's nearly a year after Katrina, and New Orleans, Mississippi, Alabama, and the rest of the storm zone can use the aid.

And it made me physically ill recently to see NBC Nightly report on Lebanese evacuees returning to homes without water and electricity. Because in parts of NEW ORLEANS water and electricity are non-existent, and even in undamaged areas they're unreliable. Her fire department and health system are badly depleted, day care is hard to find, and she hasn't enough schools even for a much lower school-age population. Her streets are full of potholes. Most any one of these ALONE can imperil New Orleans' recovery--and NBC Nightly has aired NOTHING on these war zone-like conditions. It makes my blood boil to think of someone in a comfy chair at NBC caring very much about hardships in LEBANON, but not caring a whit about what fellow Americans in LOUISIANA must endure.

So is it any wonder that Bush thought it would be O.K. to give $230 million away to Lebanon? He must have noticed the lack of reporting from the Gulf Coast and assumed that rebuilding was coming alone just fine. So it didn't even cross his mind that people and communities there might still need help. After all, no news is good news...

(If I wanted to be facetious, I'd suggest that Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi secede from the Union and each apply for foreign aid as a separate country--then maybe they'd get multi-million handouts like Lebanon did.)

I respectfully beg to differ with "Now you want the rest of the world to feel that somehow we are supposed to forget about everything else going on and jump to fix all of your problems."

I do not expect you to "forget about everything else going on."

But I would feel much better if, as you pay attention to "everything else going on," you DO NOT FORGET NEW ORLEANS. That's all I ask.

And NBC Nightly and the rest of the media, with few exceptions such as Sunday night's compelling report on battered women in New Orleans, seem to have forgotten not only New Orleans but Alabama, Mississippi, and the rest of the Gulf Coast. This is why we must work to refocus their attention on the hardships and the rebuilding effort there. It is a disgrace that NBC Nightly has not started airing regular Katrina anniversary coverage.

It is good to read that people on Alabama's Gulf Coast are working together to rebuild their destroyed towns with the aid of church groups. That sounds a lot like what's going on in Mississippi. which, while there are hardships to be overcome and a lot of hard work still to be done, has me impressed. However, I'm worried about Louisiana.