Skip to main content
Search
Services
EDUCATION with Student News

Quick Guide & Transcript: New Orleans rebuilding plan released, Multitasking with media

SPECIAL REPORT

• Rebuilding: Vital signs
• Gallery: Landmarks over time
• Storm & Flood: Making history
• I-Report: Share your photos

(CNN Student News) -- March 22, 2006

Quick Guide

"New" New Orleans - Get the latest on a new blueprint for rebuilding New Orleans.

"Do-Nothing" Congress - Find out what lawmakers are doing when they're not in Washington.

Generation M - Discover why some are concerned about the effects of media multitasking.

Transcript

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

MONICA LLOYD, CNN STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Monica Lloyd, and this is CNN Student News! There's plenty of work to do in rebuilding New Orleans. And local officials now have a master plan for it. But not everyone likes the look of the city's proposed future. Congress may seem like it's getting "all the breaks" this year. And in a sense, it is. But find out what lawmakers are doing when they're not in Washington. And it's not as bad as you think! Meet one lucky cat who took a terrible fall, but lived to tell... Er, meow... A great story!

First Up: "New" New Orleans

LLOYD: There's been a lot of talk lately about rebuilding New Orleans-- What it'll look like, who'll pay for it, and whether it will ever be the same after Hurricane Katrina. New Orleans' mayor and other local leaders have just released a blueprint for reconstruction. But some residents say the new plan leaves them out. Susan Roesgen has more on that, and tells us whether the bowl-shaped city will be any safer if another hurricane hits.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN REPORTER: Mayor Ray Nagin insists New Orleans is on the verge of something great.

MAYOR RAY NAGIN, NEW ORLEANS: This committee's recommendations are for a solid framework for rebuilding...

ROESGEN: The new blueprint, drafted by his hand-picked committee, calls for better neighborhoods, better schools-- better just about everything. No one will be stopped from re-building a damaged home....and even neighborhoods with fewer than 50 percent of their pre-Katrina population will be welcomed back. But...all that comes with a warning.

NAGIN: The Army Corps of Engineers has warned me..that some of our lowest-lying areas in New Orleans east, in the lower 9th ward, will have some flooding from levees overtopping if another hurricane covers the same path as Katrina, even with the restoration of higher, better- fortified levees.

ROESGEN: What the Mayor did not say is whether those low lying areas will be fully re-developed. This map shows the areas the Mayor mentioned -- the lower 9th ward and New Orleans East. The areas in red, severely flooded after Katrina and likely to flood again. And the message some people got in these predominantly African American areas is that the city will eventually abandon them.

LOCAL RESIDENT: The smaller footprint.. you don't want my mama to come back.. you don't want my grand kids to come back.

LOCAL RESIDENT: This is a racist rotten no-good committee. It doesn't represent the grassroots, it doesn't represent poor folks. It represents the rich, the ruling class.

ROESGEN: The public comment was loud.. but powerless, the Mayor's plan is final, pending approval by the state, which is in charge of doling out federal dollars for the recovery..

The next step in the process will be sending teams of neighborhood planners, city architects, urban design specialists into each neighborhood in New Orleans to try to figure out how many homeowners do plan to try to come back. Susan Roesgen, CNN, New Orleans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Shoutout

CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS REPORTER:In 1948, which of these presidential candidates called the 80th Congress the "do-nothing Congress"? If you know it, shout it out! Was it: A) Harry S Truman, B) Hubert Humphrey, C) Calvin Coolidge or D) John F. Kennedy? You've got three seconds--GO! Harry Truman said the Republican-dominated 80th Congress was a "do-nothing Congress" because it didn't hold a special legislative session at Truman's request. That's your answer and that's your Shoutout!

"Do-Nothing" Congress

LLOYD: Some of you probably think the school year lasts too long, even with spring, summer, and holiday breaks. Well, some lawmakers may seem to have the best of both worlds, because they plenty of breaks. But Bob Franken tells us even when they're not in Washington, they're still working, usually.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOB FRANKEN, CNN REPORTER: Instead of St.Patrick's Day, congress decided to honor St. Patrick's week; at home this year, or at least not in Washington. And this holiday should no be confused with spring break; that's next month. They'll take off for 11 days. When they return, they can look ahead to a few holiday weekends and the mac-daddy of holidays...the August break. Traditionally, the whole month of August, to beat the heat. Now there's air conditioning, but it still means August, somewhere else. And we don't call them "breaks," if you please.. they're "district work periods." That's because members are in their districts, working; mingling with constituents, stuff like that. Republican Frank Lucas was holding a series of town meetings Monday. He tries to do more than 50 a year. But others use some of the time to travel far away courtesy of the taxpayer, or somebody.

