Behind The Lens episode 264 Part I: ‘Our Katrina narrative’

The Lens spent January talking to Lower 9th Ward residents to tell their stories, narratives a Super Bowl committee wanted to control.
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This week on Behind The Lens, with the Super Bowl approaching, when the eyes of the world would once again be on New Orleans, Governor Jeff Landry tasked a committee, dubbed “The Super Gras Subcommittee” with beautifying and prepping the city for the massive attention it would be receiving.

The subcommittee focused on the major tourist areas, but also did a drive through of the Lower 9th Ward, the area hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Though the majority-Black neighborhood has come a long way since then, it is, in many ways, the poster child of the inequitable recovery that followed Katrina. At the meeting last summer, one slide of a presentation said the visit to the Lower 9th was to “anticipate any features of the neighborhood which could be used by media to substantiate Katrina narrative.”

At The Lens, our entire team spent the better part of a month reporting on The Katrina Narrative.

Guests this week include Lens reporters Nick Chrastil, Delaney Dryfoos, La’Shance Perry, Mizani Ball, Marta Jewson, and managing editor Katy Reckdahl.

Theme music by Podington Bear. Additional music Beachhead by Podington Bear soundofpicture.com. 

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Carolyne Heldman

Carolyne Heldman Rovira has been in media for 35 years, and is currently the podcast host and producer for Behind The Lens. Heldman served as executive director at Aspen Public Radio, an NPR affiliate, where she launched four weekly news, public affairs, and cultural affairs programs. She has been a guest lecturer at Tulane University, is a frequent guest and moderator for the Aspen Institute, Rocky Mountain Institute, and the American Enterprise Institute.