Hearst Preps Pair of Katrina Specials

Song for New Orleans, spotlighting the musical legacy of New Orleans and Seven Days that Changed New Orleans, about the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina, will air on 28 Hearst-Argyle stations, including WDSU, the Hearst Argyle station in New Orleans.

All the stations will run the specials on or around Aug. 29, the day the storm hit in 2005. Song for New Orleans is also scheduled to air on the TV One cable network on Aug. 29 at 9 p.m. Eastern, and will be syndicated by NBC Universal for airings in January and February 2007. A special commemorative DVD of both specials will be offered for sale, with portions of the proceeds going toward rebuilding the city.

Song for New Orleans, produced by Boston-based Parallax Productions, tells how the hurricane separated the Rebirth Brass Band, one of the signature New Orleans jazz bands, and how they set out to reunite. It's narrated by Andre Braugher and features a handful of well-known New Orleans musicians.

Seven Days that Changed New Orleans, produced by Allen/Nee Productions in cooperation with Hearst-Argyle, is narrated by MSNBC's Chris Matthews, who also co-hosted two nationally televised New Orleans mayoral debates in conjunction with MSNBC and WDSU.

It looks at the week of the hurricane and, using WDSU news clips, shows how locals were affected