The cycle theory espousing the idea that after a government agency is established it tends to protect the interests of the regulated industry instead of the public can be considered in light of media responses to the performance of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) after Hurricane Katrina struck the Louisiana and Mississippi Gulf Coast. FEMA, according to its former director, Michael Brown, is poorly structured and is unable to respond to the kind of mass devastation brought about by a natural disaster (Previch, 1). FEMA's response to Katrina was belated, inadequate, and ineffective. Some three years after the hurricane, FEMA continues to struggle with the rebuilding effort in Louisiana and Mississippi.
Brown stated in 2007 that FEMA creates a wedge between the federal government and the states and because it is positioned within the Department of Homeland Security, is perceived as focusing on a response rather than reparation for events like Hurricane Katrina (Previch, 1). The media's portrayal of FEMA is seen as having emphasized the inability of the organization to respond effectively ("SPJ Pressure Prompts..." 44). News stories throughout Louisiana emphasized FEMA's media management policy which prohibited residents of FEMA operated housing to speak to the media. FEMA has been criticized for failing to be accountable and transparent in reporting its activities to the media. It has also been accused of attempting to prevent those who receive its assistance from going public with their concerns ("SPJ Pressure Prompts..." 45).
FEMA's apparent goal during Katrina and afterwards was to protect the agency from criticism (Previch, 1). The media quickly stepped in and found much to fault in FEMA's response both immediately after Hurricane Katrina and in the three years since the storm. It is former director Brown's belief that the bureaucracy of FEMA is such that it finds it difficult to act in a timely m...