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TYNDALL HEADLINE: HIGHLIGHTS FROM JUNE 08, 2007
No, the Story of the Day was not Paris Hilton. NBC anchor Brian Williams narrated the day's dilemma on the assignment desk: "If you were watching television today, then you saw it happen. While the Pentagon announcement was being made about General Pace, many of the cable news networks broke away to what was judged to be a more urgent breaking story out of Los Angeles." Well the network nightly newscasts kept their eyes on the ball, and quite right too. All three networks led with the decision by the Pentagon not to renominate Peter Pace as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
TYNDALL PICKS FOR JUNE 08, 2007: CLICK ON GRID ELEMENTS TO SEARCH FOR MATCHING ITEMS
PETER NOT PARIS No, the Story of the Day was not Paris Hilton. NBC anchor Brian Williams narrated the day's dilemma on the assignment desk: "If you were watching television today, then you saw it happen. While the Pentagon announcement was being made about General Pace, many of the cable news networks broke away to what was judged to be a more urgent breaking story out of Los Angeles." Well the network nightly newscasts kept their eyes on the ball, and quite right too. All three networks led with the decision by the Pentagon not to renominate Peter Pace as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced that Pace's name would not be put forward for a second two-year term because "a bruising confirmation battle was not worth it," according to ABC's Jake Tapper (subscription required). ABC and CBS reported on the opposition to Pace from Capitol Hill. "It turns out that members of both parties were Pace's downfall," CBS' Sharyl Attkisson reported. ABC's Tapper told us that Gates had told the President "two weeks ago" that his consultations with both "Democrats and Republicans" were "going poorly." NBC and CBS covered his ouster from the Pentagon. NBC's Jim Miklaszewski judged the announcement a surprise: "Pace was thought to be a shoo-in for renomination." CBS' David Martin called Pace "the latest casualty of the Iraq War--only he was brought down by Washington politics."
"Straight-laced and by the book," Pace had the nickname in the military of "Perfect Pete," noted NBC's Miklaszewski. However his critics contended that he "failed to seriously challenge his civilian bosses" on their Iraq War decisions. CBS' Martin pointed out that since Gates replaced his predecessor Donald Rumsfeld "every single one of the top commanders running the war has been replaced" too. Named as Pace's successor is a sailor, Adm Michael Mullen, with "no significant connection to the war in Iraq" as ABC's Tapper put it.
RENDITION CBS and ABC both covered revelations about the Central Intelligence Agency. ABC had Brian Ross follow up on his original reporting about the CIA's secret torture prisons in Poland and Romania with the investigation by the Council of Europe's human rights monitors into "secrecy, cover-up and dishonesty" by high-level European officials. CIA planes apparently filed "phony flight plans" from Afghanistan to Scotland and then diverted over eastern Europe to land its captives at the airfield prisons. There they were subjected to "techniques tantamount to torture." Ross reported that the prisons were closed 18 months ago and their inmates were transferred to the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba. He added that the CIA "dismissed" the European report as "biased and distorted" but "did not specifically deny the central allegations."
From London, CBS' Richard Roth covered the start of a trial in Italy of 26 alleged CIA spies for the abduction of the Moslem cleric abu-Omar from a street near his mosque in Milan. The imam claims he was flown to Egypt, imprisoned for four years and tortured. The accused spooks have refused to attend their own trial so "the courtroom is lined with empty cages." Roth added that a second CIA trial is scheduled for Germany where 13 agents stand accused of the kidnapping of Khaled al-Masri. He claims he was "blindfolded, drugged and flown to Afghanistan" before being released with the explanation that his abduction had been "a mistake."
PAPERWORK If CIA abductions are the most brutal manifestation of the Global War on Terrorism, border controls may be the most bureaucratic. The Department of Homeland Security tightened rules this year to require a passport for air travel to Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. "Demand for passports has exploded," NBC's Kevin Tibbles told us. The State Department is issuing twice as many as it did ten years ago and the waiting period for would-be travelers has extended from six weeks to twelve. "This has thrown summer travel into turmoil," ABC's Lisa Stark (subscription required) found, so the requirement has been relaxed through September. Now proof of a passport application is enough, not the actual document. Things get worse again next January, Stark warned, when a passport will be needed not just for airline travel but for crossing the border by car too.
SPLITSVILLE A couple of Iraq stories aired, one from Baghdad, one from the home front. CBS' Lara Logan toured the Amiriyah neighborhood of Baghdad where she found a rift between erstwhile fellow opponents of the US military occupation. Former insurgents in the "hardcore Sunni neighborhood" have now joined the USArmy's Fifth Cavalry and turned against local al-Qaeda fighters, apparently disaffected with the latter's "brutal tactics." The Iraqi government, however, is "reluctant" to support an alliance between Sunni fighters and US troops. She asked a masked member of the Amiriyah Freedom Fighters whether his new loyalty was for temporary convenience: "If you can defeat al-Qaeda will you go back to fighting the Americans?" "No." Never?" "No."
