Hurricane Katrina Whips Up Spectrum Storm in D.C.

Hearst-Argyle Television senior vp for news Fred Young has a message for the rising chorus of officials telling TV broadcasters to move, and soon, off the spectrum they've used for decades: Look at the example of WDSU in New Orleans, and think about whether it's smart to take away TV signals that are a lifeline for many people. Beginning two days before Hurricane Katrina laid waste to the city, the Hearst-Argyle NBC affiliate preempted all normal programming with bulletins about the approaching storm and how to survive it. "There were no car races, there were no sitcoms, no movies, no golf-nothing associated with television in the traditional sense," Young told federal regulators on Sept. 15. Even after rising waters knocked WDSU off the air, staff fed a Web site that garnered 25 million page hits over several days. "The role that we play may not be fully understood by those who advocate premature return of the analog spectrum," Young said.