New Series Reveals Post-Katrina
Life
After the Networks and the
President Have Gone
NEW YORK,
October 10, 2007 – Two years
after breached levees caused
flooding that devastated New Orleans, comedian/political satirist Harry
Shearer and My Damn Channel (www.MyDamnChannel.com)
are returning to the city after
the networks and The President
have gone. Shearer is a longtime
New Orleans
resident who has been creating
original, episodic programming
for My Damn Channel since its
launch in July. This week he
debuts
“Crescent
City Stories,” a
five-week series that features
four local residents whose
stories each tell a different
side of post-Katrina
New Orleans.
Shearer’s introduction to the
series can be seen at
http://www.mydamnchannel.com/channel.aspx?episode=235.
“Major American news media have
made the
New Orleans
story fit a pre-ordained
template,” said Shearer, who has
often blogged on the subject in
the Huffington Post. “I thought
it was time for a local to let
other locals share their real
experiences of the last two
years. Not victim stories, but
stories of people, black and
white, who are dedicated to the
city and its recovery.”
“These stories are real and
raw,” said Rob Barnett,
president and CEO of My Damn
Channel. “Harry doesn’t pull any
punches and shows just how much
work still needs to be done to
make New Orleans whole again.”
“Crescent
City
Stories” will run
over the next four weeks and
includes the story of Dr. Ivor
Van Heerdeen of the LSU Hurricane
Center, who was one of the
first to accurately predict what
happened during the disaster by
pinpointing the time of the
first levee breach more than one
year before the Army Corps of
Engineers. Future segments will
feature local residents such as
singers Leah Chase and Phillip
Manuel, and composer-pianist
David Torkanowsky, who bravely
swam into his community to
rescue friends and neighbors.
About My Damn Channel
My Damn Channel is an
entertainment studio and new
media platform created to
empower artists to co-produce,
distribute and monetize
original, episodic video
content. Programming is created
by artists for the My Damn
Channel site (www.MyDamnChannel.com)
and for distribution on today’s
most heavily-trafficked online
communities and social networks,
such as YouTube and MySpace. My
Damn Channel gives its artists
100% creative control to develop
their own brands and new
storylines. My Damn Channel
produces a diverse array of
programming from talent
including Harry Shearer, Andy
Milonakis, David Wain, Don Was,
Ozzy Osbourne, Slash, Jonah
Hill, Elizabeth Banks, Rob
Corddry, Michael Ian Black,
Rashida Jones, Jason Sudeikis
and Jennifer Westfeldt. The
company is supported by an
advertising revenue model, and
by licensing the studio’s entire
portfolio of content across all
forms of digital distribution,
including online, mobile, VOD
and DVD.
