I've poked fun of Anderson Cooper in the past (mostly for his interviews with Angelina Jolie and Cher), but his on-the-fly report of the New Orleans protest marches today was as good as anything he did during Hurricane Katrina. From A.C.'s blog:
Mayor Ray Nagin tried to address the crowd and likely would have used the phrase he's used for the last six months, "Enough is enough." That's what he said in June when he asked for the National Guard to help patrol the streets, and that's what he said on Tuesday when he promised new anti-crime initiatives.
Today, however, the crowd didn't want to hear those words. They've heard them too many times already. March organizers refused to let the mayor speak. It was a very public slap in the face, a sign of just how deep the anger here has become.
On 360, Cooper had polite, intelligent, pointed interviews with both Nagin and Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco, and it was excellent: the informed interrogating the clueless.
Among the national TV journalists who covered Katrina, only two of them have kept doggedly on the story--Cooper and NBC's Brian Williams--and they deserve a lot of credit.
Also good is this report from The Times-Picayune's Brendan McCarthy:
For about an hour at Thursday’s extraordinary anti-crime rally, Mayor Ray Nagin stood awkwardly behind a stage on the steps of City Hall, waiting for his chance to talk, listening to speakers castigate him and call for his ouster.
One by one, a diverse and agitated series of orators shouted down the mayor, as well as Police Chief Warren Riley and District Attorney Eddie Jordan, with most of the vitriol directed at Nagin. Then came the moment of silence, with heads bowed, camera shutters snapping.
“Where the hell is Nagin?” one man screamed, piercing the prayerful moment with rage at the city’s leadership.
“What do you have to say Ray?” came a voice from a crowd of thousands.
“Impeach Nagin,” an angry female intoned. “Where’s Nagin?” the chorus continued.
Nagin stood patiently, already belittled by speakers who towered over him on the stage, here on his home turf of City Hall. In a rare moment, the mayor found himself without a voice....
Shortly later after being hushed by Reed, and undoubtedly humbled by the rally, Nagin was whisked away like an ambassador in a hostile land, in a huddle of bodyguards and hangers-on. As the throngs dissipated, he called his own news conference, addressing only the media, making cautious comments and taking no questions.
Nagin characterized himself as participating in the march “from beginning to end.”
Clueless. Clueless. Clueless.
(For more on the people of New Orleans trying to help themselves, check out Silence is Violence.)
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