Dear Brian,

I caught your interview with Howie and was struck by your avoidance of becoming a pontificator. But even if you don't want to take on the Administration directly, I hope you will keep the spotlight on the problems in New Orleans. I commend to you Sunday's article in the LA Times that said, in essence, the problems of New Orleans can't be solved solely by private initiative and market forces. If ever there were a need to demonstrate the importance of government action in the private sphere, this story points it out very well. Oh, and congratulations!

Dear Brian, Well,the LA Times gave you a good write up on your first year!! We congradulate you also.I like the episodes on the good news.Take care and God bless you and your staff. Pat& John Popp

Dear Brian Williams and your news support team: I'm so full right now. What you did those two days in New Orleans renders just another lens/point of view which is worth noting on how our state and local officials still don't have their fingers on the pulse of the problem. New Orleans has so much to offer the state and country, and I just wish they will open their eyes one day and see just that!

Thank you for your continued coverage of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. It is so very important that we Americans do not slip any further into a "just move on" mentality.

Congrats on one year.
I was just watching the SIMPSONS the other day - and Tom Brokaw was featured.. however - i am sure that he wasnt the voice. will you be making an appearance on the Simpsons before they go off the air?

Odd how the nightly news is a vital part of everyones day -including MINE. i "listen to it" while i clean up my production studio and prepare dinner for my better half.

Congratulations.

Congrats on one year.
I was just watching the SIMPSONS the other day - and Tom Brokaw was featured.. however - i am sure that he wasnt the voice. will you be making an appearance on the Simpsons before they go off the air?

Odd how the nightly news is a vital part of everyones day -including MINE. i "listen to it" while i clean up my studio and prepare dinner for my better half.

Congratulations.

Dear Brian Williams and reporting team: For those of us who call the Gulf coast home--either in present or past tense--thank you, thank you, thank you for your tenacity, straight talk, and real grit in getting the story out about the year of the hurricanes, their aftermath, the tragedy of our national myopia. Please don't stop focusing on this important story, the greater story of our global climatic crisis, and the real story of the unfocused, clueless political machine that denies the reality we face together. The people of the entire Gulf Coast, from the Keys to Corpus Christi, deserve our compassion, respect and unwavering attention. Although watching the Nightly News has become unbearable at times, we watch nonetheless because of your clear resolve to report the stories that matter. Thank you again.

The LA Times calendar section had an article about your first year and vision for the future. I would think that the closer you are to your customers, via email and blogging, the bigger the impact your will have on perceptions of daily event.

Congratulations on your first year of anchoring the Nightly News!
I enjoy your style, which is less pontificating and more of a person to person approach.
In the good news/bad news from Iraq debate, generally the excuse for not featuring more good news has been that it's just to dangerous to go out and do independent reporting. That's why I wondered why, up until Richard Engle's report from Basra on the Nightly News last night, there hasn't been much good news coming out of this seemingly quiet part of Iraq. Indeed, Engle sited the bustling marketplaces, British soldiers who go on patrol without wearing helmets, the bustling oil industry etc. Oh, but he was able to make the trip to report on the "bad" news of Basra, however..the place is run by militias and other bad types. Guess the British don't consider the underlying situation to be that big of a threat!

Dear Brian,
Congrats on your year anniversary. It's been a pleasure to trust you for the news.

Please watch your lungs carefully! You are right when you say it is hard to fear air you cannot see, but you must remain vigilant. Bacteria and fungus in the area would be happy to discover a new home in your lungs. It is the perfect environment to host new growth.

I worry about homeowners returning to the area who are not well protected from the environmental risks. I noticed in the news coverage that all the EPA and CDC field operations staff wore double barrel respirators regularly (with the exception of their spokespeople smiling and mask free for the cameras. We can only hope anyone sickened by the aftermath will receive comprehensive and timely medical attention.

Keep up the great coverage!

Wow, has it really been a year?! I watch your broadcast while I cook dinner; makes the task much more enjoyable! I live in Michigan and applaud the way you are not forgetting New Orleans as so many others seem to have. Keep it up! And congrats on an impressive year.

