Soledad O'Brien in New Orleans for Katrina Anniversary 10

On Saturday August 29th, President Bill Clinton joined New Orleans residents, community leaders, Mayor Mitch Landrieu, and advocates who over the last 10 years helped the City recover from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, in a commemoration of the city’s resilience.

This was the official anniversary of Katrina’s landfall. The program was hosted by Soledad O’Brien, whose coverage of Hurricane Katrina for CNN won her, and CNN, a George Foster Peabody award.

Starting Point Live in New Orleans

The chefs at The Ruby Slipper in New Orleans supplied the shrimp and grits
for the show and guests.     http://yfrog.com/obbl3wwj

Soledad was live from New Orleans on Starting Point July 6th as the show went on the road.

Viewers had the chance to join Soledad live from New Orleans during the Essence Music Festival as CNN was broadcasting from the Ruby Slipper Cafe at 200 Magazine Street from 6am local time.

Guests included comedian Jay Thomas, Singer/Actress Vanessa Williams, New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, Rep. Bill Cassidy (R-La.)

Viewers could have breakfast and watch the show! For these events, here is no RSVP necessary, and no ticket required. Just show up for a good time and some good conversation.

New Orleans Rising Airing Tonight

New Orleans Rising, a CNN Hurricane Katrina-anniversary documentary reported by Soledad O’Brien, will air tonight on CNN.

The documentary takes a long look at how five years after the hurricane, the city still struggles to come back from the disaster.

Soledad has been deeply involved in NOLA since reporting on the hurricane back in 2005 and has visited the city dozens of times each year since.

Even a united and highly successful middle-class community like Pontchartrain Park is struggling to rebuild. "The Park" is a middle-class African-American neighborhood that was devastated by Hurricane Katrina and is a focal point in the documentary.

The Park was born out of segregation, and this New Orleans’ landmark neighborhood was considered the pinnacle of success. Accomplished residents include two mayors (Ernest and Marc Morial), jazz musician Terence Blanchard and the current head of the EPA, Lisa Jackson.

Terence Blanchard composed and performed the theme music for New Orleans Rising.

NOLA Rising Documentary on CNN

CNN and Soledad O'Brien keep the spotlight on the city of New Orleans and its path to recovery post-Hurricane Katrina.

New Orleans Rising is an in-depth look at the rebuilding efforts of the residents of Pontchartrain Park which was a pioneering middle-class community that saw some of the city’s first African-American homeowners.

Watch the trailer for New Orleans Rising 

Soledad O'Brien and Long Form Documentaries for CNN

CNN's Soledad O'Brien tells Media Beat that she travels to New Orleans around 25 times a year. Recently, many of those trips were for production on New Orleans Rising the latest documentary she completed for CNN's In America unit which debuts August 21 at 8pmET.

Soledad, who focuses on long form documentaries for CNN now, says her unit is now working on six documentaries at a time and, while the first "In America" projects initially focused on race, she thinks "the direction is to go wider and broader."




In Part 2 of the video, O'Brien discusses her family, career, and the changes that have taken place in CNN's primetime line-up and in Part 3, she talks about her early experiences as a digital technology reporter.

Screening of "New Orleans Rising"

“New Orleans Rising,” a CNN Hurricane Katrina-anniversary documentary reported by Soledad O’Brien, will screen Monday night (August 2) at 7 in the Southern University at New Orleans gym, 6400 Press Street.

The local screening is free and open to the public, and will be preceded by a 6:30 p.m. reception. A panel discussion about the film will follow the screening.

Expected panelists are “Treme” actor/recovery activist Wendell Pierce (who is interviewed in the film); Paul R. Taylor Jr., managing member of SRP Development; New Orleans City Council member Cynthia Hedge-Morrell; Nick Harris, assistant vice president of community and economic development at Dillard University; Victor Ukpolo, chancellor, Southern University at New Orleans; and Gretchen Bradford – community organizer.

“New Orleans Rising" is  reported by CNN’s ‘In America’ anchor and special correspondent Soledad O’Brien. The documentary is an in-depth look at how five years after the hurricane, even a united and highly successful middle-class community like Pontchartrain Park struggles to rebuild.

Following the big storm, Pontchartrain Park saw one of the lowest rates of returning homeowners in New Orleans. Though plenty mad and worried, the people of the neighborhood eventually come together in their commitment to overcome the catastrophe of the storm, and brace themselves for the aftermath of a new enemy – the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

The documentary will air on the network at 7 p.m. August 21.

SOURCE  http://www.nola.com/tv/index.ssf/2010/07/local_free_screening_of_soleda.html

IN AMERICA – KATRINA PLUS FIVE

IN AMERICA – KATRINA PLUS FIVE (working title) - Coming in August 2010

Five years after the famous hurricane that nearly destroyed the city of New Orleans, CNN anchor and special correspondent Soledad O’Brien investigates what progress has been made and what, if any, lessons have been learned from the events that followed the storm.

O’Brien reveals what has happened to survivors and what officials are doing to prevent “another Katrina” from ever happening again.

SoledadOBrien.info

CNN Teams With Essence Magazine for Documentary

CNN, in a special co-production with Essence magazine, will film a documentary featuring leaders and community organizers in New Orleans at the Essence Music Festival in July. The program will be broadcast on CNN in August.

