New Orleans closed to everyone... except jazzmen

When I saw Harry Connick, Jr. being interviewed on the Today show this morning, I was surprised. "I thought he would have left by now," I figured. Well, fact was, Harry was nowhere near N.O. when the hurricane hit; he flew back to report live from the few parts of town that didn't flood. According to Katie Couric, NBC "went with him" as he came back to his hometown to see the devestation. What does that mean? That they sent him down there as a member of their crew? Apparently, he's going to be doing reports for Today and the NBC Nightly News. But what purpose does that serve? What will he bring to it that seasoned news staff could not? Hmm... could they be doing it to promote their benefit concert with him on Friday? TV people aren't that shallow.... nah, can't be.

You can see the interview, by the way, at Today's web site.