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TYNDALL HEADLINE: HIGHLIGHTS FROM OCTOBER 25, 2007
For the fourth straight day all three network newscasts led with the wildfires in southern California. But the story has peaked (19 min v 46 Wednesday, 47 Tuesday, 23 Monday). Each of the anchors was back from San Diego in the New York studio to introduce a trio of developments: evacuated residents are returning to hard hit suburb of Rancho Bernardo; President George Bush stopped over for a four-hour visit to inspect the damage; the Santiago Canyon fire in Orange County has been designated as arson. The networks could not agree on the death toll, however. ABC, whose anchor Charles Gibson has repeatedly praised the low body count, made it three, NBC eight and CBS ten.
TYNDALL PICKS FOR OCTOBER 25, 2007: CLICK ON GRID ELEMENTS TO SEARCH FOR MATCHING ITEMS
FIRESTORMS SUBSIDE For the fourth straight day all three network newscasts led with the wildfires in southern California. But the story has peaked (19 min v 46 Wednesday, 47 Tuesday, 23 Monday). Each of the anchors was back from San Diego in the New York studio to introduce a trio of developments: evacuated residents are returning to hard hit suburb of Rancho Bernardo; President George Bush stopped over for a four-hour visit to inspect the damage; the Santiago Canyon fire in Orange County has been designated as arson. The networks could not agree on the death toll, however. ABC, whose anchor Charles Gibson has repeatedly praised the low body count, made it three, NBC eight and CBS ten.
"Winds have died down and the fires have stopped growing," declared NBC's George Lewis, so the giant evacuation center at the NFL San Diego Chargers' Qualcomm Stadium was closed. Now "this entire neighborhood," said ABC's Neal Karlinsky (subscription required) , referring to Rancho Bernardo, "is literally filling up all around us right now." For the hundreds of residents rendered homeless by the fire the recreation center was converted to an advice center, offering tips on "rebuilding and getting their kids to school--there is help with taxes and insurance, even getting the mail."
The theme of the coverage of President Bush's trip was to assess whether he had learned the lessons of 2005. NBC's John Yang called his role "the Consoler in Chief" and gave Bush marks for a "robust response" in contrast to the "debacle of Hurricane Katrina." The President himself "dismissed comparisons between Katrina and California," CBS' Dean Reynolds remarked. He "seemed generally satisfied by the efforts he witnessed--but if he actually thought anybody was doing 'a heckuva job' he did not say so in public."
ABC and CBS both sent reporters to Santiago Canyon where arson investigators have offered a $150,000 reward for clues. "Arson is one of the toughest crimes to investigate, prove and prosecute," CBS' Sandra Hughes stated. "Only 10% end up in court and are almost always circumstantial." So how do they know this was torched? ABC's Brian Rooney showed us neighborhood watch photographs that documented simultaneous flames at different points of the compass: "Natural and accidental fires do not start in three places at once."
NIX QUDS FORCE ATMS There was one other story that was assigned to a reporter on each of the three newscasts: the Treasury Department's threat of financial sanctions against businesses that trade with a trio of Teheran-based banks operated by the Revolutionary Guard branch of Iran's military. CBS assigned its White House correspondent Jim Axelrod to the announcement; NBC chose Andrea Mitchell at the State Department; ABC went with Pentagon man Jonathan Karl (subscription required).
CBS' Axelrod called the sanctions "an exclamation point on a recent round of escalating rhetoric about Iran" rerunning George Bush's soundbite from last week's press conference that merely "having the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon" needed to be prevented in order to avoid World War III. NBC' Mitchell spelled out Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's pair of specific complaints against the Revolutionary Guard: first, "financing weapons of mass destruction including a secret nuclear program;" second, the Guard's Quds Force is supporting Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Taliban in Afghanistan and Shiite militias in Iraq. ABC's Karl quoted the characterization of Rice by President Vladimir Putin of Russia: "Running around like a madman with a razor blade."
