Gulf Coast News Teams Prepare for Rita

Only three weeks after Hurricane Katrina pummeled the Gulf Coast and became one of the biggest stories in recent memory, TV news braced itself and got ready for another huge hurricane taking aim at another part of the region.

On Wednesday, the East Coast-based news divisions of cable and broadcast networks assembled plans to cover Hurricane Rita, which is likely to hit Texas late Friday or early Saturday. Most of the networks aren't moving people from around New Orleans, because of the magnitude of that story. Networks are sending correspondents and crews from such other domestic bureaus as Chicago, Denver, San Francisco and from as far away as London, executives said.

"We're keeping the same level of folks in New Orleans to tell the ongoing recovery and the rebuilding and all the things that have been dominating the screen for the last 3 1/2 weeks," said John Stack, senior vp newsgathering at Fox News Channel.

As of late Wednesday, that meant the networks placing crews in a 120-mile swath between Houston and Corpus Christi, Texas. No one knows where it's going to hit, but all want to be ready.

"This is why hurricanes are always very difficult to prepare for," NBC News vp newsgathering David Verdi said.

"We are early enough to get the people in the area that we need to get," ABC News senior vp newsgathering Paul Slavin said. And it's more than just people, he said. There are trucks, supplies and provisions for health and safety—the latter being among the lessons of Hurricane Katrina.

One important supply: Satellite and videophones that are crucial in a place that may not, for hours or days, have adequate and effective communications, CBS News senior vp Marcy McGinnis said.

CBS News was planning to send Harry Smith and John Roberts, both veterans of Katrina, to the region as well as others. ABC was sending Bob Woodruff with others to follow. NBC anchor Brian Williams rode out the storm and then spent a week doing some of the most affecting coverage of the aftermath. It wasn't clear late Wednesday whether he was going to go to the region.

"We're taking it very seriously," CNN senior vp newsgathering Jack Womack said. He said that planning for a Category 2 hurricane is different from a Category 4 or 5; Rita became a Category 5 hurricane late Wednesday.

It's also likely to come close to busting the budgets of a number of news divisions, though not necessarily the logistical aspects.

"It's a challenge for the (news) budget this late in the budget year," ABC's Slavin said. He said it's so important in quieter times of the year to be "intelligent and parsimonious" with the budget so that when a big story comes, they're able to cover it. CBS' McGinnis agrees.

"These are the reasons why you save money during the year and make smart decisions," she said.

It's been tough for all the news divisions, which have had to pay for extensive coverage of the tsunami in late December, the illness and death of Pope John Paul II as well as a continuing commitment to cover Hurricane Katrina's aftermath and now Hurricane Rita.

"We can still handle it," said one exec. "Barely, but we'll be able to handle it."

McGinnis said: "This has been one of the toughest years for breaking news that we've ever had. But the fact is that we have to cover it."

"There's been an enormous commitment of resources," CNN's Womack said. "You're right, it's a lot of money. But (cover the news is) what we do."

NBC's Verdi said he has gotten calls from people wanting to report on Rita. "When a story of this magnitude happens, everyone's adrenaline starts flowing," Verdi said. "I have people calling me that were in Katrina. They were there for a week or two afterward. They lived in the worst places, saw the worst of the worst things to be seen. We gave them a couple of days off thinking they could rest. Now they want to go."