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TYNDALL HEADLINE: HIGHLIGHTS FROM OCTOBER 11, 2007
The safety of infants and toddlers was the Story of the Day as the pharmaceutical industry pulled cold-and-cough medicines marketed over-the-counter for use by babies from store shelves. The products, from brands such as Dimetapp, PediaCare, Robitussin and Triaminic, were not only unproven to be effective at relieving symptoms, they were potentially harmful. Overdoses may have killed some 120 babies over the past three decades: 50 from decongestants; 70 from antihistamines. ABC and NBC both led with the voluntary recall. CBS, which led with a local story from Cleveland yesterday, chose a second troubled teenager for its lead: a 14-year-old boy in suburban Philadelphia was found with an arsenal of weapons in his bedroom.
TYNDALL PICKS FOR OCTOBER 11, 2007: CLICK ON GRID ELEMENTS TO SEARCH FOR MATCHING ITEMS
BALTIMORE BABY WATCH PAYS OFF The safety of infants and toddlers was the Story of the Day as the pharmaceutical industry pulled cold-and-cough medicines marketed over-the-counter for use by babies from store shelves. The products, from brands such as Dimetapp, PediaCare, Robitussin and Triaminic, were not only unproven to be effective at relieving symptoms, they were potentially harmful. Overdoses may have killed some 120 babies over the past three decades: 50 from decongestants; 70 from antihistamines. ABC and NBC both led with the voluntary recall. CBS, which led with a local story from Cleveland yesterday, chose a second troubled teenager for its lead: a 14-year-old boy in suburban Philadelphia was found with an arsenal of weapons in his bedroom.
The questions over the safety of the cold-and-cough syrups have been in the news since March. ABC's Lisa Stark (subscription required) gave credit to Dr Joshua Sharfstein, Baltimore's Commissioner of Public Health, for first raising the red flag. NBC's Robert Bazell pointed out that this recall is voluntary, with Big Pharma emphasizing that "they are acting out of an abundance of caution." CBS' Wyatt Andrews offered a possible motive: next week, the Food & Drug Administration will consider "banning these medicines for children under six. Consumer groups say the industry is giving up the infant market in order to keep the under-six market."
ABC's in-house physician Timothy Johnson (no link) stated that saline nose drops, humidifiers and additional fluids are all most babies need to treat a cold: "Most kids get better because of time." In the case of fever or pain he suggested a "single ingredient product" instead of these withdrawn multi-symptom brands. Tylenol and Motrin were his choices. If the FDA does ban the syrups for all preschoolers "that would be a huge step--because that is a big market."
GUNS UNDER THE BED The Plymouth Meeting Pa boy with guns in his bedroom was not identified because of his age. All three networks treated his arsenal as worthy of national attention: at least 30 BB guns, an assault rifle, homemade hand grenades, knives and swords. Police told CBS' Maggie Rodriguez that "the boy's mother not only knew he had an assault rifle, she actually bought it for him." ABC's Dan Harris showed us the boy's Website at httie.com, "filled with misspellings" where he claimed to operate the Imperial Cobra Army and styled himself "the world's youngest mercenary." He was home-schooled, having been removed from junior high school 18 months ago "because of bullying," NBC's Ron Allen told us. The police claimed that the boy had confessed to a plot to massacre his former classmates, now high school students, Columbine-style.
CBS and ABC both followed up on yesterday's teenage suicide in Cleveland, showing a student's video of a panicked classroom that had been obtained by local 19 Action News TV. The dead boy was identified as Asa Coon. ABC's Eric Horng (no link) noted that court documents detailed his earlier failed suicide attempt in juvenile detention. CBS' Bianca Solorzano cited statistics from the Centers for Disease Control that found that "nearly half of all violence in schools is preceded by warning signs, many times as talk of revenge against bullies." Standing alone, that is a weak statistic. We also need its corollary: how frequently does "talk of revenge against bullies" result in school violence?