O'Brien Accepts Award for Time-Warner

Last night, a gala was held to raise funds and awareness for the Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans.

Soledad O’Brien accepted an award on behalf of the Time Warner Corporation for its team coverage of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath.

At the Allen Room at Jazz at Lincoln Center, O’Brien and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg viewed a video presentation that portrayed the many ways Time Warner covered the disaster, from the pages of Time and People to the airwaves of CNN. O'Brien herself was a key reporter

The Preservation Resource Center was founded in 1974 and has been instrumental in assisting more than 5,000 families in the ravaged city in preserving their homes.

Soledad To Be At Mardi Gras

Soledad O'Brien will join local New Orleans attorney Stephen Rue as 'Mr. and Mrs. Big Stuff' in the Zulu Social Aid & Pleasure Club's 2009 Mardi Gras Parade.

The Zulu Social Aid & Pleasure Club is New Orleans largest and best known predominantly African-American Mardi Gras organization. As Zulu will be celebrating it's 100th anniversary of parading, the Zulu members have elected Stephen Rue, a New Orleans attorney to be the first Caucasian "Mr. Big Stuff" Carnival Character in its 100 year history.

Soledad, "Mrs. Big Stuff," will be formally presented in her Mardi Gras regalia at the Annual Zulu Ball in New Orleans on Friday, February 20, 2009.

Soledad's New Orleans Connection

Soledad O'Brien's documentary, "CNN Presents: One Crime at a Time," certainly has the attention of New Orleans residents.

"Soledad O'Brien's New Orleans Ties Are Personal" is the title of a piece by Dave Walker, TV columnist, for The Times-Picayune.

Though the program depicts street murders, a dysfunctional justice system and civic corruption, he feels "the overall take-way from the special, at least as it's processed by not-from-heres watching around the world, will be positive" because of its focus on crime-fighters working to make a difference in the city.

O'Brien says, "I love New Orleans. The highest compliment I get is, 'You're from here, right?'" She has spent much time reporting from there during and post- Hurricane Katrina.

O'Brien is also connected to the city through her best friend, former CNN and NBC news executive Kim Bondy, who lives there. Bondy said O'Brien's attachment to New Orleans goes beyond reporting news.

"She does things that are beyond her workaday life for the city," Bondy said. "She carries it as a theme now, because I think she really, truly cares." For example, O'Brien, who has four children of her own, is funding a high school scholarship for a local student to Ursuline Academy.

CNN Presents: One Crime at a Time

CNN's Soledad O'Brien reports for the one-hour documentary, "CNN Presents: One Crime at a Time." It debuts at 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 22 and repeats several times thereafter, including the same time the next night.

The special looks at the "crime, corruption and bureaucracy" of New Orleans.

"In 2007, two years after Hurricane Katrina decimated their city, New Orleans' law enforcement was fighting another battle: a soaring rate of homicides," says a CNN press release. "The city's 209 homicides gave it the highest per capita murder rate in the nation. A year later, the situation could be even worse as crime, corruption and bureaucracy bring new threats."

Soledad has spent a good deal of time in New Orleans reporting on the immediate and long term effects that Hurricane Katrina has had on the city and region. Her reporting begins on the violent streets of New Orleans, where city homicide detectives investigate murders during shifts that can last as long as 30 hours. O'Brien rides along with two detectives through the city and follows cases such as that of a twenty-year-old who is murdered in broad daylight in front of a dozen witnesses just a week after he testifies in a high profile murder case. Despite evidence, detectives have a difficult time arresting his killer.

The documentary also focuses its lens on the district attorney's office and city administration as "One Crime at a Time" tells the story of a law enforcement community determined to save the city by defeating corruption, crime and violence.

Soledad Hosts Behind the Lens Event for Spike Lee

Soledad O'Brien hosted an event yesterday for Spike Lee who was named the Chrysler LLC 2008 Behind the Lens honoree in Los Angeles.

Soledad worked with Spike Lee in 2007 on his documentary, "Children of the Storm" which chronicles the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina through the eyes of children who were living in the New Orleans area. For the series, Soledad and director Lee distributed video cameras to 11 children from diverse backgrounds and instructed them to document their everyday lives.
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"We wanted to really represent the diversity that is in New Orleans - geographic diversity, gender diversity, racial diversity, an experiential diversity," Soledad said.

Spike Lee is an influential figure in contemporary cinema. As a director, producer, screenwriter, author and educator, he is to be recognized for his outstanding achievements in film and television at the sixth annual award ceremony.

In recognition of Lee's accomplishments, the Chrysler Foundation will donate $25,000 to Lee's alma mater, Morehouse College in Atlanta. The donation will benefit the vision of the Morehouse College School of Sports Journalism, a program created to expand the field of sports journalism from the small percentage of African Americans currently working in it today.

The program, which began with seed money donated by Lee, launched its first course offerings in January 2007. A graduate of Morehouse, class of 1979, Lee is a third-generation Morehouse graduate and now serves on the school's Board of Trustees. To date, his efforts have raised more than $1 million to benefit the program.