Times change: four years after 9/11 telethon, different vibe for Katrina fundraisers.(Hurricane Katrina, 2005)

Broadcasting & Cable, September, 2005 by Benson, Jim; Grossman, Ben

The nation faced a common enemy four years ago when ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC collaborated on an unprecedented prime time telethon 10 days after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. In two hours, 59 million viewers pledged $150 million. As the six major broadcast networks teamed last week to produce a Sept.

9 telethon for Hurricane Katrina victims, Shelter From the Storm: A Concert for the Gulf Coast, many were concerned that the concert might turn into a political forum. The one-hour, commercial-free telecast is one of several telethons, including one on BET, that aired afterwards on Viacom's cable networks. Last week, as President Bush, the military and White House administrators came under bruising criticism for responding too slowly to the disaster,...

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