Hurricane Harvey

Tegna CBS affiliate KHOU Houston (DMA 7) has solved its headquarters problem caused by Hurricane Harvey, signing a lease for 43,000 square feet of space at 5718 Westheimer in Houston. KHOU will occupy three floors that will include two studios, two control rooms, an open collaboration space for all content producing departments, technical operations, sales and […]

Amazing. Unbelievable. Engaging. The live images we saw from the local stations and cable networks covering the Hurricane Harvey aftermath were almost overwhelming. Technology has pushed live reporting to a new level. We have truly entered a new era of live disaster and breaking coverage. But this also brings along challenges.

The major broadcast networks, with a little help from a big bunch of A-listers, are banding together to raise funds for the Hurricane Harvey relief effort. Houston native Beyonce, as well as George Clooney, Oprah Winfrey, Barbra Streisand, Julia Roberts and Reese Witherspoon are among the boldfaced names scheduled to appear on the Sept. 12 special, which will be based in Los Angeles with cutaways to New York and Nashville.

Twelve years ago, headlines across the United States told of chaos and anarchy that supposedly was sweeping New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina’s devastating landfall. The horror and mayhem that news organizations so widely reported 12 years ago proved highly exaggerated. It is useful now to recall the erroneous and exaggerated coverage of Katrina’s aftermath because the destructive sweep of Hurricane Harvey in Southeast Texas at the end of last month gave rise to little such egregious misreporting and produced few if any examples of the media having “rioted” in their storm coverage. For news organizations, Harvey was no Katrina.

TV stations all across the country, either in conjunction with their broadcast group owners, or on their own, continue to conduct fundraisers to help victims in Texas and Louisiana deal with devastating flooding due to Hurricane Harvey.

The effort of covering the historic storm fully tested Houston stations’ technological and logistical prowess and planning, while straining their human resources. With power and cable outages prevalent, the broadcasters also streamed their coverage continuously over Facebook Live so that folks with a charged smartphone could watch, too. Above, KHOU broadcast news temporarily from the facilities of noncommercial KUHT.

They’ve lifted people into boats, connected families through social media, flagged down rescuers and, in one case, coaxed people out of a flooding apartment house while on television. Most news reporters try to stay out of their stories, but say the dire situations they’ve seen because of Hurricane Harvey and its remnants left them no choice.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai will be in Texas on Tuesday, Sept. 5, to inspect the damage caused by Hurricane Harvey and meet with those engaged in recovery efforts. “Working in close coordination with the Department of Homeland Security, the FCC will do everything it can to help restore communications services after this terrible storm,” said Pai.  “I look forward to meeting those on the ground in Texas and seeing firsthand what needs to be done to make sure that those affected can get back on their feet as quickly as possible.”  

A new study shows that for Southern Texans, TV stations are the most trusted news source and lifeline during Hurricane and Tropical Storm Harvey.

TV stations and their owners are at the forefront of helping raise funds for organizations aiding victims of the flooding  left in the wake of Hurricane Harvey.

WAFB Baton Rouge, La., news director Robb Hays has been watching the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, and remembering what happened when a big storm hit his own market a year ago. He sent along this list of list of lessons he learned.

The Weather Channel has covered the story live around the clock since 5 a.m. ET on Friday and plans to continue until 1 a.m. Saturday, if it has wound down by then. “What I’ve tried to do is not cede the story to anyone else once the forecasting has been done,” said Nora Zimmett, the channel’s SVP of programming. Traditional news outlets have relied on water-logged correspondents to tell the story of Harvey and its aftermath. Network star power has been in short supply in Texas, with NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt the biggest name on the scene early.

Hearst says it is donating $1 million to the Greater Houston Red Cross to aid in Harvey rescue and recovery efforts and will match employee donations up to an additional $1 million.The Walt Disney Co. and its Houston ABC O&O KTRK have pledged $1 million to the Red Cross for Harvey relief efforts and will also match, dollar for dollar, employee donations to the Red Cross and other organizations involved in Harvey relief.

All money raised by Tegna’s 46 stations in 38 markets stations will be donated to the Red Cross Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund. In addition, the Tegna Foundation will match the first $100,000 of donations.

The networks’ morning news programs flooded the airwaves with dramatic and, at times, over the top coverage of the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.

The Broadcasters Foundationof America’s emergency relief program distributes one-time grants of $1,000 each after a disaster, such as a hurricane, tornado, fire, flood or other serious misfortune. The expedited emergency grant application process is streamlined to provide assistance as quickly as possible to broadcasters affected.

Texas TV stations sitting under a stalled Tropical Storm Harvey are using Facebook, especially Facebook Live, to keep users/viewers informed during this cataclysmic flooding event. Many residents without power can’t watch TV so stations must turn to social media to put information in the palms of people’s hands. Above: KHOU, the Tegna-owned CBS affiliate in Houston, went off the air for a time on Sunday when its studios were flooded.

Broadcasters are making final preparation as Hurricane Harvey churns toward the Texas coastline. Government officials are urging the public to tune to local radio and TV stations for critical information. The FCC also has new EAS event codes that may get their first use in the potentially catastrophic storm.