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TYNDALL HEADLINE: HIGHLIGHTS FROM JANUARY 5, 2007
The snow that did not fall was the Story of the Day. Only NBC led with the unseasonably warm winter weather. But January shirtsleeves in New York City's Central Park and brown, barren ski slopes attracted enough attention to edge out the choice of lead on ABC and CBS. That was opposition from the newly-installed Democratic Congressional leadership to President George Bush's expected build-up of troops in Iraq.
TYNDALL PICKS FOR JANUARY 5, 2007: CLICK ON GRID ELEMENTS TO SEARCH FOR MATCHING ITEMS
WEIRD WINTER The snow that did not fall was the Story of the Day. Only NBC led with the unseasonably warm winter weather. But January shirtsleeves in New York City's Central Park and brown, barren ski slopes attracted enough attention to edge out the choice of lead on ABC and CBS. That was opposition from the newly-installed Democratic Congressional leadership to President George Bush's expected build-up of troops in Iraq.
Temperatures from the east coast to Chicago are 20F higher than average. NBC's Dawn Fratangelo showed us springlike cherry and apricot blossoms at Brooklyn's Botanical Gardens while NBC's Tom Costello explained why some are still suffering from sniffles: autumnal mold spores, usually killed off by winter frost, have survived to continue irritating allergic sinus membranes.
CBS' Sharyn Alfonsi saw the cute side of these balmy days in her Weird Weather feature: great blue herons in New Jersey, loggerhead turtles coming to shore early in Florida, New York City frogs mating prematurely. ABC's Barbara Pinto looked at the downside for those businesses that depend on the cold: ski resorts, hardware stores, outerwear apparel outlets, ice fishing festivals and unpicked grapes for ice wine at Sheldrake Point Vineyard in upstate New York.
WARMTH NOT CAUSED BY WARMING NBC's Brian Williams wanted an answer "once and for all" about whether this winter is a symptom of "some kind of global warming trend." He consulted NOAA meteorologist Dennis Feltgen: "It is not global warming at all. It is El Nino, El Nino, El Nino." Williams did not ask the follow up: did global warming exacerbate this year's El Nino? "Most scientists will agree that the planet is slowly warming," ABC's Ned Potter insisted--before explaining how El Nino works.
SURGE CONTROL The letter to the President by Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Harry Reid warned the President not to implement his expected 20,000 troop build-up in Iraq. It would "stretch our military to the breaking point," ABC's Martha Raddatz (subscription required) quoted them.
Oddly, ABC did not quote the views of Jack Keane, its own in-house consultant, who is the author of the plan for the so-called surge. Keane attended a symposium on his policy at the American Enterprise Institute where CBS' David Martin did quote him. "We have never had a strategy to defeat the insurgency…that is what this plan is all about," Keane said, implying that he wants the US military to fight the Sunni resistance not Shiite militias.
CBS' Martin also filled us in on the two new military commanders, whose names were announced yesterday. Adm William Fallon, the next head of Central Command, "is described by people who have worked for him as caustic, arrogant and an SOB." Gen David Petraeus, the designated leader of forces inside Iraq, "is perhaps the most controversial officer in the army because of his Type A personality and what many view as his too cozy relationship with the media."
CONTRACTOR’S KILLINGS Democratic control of Senate committees will mean intensified oversight hearings. CBS' Armen Keteyian gave us a preview of the Judiciary Committee for his Investigates feature. Sen Patrick Leahy plans to probe contractors working for the Pentagon in Iraq. Those firms employ 60,000 civilians in total and 80 cases of waste, fraud or abuse are under investigation. Kellogg Brown Root, for example, is accused of overcharging for military use of recreation facilities by a factor of ten. So far, said Keteyian, "not a single criminal case has been filed against any large corporation doing work in Iraq."
DEMOCRATS PARTY As for the Democrats' eagerness to clean up influence peddling inside-the-Beltway, both CBS and NBC adopted a world-weary tone.
CBS' Gloria Borger went to The Palm, home of the power lunch, to ask about the House ban on members eating free meals on the lobbyists' tab. "The people that write those rules are very creative. I am sure they will find ways to get around them," the restaurant's calm executive director Tommy Jacomo reassured her.
NBC's In Depth had Lisa Myers showed clips from the campaign fundraising concert the Democrats threw to celebrate their victory. "Neither party is doing anything to crack down on campaign money lobbyists give and raise," Myers mused. She called the Speaker's office for an explanation: "There were only about 200 lobbyists" at the $1,000-per-head concert, said a spokesperson.
NOT SO EASY On Monday. NBC's Martin Savidge covered the killings of two unarmed people on New Orleans' Danziger Bridge in 2001, homicides for which policemen will be prosecuted. Savidge's follow-up was on the skyrocketing murder rate in New Orleans generally. With 14 killings in the last week "more Americans have died in New Orleans than in Iraq." Many of the deaths arise from narcotics dealing and from retaliation feuds, still "the only persons arrested and charged with homicides in a week have been police officers."
FRIDAY FOSTERS The Friday night tradition is for all three networks to close on a heartwarming feature. Both ABC's Person of the Week and CBS' Assignment America settled on substitute parents in the fostercare system.
