ABSTRACT
It is said that journalism offers America its first draft of history. When anniversaries of historic events arrive, reporters have the task of framing the country’s collective memory of the particular incident. In their writings, journalists compose the map to yesterday so that the country can navigate similar situations tomorrow. They recount the event through a lens of hindsight, politicizing it and polishing its memory as they propose agendas for change. Upon the anniversaries of World War II, John F. Kennedy’s assassination, Watergate, September 11 and other tragedies, the press attempted to make sense of what was otherwise incomprehensible (Kitch, 2003; Schudson, 1992; Sturken, 1997; Zelizer, 1992). Similarly, when the catastrophic August 2005 event of Hurricane Katrina and the destruction of New Orleans created national rifts in America, the nation looked to the press in the ensuing year to explain the inadequacies and inconsistencies.