MARINES GET ITCHY The three networks choose separate angles from Iraq. ABC had Miguel Marquez file from al-Jadidah, a "dusty little town" north of Baghdad where Gen David Petraeus was meeting and greeting the locals "like a politician running a grassroots campaign." Marquez explained that a lull in violence during the holy month of Ramadan has allowed Petraeus to shift his focus. Instead of worrying about security, he talked reconstruction--how to make a road passable during the rainy season; how to fix the town's unreliable electric generator.
CBS and NBC both turned to their Pentagon correspondents. NBC's Jim Miklaszewski covered the request by Gen James Conway, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, for a total pullout of his 25,000 forces from Iraq. He wants to swap duties with the USArmy, sending Marines to Afghanistan and bringing soldiers from Afghanistan into Iraq. "The Marines believe their primary mission is to seize territory--than turn it over to the army and get out." On CBS, David Martin covered a coordinated attack by 14 rockets fired from an abandoned school, five miles distant, that hit Camp Victory near Baghdad Airport, the headquarters of Gen Raymond Odierno, and killed two soldiers. Martin quoted unnamed "US military officers" as blaming "equipment and training provided by Iran for the increased accuracy of rocket and mortar attacks."
IN DENIAL Last month, all three networks led with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran, notorious for his questions about the genocide of Jews during World War II. Now only NBC assigned a reporter to the pressure by President George Bush on Congress to refrain from condemning the genocide of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Andrea Mitchell described the controversy over "a non-binding, symbolic vote, condemning a massacre of Armenians that took place almost a century ago by a Turkish government that no longer exists." Mitchell reminded us that then-candidate Bush had offered the following pledge during Campaign 2000: "If elected President I would ensure that our nation properly recognizes the tragic suffering of the Armenian people." Yet now he is lobbying for Congress not to condemn it as genocide. Mitchell explained that such a resolution offends the current republican government in Ankara, threatening Turkey's alliance with the United States. She noted that Turkey's tanks are massing along the border with Iraqi Kurdistan "preparing to shut down bases used by Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq." Turkey is also "the supply route for 70% of the military's air cargo to Iraq."
So in order to pursue its interests in Iraq, the United States is prepared to tolerate genocide denial by one of Iraq's neighbors.
MY BROTHER IS OLDER THAN MY MOTHER The second profile of ABC's weekly Who Is? series on the Campaign 2008 contenders selected Republican Fred Thompson. "You have juggled three careers in your life. And you have moved rather seamlessly between them. Lawyer-lobbyist, senator actor--which coat fits best?" asked anchor Charles Gibson (subscription required). "Well, up until now, lawyer." As for Thompson's family life, he has fathered half-siblings four decades apart in age. "He married his high school sweetheart two weeks after turning 17. And very soon they had a young son…now in his second marriage, his wife Jeri is 24 years his junior and at age 65 he has two very young children."
SOME QUESTIONS The Nobel Peace Prize will be awarded tomorrow and NBC's David Gregory followed the buzz surrounding Al Gore that CBS' Mark Phillips heard on Tuesday. Gregory focused on the political impact of a potential laureate. He showed as the full-page advertisement in The New York Times placed by his backers at draftgore.com. "Does Al Gore still want to be President? This summer he said: 'No'--but not 'Never.'" Then Gregory lapsed into that lazy passive voice that has so exercised Jeff Jarvis (text link) at buzzmachine.com: "Politically Gore is seen by some as a potential savior in the 2008 race, with questions about frontrunner Hillary Clinton's electability and the GOP field leaving many Republicans dissatisfied."
Which "some"? Whose "questions"?
