In addition to taking over for Tom Brokaw on NBC’s The Nightly News, Brian Williams is also heading an NBC blog called “The Daily Nightly”. The blog provides a transparent view into some of the decisions made in the NBC newsroom and an account of the news-gathering process, as well as a daily roundup of stories featured on the tv program.

Williams’ latest post describes how the NBC crew is covering hurricane Katrina in New Orleans:

We’re about to attempt to get a few hours sleep from our 10th floor hotel rooms. Our wake-up calls will come insanely early, and the few “down” hours we’ll have can’t really be called sleep.

New Orleans is ready and worried. Bourbon Street is desolate — the first time in my memory. This great, different world of a city is transformed by this approaching monster with a 32-mile-wide eye. We’ll technically have to violate the curfew and take temporary leave of our senses to make the two-mile drive to our satellite truck. Weather permitting, we’ll report for the Today show every hour on the hour.

But for now we’re in a rain band, the wind is starting, there’s brilliant lightning and we’re under both a hurricane warning and a tornado warning. I will, like everyone else, have a flashlight at my side all night. The power will go out… it always does. We’ll see what Katrina does to this sunken city, and we’ll do it safely. See you on the air.

NY Times article: An Anchor by Evening, a Blogger Any Time

On a different note… this is The New Vernacular’s 100th post!