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President George Bush traveled to Biloxi and New Orleans to inspect the slow progress of recovery from Hurricane Katrina--but failed to persuade any network to assign a reporter to cover the trip. CBS did not even mention it in passing. Instead Armen Keteyian publicized the lampooning of Homeland Security's porkbarrel by a bipartisan pair of Congressmen, Anthony Weiner (D-NY) and Jeff Flake (R-AZ). The list "puts the boon in boondoggle," Keteyian played along: bulletproof vests for dogs, clown and puppet safety shows, mushroom festival trailers and lawn mower drag races
Usually NBC takes the lead on the New Orleans beat. In 2006, for example, NBC outcovered its rivals on the Katrina aftermath (190 min v ABC 102, CBS 75). So it was unusual that ABC's Steve Osunsami (subscription required) filed the day's lone New Orleans feature. It was on the criminal state of the city's jails. Inmates have been held without trial for up to 18 months without access to lawyers, judge or jury. Arrest records have been washed away. Evidence is lost, The courts are not even accepting guilty pleas.
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