Gunfire Greets Abc Crew

An ABC News crew was turned back by gunfire Thursday as they tried to reach a New Orleans hospital for a story on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. No one was wounded, but it sent concern through the networks who already are hypersensitive about security along the Gulf Coast.

Correspondent Bob Woodruff and crew had tried to reach Charity Hospital to do a story about increasingly desperate conditions there when the incident occurred. But ABC News executives made it clear Thursday night that it wasn't sure whether the gunfire, possibly fired by a hidden sniper, was aimed at its crew. There were National Guard troops nearby on the way to Charity Hospital; police and the military have been targets of gunfire in New Orleans.

But whether they were a target or not, it was further proof that New Orleans and other storm-ravaged parts of the Gulf Coast weren't safe for journalists, either. NBC News said Wednesday that it had hired armed security to accompany crews (HR 9/1); most networks confirmed Thursday that it had done the same. ABC, for instance, had made the decision at a Thursday morning meeting before the Charity Hospital incident.

"There's clearly a lot more violence in this place and we're now sending some security," ABC News senior vp Paul Slavin said.

CBS News and CNN also sent security; Fox News said it had taken measures to protect its crews.

"We have luckily not had problems but we do have some guards," CBS News senior vp Marcy McGinnis said. She added that the network has used security in Somalia, Haiti and Iraq, but it was the first time that it had been needed in the U.S.

Security remained the most pressing issue, said Jack Womack, who is in charge of newsgathering at Atlanta-based CNN.

"We're really evaluating locations and operations hour by hour where our people are," Womack said. He added that Turner Broadcasting, CNN's corporate sibling, had provided security since early this week.

Slavin said that it hasn't gotten so bad that ABC wasn't going to stay.

"We're there, we're going to stay there. We know how to handle this," Slavin said Thursday. "I don't think the situation is going to get bad enough for us not to handle it."

With four days of intense coverage of Hurricane Katrina already under their belt, the networks say there's no end in sight, and they're not thinking about the cost to cover it, either.

"We are committed to tell the story," said John Stack, vp newsgathering at Fox News Channel. "This is what we do for a living."

The broadcast and cable networks have done a full-court press ever since the storm took aim at the Gulf Coast last weekend. But they've had to wend their way through an ever-increasing number of obstacles, from spotty communications to a lack of food and water to concerns that have led networks to send security personnel to protect news crews.

News executives wouldn't discuss specifics about costs, but they acknowledge it's going to be a big hit to the networks' special-events and breaking-news coverage budgets.

"This story is going to be hugely expensive," Slavin said.

News executives said their concern is to cover the story and not worry about the cost right now. They said that being smart about expenses elsewhere in the year has made this easier.

"The challenge is to be shrewd and smart with your expenditures in the normal part of the year so you have resources for the big event," Fox News' Stack said.

This week's coverage has shown every sign of being a once-in-a-lifetime story for the news industry as a crisis of almost unimaginable proportions grips the region.

On Thursday, the networks reported that they were finally starting to get a handle on many of the logistical issues that have plagued them in the field all week. Food and water were getting to the crews, as well as supplies. Places to sleep were at a premium; some slept outside, when they could sleep. But many news crews remained out of touch with headquarters with only spotty communications. CNN's Anderson Cooper, for instance, told The Hollywood Reporter on Thursday morning from the Gulf Coast region that he only had a few minutes before the show to discuss with the producers in New York what he would have on "Anderson Cooper 360." And then there's a few minutes after the show to discuss what would happen the next day, but he's out of touch most of the rest of the day, Cooper said.