SCOTLAND THE STUBBORN The flacks at the Scottish Tourist Board are qualifying for bonus pay. Yesterday NBC's Michelle Kosinski showed us the "green wide vistas" of the highlands: once-forested hills were cleared centuries ago for charcoal and are now gradually being replanted. Now CBS' Mark Phillips takes us to the sand dunes of Balmedie along the "stunning east coast of Scotland" where a golf course and hotel resort is being planned by billionaire developer Donald Trump. Trump's project was planned "to help him get in touch with his roots. His mother was from here. If that is the case he is having the full Scottish experience--starting with stubbornness." A local farm is located where the course's back nine is planned and the farmer, Michael Forbes, is not selling. Quipped Forbes of the Donald: "He is fired."
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: the Nobel Prize for Literature was awarded to Doris Lessing…a Congressional delegation has returned from a tour to inspect food exports from China: "not safe to eat" was the verdict…the Justice Department has detected military espionage of high-tech secrets--fighter jets, nuclear components, missile data, night-vision gear--by China, Pakistan and Iran…security scanners that render nude silhouettes of passengers have been installed at Phoenix Airport.
The questions over the safety of the cold-and-cough syrups have been in the news since March. ABC's Lisa Stark (subscription required) gave credit to Dr Joshua Sharfstein, Baltimore's Commissioner of Public Health, for first raising the red flag. NBC's Robert Bazell pointed out that this recall is voluntary, with Big Pharma emphasizing that "they are acting out of an abundance of caution." CBS' Wyatt Andrews offered a possible motive: next week, the Food & Drug Administration will consider "banning these medicines for children under six. Consumer groups say the industry is giving up the infant market in order to keep the under-six market."
ABC's in-house physician Timothy Johnson (no link) stated that saline nose drops, humidifiers and additional fluids are all most babies need to treat a cold: "Most kids get better because of time." In the case of fever or pain he suggested a "single ingredient product" instead of these withdrawn multi-symptom brands. Tylenol and Motrin were his choices. If the FDA does ban the syrups for all preschoolers "that would be a huge step--because that is a big market."
GUNS UNDER THE BED The Plymouth Meeting Pa boy with guns in his bedroom was not identified because of his age. All three networks treated his arsenal as worthy of national attention: at least 30 BB guns, an assault rifle, homemade hand grenades, knives and swords. Police told CBS' Maggie Rodriguez that "the boy's mother not only knew he had an assault rifle, she actually bought it for him." ABC's Dan Harris showed us the boy's Website at httie.com, "filled with misspellings" where he claimed to operate the Imperial Cobra Army and styled himself "the world's youngest mercenary." He was home-schooled, having been removed from junior high school 18 months ago "because of bullying," NBC's Ron Allen told us. The police claimed that the boy had confessed to a plot to massacre his former classmates, now high school students, Columbine-style.
CBS and ABC both followed up on yesterday's teenage suicide in Cleveland, showing a student's video of a panicked classroom that had been obtained by local 19 Action News TV. The dead boy was identified as Asa Coon. ABC's Eric Horng (no link) noted that court documents detailed his earlier failed suicide attempt in juvenile detention. CBS' Bianca Solorzano cited statistics from the Centers for Disease Control that found that "nearly half of all violence in schools is preceded by warning signs, many times as talk of revenge against bullies." Standing alone, that is a weak statistic. We also need its corollary: how frequently does "talk of revenge against bullies" result in school violence?
MARINES GET ITCHY The three networks choose separate angles from Iraq. ABC had Miguel Marquez file from al-Jadidah, a "dusty little town" north of Baghdad where Gen David Petraeus was meeting and greeting the locals "like a politician running a grassroots campaign." Marquez explained that a lull in violence during the holy month of Ramadan has allowed Petraeus to shift his focus. Instead of worrying about security, he talked reconstruction--how to make a road passable during the rainy season; how to fix the town's unreliable electric generator.