CBS' Steve Hartman went to Minnesota to profile Larry Scandin. Now too sick to play the role, over 14 years the former parole officer cared for more than 100 children. Now those grown children return to greet him in his wheelchair, and bring their children along too.
ABC's Charles Gibson told us about a pediatric nurse Laura Moore who found that disabled children are hard to place in foster homes. After she was profiled by People magazine she raised funds for a Dream House community in rural Georgia to take children out of hospital and place them in a homelike atmosphere pending assignment.
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 lone example was December's data on the labor market, which found a surprisingly large increase of 167,000 jobs.
Temperatures from the east coast to Chicago are 20F higher than average. NBC's Dawn Fratangelo showed us springlike cherry and apricot blossoms at Brooklyn's Botanical Gardens while NBC's Tom Costello explained why some are still suffering from sniffles: autumnal mold spores, usually killed off by winter frost, have survived to continue irritating allergic sinus membranes.
CBS' Sharyn Alfonsi saw the cute side of these balmy days in her Weird Weather feature: great blue herons in New Jersey, loggerhead turtles coming to shore early in Florida, New York City frogs mating prematurely. ABC's Barbara Pinto looked at the downside for those businesses that depend on the cold: ski resorts, hardware stores, outerwear apparel outlets, ice fishing festivals and unpicked grapes for ice wine at Sheldrake Point Vineyard in upstate New York.
WARMTH NOT CAUSED BY WARMING NBC's Brian Williams wanted an answer "once and for all" about whether this winter is a symptom of "some kind of global warming trend." He consulted NOAA meteorologist Dennis Feltgen: "It is not global warming at all. It is El Nino, El Nino, El Nino." Williams did not ask the follow up: did global warming exacerbate this year's El Nino? "Most scientists will agree that the planet is slowly warming," ABC's Ned Potter insisted--before explaining how El Nino works.
SURGE CONTROL The letter to the President by Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Harry Reid warned the President not to implement his expected 20,000 troop build-up in Iraq. It would "stretch our military to the breaking point," ABC's Martha Raddatz (subscription required) quoted them.
Oddly, ABC did not quote the views of Jack Keane, its own in-house consultant, who is the author of the plan for the so-called surge. Keane attended a symposium on his policy at the American Enterprise Institute where CBS' David Martin did quote him. "We have never had a strategy to defeat the insurgency…that is what this plan is all about," Keane said, implying that he wants the US military to fight the Sunni resistance not Shiite militias.
CBS' Martin also filled us in on the two new military commanders, whose names were announced yesterday. Adm William Fallon, the next head of Central Command, "is described by people who have worked for him as caustic, arrogant and an SOB." Gen David Petraeus, the designated leader of forces inside Iraq, "is perhaps the most controversial officer in the army because of his Type A personality and what many view as his too cozy relationship with the media."
CONTRACTOR’S KILLINGS Democratic control of Senate committees will mean intensified oversight hearings. CBS' Armen Keteyian gave us a preview of the Judiciary Committee for his Investigates feature. Sen Patrick Leahy plans to probe contractors working for the Pentagon in Iraq. Those firms employ 60,000 civilians in total and 80 cases of waste, fraud or abuse are under investigation. Kellogg Brown Root, for example, is accused of overcharging for military use of recreation facilities by a factor of ten. So far, said Keteyian, "not a single criminal case has been filed against any large corporation doing work in Iraq."
DEMOCRATS PARTY As for the Democrats' eagerness to clean up influence peddling inside-the-Beltway, both CBS and NBC adopted a world-weary tone.
CBS' Gloria Borger went to The Palm, home of the power lunch, to ask about the House ban on members eating free meals on the lobbyists' tab. "The people that write those rules are very creative. I am sure they will find ways to get around them," the restaurant's calm executive director Tommy Jacomo reassured her.
NBC's In Depth had Lisa Myers showed clips from the campaign fundraising concert the Democrats threw to celebrate their victory. "Neither party is doing anything to crack down on campaign money lobbyists give and raise," Myers mused. She called the Speaker's office for an explanation: "There were only about 200 lobbyists" at the $1,000-per-head concert, said a spokesperson.
NOT SO EASY On Monday. NBC's Martin Savidge covered the killings of two unarmed people on New Orleans' Danziger Bridge in 2001, homicides for which policemen will be prosecuted. Savidge's follow-up was on the skyrocketing murder rate in New Orleans generally. With 14 killings in the last week "more Americans have died in New Orleans than in Iraq." Many of the deaths arise from narcotics dealing and from retaliation feuds, still "the only persons arrested and charged with homicides in a week have been police officers."
FRIDAY FOSTERS The Friday night tradition is for all three networks to close on a heartwarming feature. Both ABC's Person of the Week and CBS' Assignment America settled on substitute parents in the fostercare system.
CBS' Steve Hartman went to Minnesota to profile Larry Scandin. Now too sick to play the role, over 14 years the former parole officer cared for more than 100 children. Now those grown children return to greet him in his wheelchair, and bring their children along too.
ABC's Charles Gibson told us about a pediatric nurse Laura Moore who found that disabled children are hard to place in foster homes. After she was profiled by People magazine she raised funds for a Dream House community in rural Georgia to take children out of hospital and place them in a homelike atmosphere pending assignment.
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 lone example was December's data on the labor market, which found a surprisingly large increase of 167,000 jobs.