So far, the House has been in session a grand total of 19 days this year; the Senate 33. Congress is scheduled to adjourn on October 6; that would total only 97 days in Washington. Although, leaders say it'll end up being more like a 120. President Truman's "do nothing" congress, did in 108 days. And perhaps there's another reason that the members so badly want to be back home with their districts: could it be because it is an election year? Could be. Bob Franken, CNN Washington.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Word to the Wise

AZUZ: A Word to the Wise... simultaneous (adjective) happening or done at the same time

Source: www.dictionary.com

Generation M

LLOYD: Some folks used to think fast-paced music videos would lead to shorter attention spans. But that was before text messaging, cell phones, and .08 second internet searches were at your fingertips. So now the experts are asking, will all this make you better communicators, or worse at paying attention to whatever you're doing? Heidi Collins plugs in to some serious multimedia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN REPORTER: Its dinner time at the Cox family, but no one is rushing to the table. 14 year-old Bronte is busy at the computer - I-M-ing, checking myspace.com, listening to music and talking on the phone - ALL at the same time. Her twin brother, Piers is doing his own juggling act. He's watching South Park, playing a computer video game and I-M-ing with friends.

GEORGINA COX, MOTHER: They're in their own little worlds and its so hard to get through to them.

COLLINS: For mom and dad, dinner seems like a nightly battle.

STEPHEN COX, FATHER: Its intensely hard to pry them away. You get used to this insane lack of attention.

COLLINS: It's always been tough to get teens to turn off the TV or computer, but kids like Bronte and Piers present a new challenge. They are part of what some call "Generation M"...teens who like "media multi-tasking."

DON ROBERTS, STANFORD UNIV, COMMUNICATIONS PROF.: More and more today, kids are spending more and more time using two and three and possibly four media simultaneously.

COLLINS: It's the art of juggling between video games, instant messaging and Google searches And a 2005 Kaiser Family Foundation study says that half of all 8 to 18 year olds use more than one media tool most of the time.

Its not that kids are spending more time using electronic media...that actually stayed the same at 6 hrs and 20 minutes every day. But by playing with more gadgets at once, it's closer to taking in 8 ˝ hours of media time every day. Piers prides himself on being a better multi-tasker than his dad.

PIERS COX: He might have music playing, and also e-mailing and typing. That's about all he can pretty much do. I can watch DVDs, IM, Play games and do it all at the same time.

COLLINS: But experts warn that multi-tasking even when you're young has its liabilities.

DAVID MEYER, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN: Given what we know about the nature of human mental processes and the wiring in the brain it's pretty clear that they, as well as adults and most everybody else suffers in terms of efficiency and performance when they try to multitask.

COLLINS: Stephen and Georgina worry that their kids school work is suffering too.

STEPHEN COX: There isn't enough passionate time or focused time spent on things. For example, if your studying history and IMing on the phone and doodling here, you're not really immersing yourself in the whole story...you're just glossing over it.

DON ROBERTS: On the one hand kids are processing more information, the question is, are they processing it at the same depth.

COLLINS: Right now there is no evidence that kids who spend a lot of time multi-tasking do worse in school or that it affects their comprehension. But research in this area has just begun. For the Coxes, the first priority is to get everyone around the dinner table every night.

STEPHEN COX: There's too much time spent on some of these gadgets and we're taking steps to limit that time.

COLLINS: Heidi Collins, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Promo

LLOYD: We know you teachers are often forced to multi-task. And our web site actually saves you time by putting education news, classroom materials, and our show all at your fingertips. So stop by CNN.com/EDUCATION, and make us your home page today!

Before We Go

LLOYD: Before we go into our last story of the day, we want you to know that the cat you're about to see is going to be just fine. The reason we tell you that first, is because you might not believe it after seeing this-- an 80-foot fall from limb to earth. The vet says somehow, she didn't even break a bone! But there's no way she's still got all nine lives.

Goodbye

LLOYD: That amazing story of survival, caps off this edition of CNN Student News! I'm Monica Lloyd. More headline news is heading your way.

Story Tools
Subscribe to Time for $1.99 cover
Top Stories
Get up-to-the minute news from CNN
CNN.com gives you the latest stories and video from the around the world, with in-depth coverage of U.S. news, politics, entertainment, health, crime, tech and more.
Top Stories
Get up-to-the minute news from CNN
CNN.com gives you the latest stories and video from the around the world, with in-depth coverage of U.S. news, politics, entertainment, health, crime, tech and more.
Search JobsMORE OPTIONS


 
Search
© 2007 Cable News Network.
A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved.
Terms under which this service is provided to you.
Read our privacy guidelines. Contact us. Site Map.
Offsite Icon External sites open in new window; not endorsed by CNN.com
Pipeline Icon Pay service with live and archived video. Learn more
Radio News Icon Download audio news  |  RSS Feed Add RSS headlines