Brian:
Let me add my thanks for your keeping the Katrina story on the "front burner" when it appears that so many have moved on to other stories. My wife and I and some our friends were fortunate to be part of the recent story on jazz returning to the city which ran Wednesday, November 30. In spite of our joy in being able to spend time with our friends in our neighborhood, we only have to drive a mile or so to be reminded of how our beloved city has changed. Thank you for reminding the rest of the country that we are resilient and are making our own strides but we also need for the government to make good on the president's pledge he made standing in Jackson Square that he would do what it takes to bring New Orleans back. If President Bush can honestly say he can't imagine this country without a New Orleans, how do you think we natives feel? Thanks again, Brian, and congratulations on a great first year.

Congrats on a WONDERFUL first year! My family and I enjoy watching Brain every week night. As a matter of fact, his name is commonly used in our house in discussions...he's know as 'that Brian guy' to my young elementary school children! Our home wouldn't be the same without him!

I often wonder what the process is in developing a story.Obviously a catastrphy such as New Orleans is thrust upon us without warning yet we do have the option on how to report that story.

My disillusion with the media is its hypothetical description of its responsibility to report the facts yet more and more we are seeing these "facts" skewed into a direction that the producer believes makes the best news. Having friends in the hurricane affected area, I have received a much different perspective than the one fed to me by our news.

I accept that facts alone don't make interesting news and build ratings but what if the slant you use actually helps make a difference. I, as many people did, donated money to an agency. It was my intention to helpthese victims return to some type of normal daily living. What I have since learned is that the monies are used forimmediate needs and the long term effects are befalling these same victims currently at their own expense. No one anticipates an act of God changing their lives but I believe most are relying on insurance, the government, and relief agencies to help them put their lives and homes back together again and that is not the case.

Use your feel good segments to encourage viewers to seek outchurches and smaller agencies in these affected areas to make contributions to. The agencies and faith based programs that will assist in provided the toaster, dishwasher, or transportation to a family who's other sources have been exhausted or have denied their appeals. Getting your car paid for because it was destroyed doesn't necessarily afford you the opportunity to get another especially when your income has been affected as well. These are the situations I think most Americans are unaware that their fellow citizens deal with in these regions. Help bring this to light, Brian.

As a New Orleanian, I have to thank you, Brian, for your commitment to this story. I think I can speak for us all down here, we thank you for your compassion and your journalistic integrity!

Congrats on one year! I saw the interview you did with TJ Holmes here in SJ and I cannot believe all that has happened in your first year! Here's to many more!

Brian,

Words can't express the gratitude that we feel towards your reports on New Orleans and the entire region. Thank you for trying to keep this story alive despite Washington's insistance that this story is over and done.

Thanks for once again shining the spotlight on us in New Orleans. We wish more of the national media did so. Unfortunately, attention spans being what they are these days, we Louisianians (and the Miss. Gulf Coast) need national attention every day.

I am sure you were able to see for yourself why that is. Parts of the greater New Orleans area are up and running, some are stumbling and way too many are dark.

I have been very impressed with NBC's coverage, and I applaud the fact that there are always multiple hurricane-related story links on the MSNBC front page.

But there is one aspect that is not getting much, if any, national attention and we now recognize it as priority #1 down here -- we need a commitment (now!) from President Bush and Congress for category 5 protection and coastal restoration.

The problem is that, in the coming year or two, even the parts of the greater New Orleans area that are up and running will become dark if President Bush and Congress do not commit -- and soon -- to such a flood protection program. That absolutely is priority # 1 because EVERYTHING else depends on it. Many of the residents (including in areas not flooded) are in limbo, awaiting such a decision. So are businesses. But even if residents decide to take the risk even without such a commitment, you can bet that large businesses and the insurance and mortgage lending industries will not. No one, and I mean no one, wants to talk about that elephant in the room. With no "lowered risk" in the form of a flood protection program commitment from the federal government, we will have no insurance companies willing to insure in the future. With no insurance, we will have no mortgage lender willing to lend because they cannot secure their loan. With neither of those, we will have no businesses. Without any of them, we will have no residents. So, while I would bet money on our ability to pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps down here (as we have done for almost 400 years), we cannot do so if the federal government takes away our boots -- a flood protection commitment in the form of a category 5 system and coastal restoration.

