TV Journalists Stay on Story, and Say It Will Stay With Them

The experience has also moved him to consider other areas of coverage that he says need to be addressed.

"I will be asking my network to lead a discussion on the issues of class, race, energy, the environment, disaster planning, Iraq -- all those things and more," Williams said. "This encompasses so many of the major issues of our time."

Nearly three weeks after Hurricane Katrina swept through the Gulf Coast, the television journalists who covered the devastation remain deeply preoccupied by the story. Their continuing focus on the aftermath and the government's response suggests that the recovery process will remain in the public eye for months. This week, all the major broadcast and cable news networks said they would maintain an increased presence in the region indefinitely, with some opening bureaus in New Orleans.

The story also appears to have had a more far-reaching impact on television news. Many correspondents who covered the destruction -- including veteran journalists who have reported on wars and natural disasters like last year's tsunami in Southeast Asia -- said they were greatly unsettled by the experience. Witnessing the rapid breakdown of relief efforts and security in an American city reshaped their approach to covering everything from hurricanes to homeland security, they said, and reminded them of the role the media play in holding the government accountable.

An unusual tone infused much of the television coverage in the storm's aftermath, as some correspondents emotionally described the ruin around them and aggressively challenged public officials' handling of the disaster.

"You're supposed to be the dispassionate observer when it comes to these events, but you couldn't help be provoked to outrage by what you saw," said John Roberts, chief White House correspondent for CBS, who spent nearly two weeks in the region. "There was just no plan to take care of these people whatsoever."

Roberts doesn't believe that the press corps has ever "let the administration run roughshod all over us," as some critics have suggested. But the disparity between what reporters saw on the ground and what officials were saying was "stunning," he said.