On the home front, ABC's Jim Avila took A Closer Look at military children whose parents divorce. Child custody laws require family courts to consider "what is best for the child" above everything else. "The child bonds with the parent who is at home not the one that is overseas" so courts routinely grant permanent custody to the civilian parent rather than the divorcing military spouse who is off at war. Those rulings, soldier parents told Avila, are worse than "a Dear John letter."
AFRICAN PHILANTHROPY It is not often the networks assign a reporter to Windhoek. Scott Cohn of CNBC landed the trip to Namibia and filed an In Depth feature for NBC on Kobi Alexander, the fugitive millionaire and inventor, credited with developing voice-mail technology. Back home in the United States Alexander is a wanted man, accused of fraud, bribery, witness tampering and moneylaundering. In Windhoek he is an investor and philanthropist, building housing for the poor and offering scholarship programs. Cohn explained that "the extradition process could take years--time enough for Alexander to make lots of new Namibian friends." A billboard proclaims his dedication to the nation's development. Mused Cohn: "Is Kobi Alexander trying to buy off Namibia?"
ABC named a pair of Darfur philanthropists as its Persons of the Week, not millionaires but high school students. Charles Gibson introduced us to Ana Slavin and Nik Anderson. The teenagers founded Dollars for Darfur, a program that devotes half its funds to anti-genocide advocacy and activism, half to direct humanitarian aid in Sudan for ethnically-cleansed refugees. What made their effort newsworthy was that it was conducted entirely online through the facebook and myspace social networking sites. Their network reached 2,500 high schools and netted $300,000.
MEDIA CIRCUS Yesterday, ABC and CBS relented in the face of tabloid excess and assigned Pierre Thomas and Bill Whitaker to the wretched Paris Hilton saga. Now, as Hilton's one day of house arrest ended and she returned to the county jail from which she had been prematurely released, ABC managed to hold the high ground and mention her only in passing whereas NBC's George Lewis and CBS' unlucky-again Whitaker drew the short straws. "For party girl Paris Hilton the party is over for a while," Whitaker narrated. She was taken from the courtroom "sobbing and wailing." He described the "usually picture perfect Paris" as "disheveled and distraught before the judge."
NBC's Lewis resorted to that time honored technique when assigned to a story that is really not worth covering--turn the storyline into the news media's decision to devote too much coverage to it. Lewis showed the paparazzi chase the sheriff's cruiser; he showed excerpts from the cable news channels' "breathless non-stop coverage;" and he showed clips from TV newscasts worldwide, predictably, "even in Paris."
COMMENCEMENT EXERCISES No reporter was involved, but NBC closed the week--and the school year--with its annual graduation favorite, the salute to the Class of 2007.
MENTIONED IN PASSING The network newscasts do not assign correspondents to all of the news of the day. If Tyndall Report readers come across videostreamed reports online of stories that were mentioned only in passing, post the link in comments for us to check out.
Today's examples: President Bush skipped the final session of the G8 Summit because of a stomach bug…Vice President Dick Cheney needs to have his heart pacemaker replaced…Rep William Jefferson (D-LA) entered a not guilty plea on racketeering charges…NASA's Space Shuttle Atlantis prepared for launch…airline travel was disrupted when an air traffic control computer in Atlanta went down.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced that Pace's name would not be put forward for a second two-year term because "a bruising confirmation battle was not worth it," according to ABC's Jake Tapper (subscription required). ABC and CBS reported on the opposition to Pace from Capitol Hill. "It turns out that members of both parties were Pace's downfall," CBS' Sharyl Attkisson reported. ABC's Tapper told us that Gates had told the President "two weeks ago" that his consultations with both "Democrats and Republicans" were "going poorly." NBC and CBS covered his ouster from the Pentagon. NBC's Jim Miklaszewski judged the announcement a surprise: "Pace was thought to be a shoo-in for renomination." CBS' David Martin called Pace "the latest casualty of the Iraq War--only he was brought down by Washington politics."
"Straight-laced and by the book," Pace had the nickname in the military of "Perfect Pete," noted NBC's Miklaszewski. However his critics contended that he "failed to seriously challenge his civilian bosses" on their Iraq War decisions. CBS' Martin pointed out that since Gates replaced his predecessor Donald Rumsfeld "every single one of the top commanders running the war has been replaced" too. Named as Pace's successor is a sailor, Adm Michael Mullen, with "no significant connection to the war in Iraq" as ABC's Tapper put it.
RENDITION CBS and ABC both covered revelations about the Central Intelligence Agency. ABC had Brian Ross follow up on his original reporting about the CIA's secret torture prisons in Poland and Romania with the investigation by the Council of Europe's human rights monitors into "secrecy, cover-up and dishonesty" by high-level European officials. CIA planes apparently filed "phony flight plans" from Afghanistan to Scotland and then diverted over eastern Europe to land its captives at the airfield prisons. There they were subjected to "techniques tantamount to torture." Ross reported that the prisons were closed 18 months ago and their inmates were transferred to the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba. He added that the CIA "dismissed" the European report as "biased and distorted" but "did not specifically deny the central allegations."
