Like most good things, the concept for Breaking News, Breaking Down came about in a brief phone conversation. Mike Walter had just wrapped up his blog entry on his time in New Orleans.

He called Dart administrator Deirdre Stoelzle-Graves to let her know the entry was ready. During the conversation he talked about how he had spent the weekend gutting homes with Natalie Pompilio and reporters and editors from the New Orleans Times Picayune. Inside the cramped shotgun house he had written entries in the journal that were meant to capture the thoughts of the varied journalists who were taking part in Target New Orleans.

The journal was more a snapshot of the collective thoughts of the journalists who were affected by what they were seeing and doing in the Crescent City. After writing his entries, Mike began reading the others. He was so moved by what he read that he suggested a documentary on Target New Orleans.

But to understand the project, you had to understand the journalists who participated in it, and why they were there in the first place. The rest is history. The film has been embraced by journalists worldwide who have seen it.