President Bush stood in Jackson Square and promised to "do what it takes". Down here, we are still waiting for him to even start.

Simply put, we need a national commitment for flood protection, or there will be no Louisiana in the coming years. That is no hyperbole. It is that critical.

And for those who think $15-20 Billion is too much for this nation to spend on its own citizens, in our own country (the same amount we spend in 3 months in Iraq): well, tell President Bush and Congress to give Louisiana its fair share of its own oil and gas revenues. 50% -- that's how much at least 40 other US states get to keep of oil & gas revenues generated from federal land within those states' borders. Texas gets to keep 100%, giving it the sweetest deal. Louisiana, on the other hand, gets virtually nothing. Give us our 50%, like at least 40 other states get, and it puts $3 billion a year in our piggy bank. We can then pay for our own boots ourselves.

Louisiana feels forsaken, forgotten and abandoned by Washington. This truly is becoming a litmus test for our nation. Can it take care of its own? How truly sad for all of us if that answer turns out to be "no". And to any American who has read this: I hope that your part of the USA isn't next.

Brian Williams, thank you for your continuous, moving coverage on New Orleans and the rest of the Gulf Coast. You care, you refuse to let America forget, and you are keeping the story of the devastated Gulf Coast alive! You have presented the stories of New Orleans and the catastrophe of this great city in a way that is saying to the Bush adminstration and to Congress that they cannot let this great city die. You understand the importance of the history and culture of New Orleans to the U.S. In a way rarely seen on television, you have especially made visible to the rest of America the deeply rich and spiritual lives of African Americans. You have made visible our humanity. Thank you!

Months after the tragedy, Americans wanted to move on and forget it. It was too much for them to handle and faith in the US system has vanished. People were starting to care more about the sensationalistic things in life: movie stars and their new born family. There are still those who care about the tragedies, who want to know what is going on. As a leading journalist, you have distinguished yourself as someone who delivered what people ought to think about. Thank you for not giving up on New Orleans. And thank you for showing how humans feel.

Very neat to be able to watch the nightly news from Uruguay. We are here visiting my wife's family, and it's nice not to break the routine. Just wish "news" didn't mean "tragic and depressing things that happen throughout the world". Happy aniversary.

Congrats on your first "anchor" year! I enjoy your coverage and view nightly.

Brokaw to Williams = GREAT transition!!

See you tomorrow @ 6:30pm

Your dedicated coverage of the Gulf Coast, and New Orleans in particular, is a lesson in responsible journalism. I expect the archives will be the broadcast lynchpin for historians decades down the road. Keep your foot on the gas, and don't let the country forget what the region means to the nation.

Congrats to you Brian and the staff on getting through the first year. Where DOES the time go when you're having so much fun?
Thanks for doing this newscast so well. I look forward to seeing you each nite,and the lblogs I read beforehand which gives us in a more personal and complete way the news of the day.My coplements to the Cchef) I mean Chief of course.

Thank you for keeping New Orleans in the public eye. We who live here and love our dear old City cannot believe that our government spends millions on everything from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to bridges to nowhere in Alaska, yet refuses to commit to building adequate levee protection for one of its own great cities. And now we know that the one federal agency that most of us trusted (the Army Corps of Engineers) may not have provided adequate levee designs or subsequent construction oversight. We are both angry and sad in New Orleans, and any faith we once had in the power and ability of our government is simply gone. We've become a nation of web pages and PR moments (like Bush's in front of our cathedral). But like Gloria Gaynor, New Orleans will survive! She was once a glorious city and she will be again.