From London, CBS' Richard Roth covered the start of a trial in Italy of 26 alleged CIA spies for the abduction of the Moslem cleric abu-Omar from a street near his mosque in Milan. The imam claims he was flown to Egypt, imprisoned for four years and tortured. The accused spooks have refused to attend their own trial so "the courtroom is lined with empty cages." Roth added that a second CIA trial is scheduled for Germany where 13 agents stand accused of the kidnapping of Khaled al-Masri. He claims he was "blindfolded, drugged and flown to Afghanistan" before being released with the explanation that his abduction had been "a mistake."
PAPERWORK If CIA abductions are the most brutal manifestation of the Global War on Terrorism, border controls may be the most bureaucratic. The Department of Homeland Security tightened rules this year to require a passport for air travel to Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. "Demand for passports has exploded," NBC's Kevin Tibbles told us. The State Department is issuing twice as many as it did ten years ago and the waiting period for would-be travelers has extended from six weeks to twelve. "This has thrown summer travel into turmoil," ABC's Lisa Stark (subscription required) found, so the requirement has been relaxed through September. Now proof of a passport application is enough, not the actual document. Things get worse again next January, Stark warned, when a passport will be needed not just for airline travel but for crossing the border by car too.
SPLITSVILLE A couple of Iraq stories aired, one from Baghdad, one from the home front. CBS' Lara Logan toured the Amiriyah neighborhood of Baghdad where she found a rift between erstwhile fellow opponents of the US military occupation. Former insurgents in the "hardcore Sunni neighborhood" have now joined the USArmy's Fifth Cavalry and turned against local al-Qaeda fighters, apparently disaffected with the latter's "brutal tactics." The Iraqi government, however, is "reluctant" to support an alliance between Sunni fighters and US troops. She asked a masked member of the Amiriyah Freedom Fighters whether his new loyalty was for temporary convenience: "If you can defeat al-Qaeda will you go back to fighting the Americans?" "No." Never?" "No."
On the home front, ABC's Jim Avila took A Closer Look at military children whose parents divorce. Child custody laws require family courts to consider "what is best for the child" above everything else. "The child bonds with the parent who is at home not the one that is overseas" so courts routinely grant permanent custody to the civilian parent rather than the divorcing military spouse who is off at war. Those rulings, soldier parents told Avila, are worse than "a Dear John letter."
AFRICAN PHILANTHROPY It is not often the networks assign a reporter to Windhoek. Scott Cohn of CNBC landed the trip to Namibia and filed an In Depth feature for NBC on Kobi Alexander, the fugitive millionaire and inventor, credited with developing voice-mail technology. Back home in the United States Alexander is a wanted man, accused of fraud, bribery, witness tampering and moneylaundering. In Windhoek he is an investor and philanthropist, building housing for the poor and offering scholarship programs. Cohn explained that "the extradition process could take years--time enough for Alexander to make lots of new Namibian friends." A billboard proclaims his dedication to the nation's development. Mused Cohn: "Is Kobi Alexander trying to buy off Namibia?"
ABC named a pair of Darfur philanthropists as its Persons of the Week, not millionaires but high school students. Charles Gibson introduced us to Ana Slavin and Nik Anderson. The teenagers founded Dollars for Darfur, a program that devotes half its funds to anti-genocide advocacy and activism, half to direct humanitarian aid in Sudan for ethnically-cleansed refugees. What made their effort newsworthy was that it was conducted entirely online through the facebook and myspace social networking sites. Their network reached 2,500 high schools and netted $300,000.
MEDIA CIRCUS Yesterday, ABC and CBS relented in the face of tabloid excess and assigned Pierre Thomas and Bill Whitaker to the wretched Paris Hilton saga. Now, as Hilton's one day of house arrest ended and she returned to the county jail from which she had been prematurely released, ABC managed to hold the high ground and mention her only in passing whereas NBC's George Lewis and CBS' unlucky-again Whitaker drew the short straws. "For party girl Paris Hilton the party is over for a while," Whitaker narrated. She was taken from the courtroom "sobbing and wailing." He described the "usually picture perfect Paris" as "disheveled and distraught before the judge."
NBC's Lewis resorted to that time honored technique when assigned to a story that is really not worth covering--turn the storyline into the news media's decision to devote too much coverage to it. Lewis showed the paparazzi chase the sheriff's cruiser; he showed excerpts from the cable news channels' "breathless non-stop coverage;" and he showed clips from TV newscasts worldwide, predictably, "even in Paris."
COMMENCEMENT EXERCISES No reporter was involved, but NBC closed the week--and the school year--with its annual graduation favorite, the salute to the Class of 2007.
MENTIONED IN PASSING The network newscasts do not assign correspondents to all of the news of the day. If Tyndall Report readers come across videostreamed reports online of stories that were mentioned only in passing, post the link in comments for us to check out.
Today's examples: President Bush skipped the final session of the G8 Summit because of a stomach bug…Vice President Dick Cheney needs to have his heart pacemaker replaced…Rep William Jefferson (D-LA) entered a not guilty plea on racketeering charges…NASA's Space Shuttle Atlantis prepared for launch…airline travel was disrupted when an air traffic control computer in Atlanta went down.