CBS and NBC both turned to their Pentagon correspondents. NBC's Jim Miklaszewski covered the request by Gen James Conway, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, for a total pullout of his 25,000 forces from Iraq. He wants to swap duties with the USArmy, sending Marines to Afghanistan and bringing soldiers from Afghanistan into Iraq. "The Marines believe their primary mission is to seize territory--than turn it over to the army and get out." On CBS, David Martin covered a coordinated attack by 14 rockets fired from an abandoned school, five miles distant, that hit Camp Victory near Baghdad Airport, the headquarters of Gen Raymond Odierno, and killed two soldiers. Martin quoted unnamed "US military officers" as blaming "equipment and training provided by Iran for the increased accuracy of rocket and mortar attacks."
IN DENIAL Last month, all three networks led with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran, notorious for his questions about the genocide of Jews during World War II. Now only NBC assigned a reporter to the pressure by President George Bush on Congress to refrain from condemning the genocide of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Andrea Mitchell described the controversy over "a non-binding, symbolic vote, condemning a massacre of Armenians that took place almost a century ago by a Turkish government that no longer exists." Mitchell reminded us that then-candidate Bush had offered the following pledge during Campaign 2000: "If elected President I would ensure that our nation properly recognizes the tragic suffering of the Armenian people." Yet now he is lobbying for Congress not to condemn it as genocide. Mitchell explained that such a resolution offends the current republican government in Ankara, threatening Turkey's alliance with the United States. She noted that Turkey's tanks are massing along the border with Iraqi Kurdistan "preparing to shut down bases used by Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq." Turkey is also "the supply route for 70% of the military's air cargo to Iraq."
So in order to pursue its interests in Iraq, the United States is prepared to tolerate genocide denial by one of Iraq's neighbors.
MY BROTHER IS OLDER THAN MY MOTHER The second profile of ABC's weekly Who Is? series on the Campaign 2008 contenders selected Republican Fred Thompson. "You have juggled three careers in your life. And you have moved rather seamlessly between them. Lawyer-lobbyist, senator actor--which coat fits best?" asked anchor Charles Gibson (subscription required). "Well, up until now, lawyer." As for Thompson's family life, he has fathered half-siblings four decades apart in age. "He married his high school sweetheart two weeks after turning 17. And very soon they had a young son…now in his second marriage, his wife Jeri is 24 years his junior and at age 65 he has two very young children."
SOME QUESTIONS The Nobel Peace Prize will be awarded tomorrow and NBC's David Gregory followed the buzz surrounding Al Gore that CBS' Mark Phillips heard on Tuesday. Gregory focused on the political impact of a potential laureate. He showed as the full-page advertisement in The New York Times placed by his backers at draftgore.com. "Does Al Gore still want to be President? This summer he said: 'No'--but not 'Never.'" Then Gregory lapsed into that lazy passive voice that has so exercised Jeff Jarvis (text link) at buzzmachine.com: "Politically Gore is seen by some as a potential savior in the 2008 race, with questions about frontrunner Hillary Clinton's electability and the GOP field leaving many Republicans dissatisfied."
Which "some"? Whose "questions"?
SCOTLAND THE STUBBORN The flacks at the Scottish Tourist Board are qualifying for bonus pay. Yesterday NBC's Michelle Kosinski showed us the "green wide vistas" of the highlands: once-forested hills were cleared centuries ago for charcoal and are now gradually being replanted. Now CBS' Mark Phillips takes us to the sand dunes of Balmedie along the "stunning east coast of Scotland" where a golf course and hotel resort is being planned by billionaire developer Donald Trump. Trump's project was planned "to help him get in touch with his roots. His mother was from here. If that is the case he is having the full Scottish experience--starting with stubbornness." A local farm is located where the course's back nine is planned and the farmer, Michael Forbes, is not selling. Quipped Forbes of the Donald: "He is fired."
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: the Nobel Prize for Literature was awarded to Doris Lessing…a Congressional delegation has returned from a tour to inspect food exports from China: "not safe to eat" was the verdict…the Justice Department has detected military espionage of high-tech secrets--fighter jets, nuclear components, missile data, night-vision gear--by China, Pakistan and Iran…security scanners that render nude silhouettes of passengers have been installed at Phoenix Airport.
