HARD WORK IN THE FACE OF PERSONAL TRAGEDY PAYS OFF

The Pulitzer Prizes were awarded today for excellence in journalism. Two Gulf Coast newspapers, the Times Picayune of New Orleans and the Sun Herald of the Biloxi/Gulfport, Mississippi area, received gold medals for public service. The T-P staff also won for breaking news reporting.

Just over two weeks ago, New Orleans CBS affiliate WWL-TV and the Mississippi Gulf Coast's ABC affiliate WLOX-TV of Biloxi/Gulfport/Pascagoula won George Foster Peabody awards for their outstanding efforts in covering Hurricane Katrina.

All these media outlets are well known in their respective areas for being on top of their games when it comes to tropical storm/hurricane coverage. They are all relied on to provide information to their communities in the face of difficult circumstances.

The Times-Picayune staff had to evacuate their plant in the midst of Katrina's wrath, and in the case of WLOX-TV, two of their local news bureaus were destroyed...and their news staff had to work out of the hallways when their newsroom's roof was blown off. It should not be forgotten that with all of these outlets, their staffs continued to work, even as their homes and belongings were damaged or destroyed, and their families had to flee.

A well deserving honour for all of them, although it is an honour that I'm sure they would easily forgo in exchange for things pre-Katrina. We continue to pray for the region's efforts toward recovery.