NEW YORK (AP) – 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.
“The stories that are told 10 years later of what happened to people are very worthwhile,” Smith said. “It’s just very hard.”
Fox News begins the television remembrances Friday at 10 p.m. EDT with “Hurricane Katrina, Storm of a Lifetime.” ABC’s “Katrina: 10 Years After the Storm” airs Sunday at 10 p.m.
Fox’s chief news anchor was among many reporters who didn’t hide his anger at a widespread failure to get help to survivors quickly after the storm, for which the Bush administration was widely criticized. Smith said he received thousands of emails from annoyed Fox viewers and expects to get more with the story being revisited.