ABC's Karl also noted that the latest request for funds from Congress by the Pentagon included $88m to equip B-2 Stealth Bombers with "a massive new bunkerbusting bomb--the kind of weapons that could destroy Iran's underground nuclear facilities." Former diplomat Richard Haass, now head of the Council on Foreign Relations, was invited by CBS anchor Katie Couric to weigh up the likelihood of war. "I do not think we are talking about invasion. The United States does not have ground troops. There could be a military strike using aircraft and cruise missiles…Over the next two years can I imagine the United States and Iran moving to conflict? The short answer is 'Yes.'" Is it definite? Obviously not. Is it a real possibility? For sure."
MORE MADRASSAS NBC followed up on Pakistani politics. Monday Today newscaster Ann Curry profiled Benazir Bhutto and her Karachi-based militancy against radical Islamists. Now Richard Engel files In Depth from the northern city of Peshawar on the Islamists' growing strength there. Peshawar, Engel reminded us, was the birthplace of al-Qaeda and the onetime home of Osama bin Laden. "Now al-Qaeda and Taliban militants are moving back to raise funds and find new recruits." The city is turning puritanical in its religious observance, with stores intimidated into halting sales of movies and music and barbers warned to stop shaving beards. The recruits are found in Pakistan's 20,000 rural madrassas, schools whose role is "to teach Islam and equip holy warriors with education and morals." Responding to pressure from the United States, President Pervez Musharraf tried to close some madrassas this summer "but the crackdown seems to have backfired." Madrassa administrators told Engel "the more the United States and Pakistan are perceived as fighting Islam, the more students enroll."
HUGS AND FLAGELLATION There was a hug 214 miles above Earth that attracted coverage from ABC's David Muir and CBS' Kimberly Dozier. It was between a pair of spacewomen in the International Space Station: to be precise "the embrace of two women in charge," as Dozier put it. Space Shuttle Discovery commander Pamela Melroy is "a self-described military brat," according to ABC's Muir; "a former USAF test pilot who flew combat missions in Iraq," per Dozier. Space Station commander Peggy Whitson has "roots on an Iowa farm," says Muir; is "a Russian-speaking biochemist" and a "renowned space jock who can out-leg-press the guys," offers Dozier.
Dozier showed the better clip: when Whitson took command before her Soyuz launch, she was awarded a formal symbol of her authority over her crew--a whip.
AHEAD IN THE POLLS Campaign 2008 coverage focused on the two frontrunners. As Hillary Rodham Clinton celebrated her 60th birthday, CBS' Jeff Greenfield made her very frontrunning status the topic of his analysis. His network's opinion poll showed her with a commanding lead (51% v 23%) over nearest Democratic rival Barack Osama. "How," wondered Greenfield, "did so controversial, so polarizing a figure come to dominate her party's race for the nomination?" Greenfield offered a four-part answer: she appeals to the middle class; she has convinced her party's base that she will get troops out of Iraq; she embodies toughness and perseverance; and she has claimed "the mantle of change for herself."
On NBC, Ron Allen followed up on an analysis by The New York Times of the neo-conservative foreign policy team advising Republican Rudolph Giuliani. His "supporters insist that it is a policy that projects strength," Allen observed. Specific recommendations made on the record by his advisors include security profiling of Moslems at airports, a repeal of the ban on assassinations by the United States government--and bombing Iran. Commented MSNBC political analyst Pat Buchanan, a so-called paleo-conservative: "A vote for Rudy is tantamount to a vote for permanent war."
COMING CLEAN When BP, the multinational oil conglomerate, pled guilty to criminal negligence in the Texas oil refinery explosion two years ago that killed 15 workers, along with a stiff $373m fine, it agreed to expose its internal procedures. ABC's Pierre Thomas took a look and found "a pattern of bad corporate behavior." Not only did BP ignore Clean Air Act rules for operating refineries, it also allowed its pipeline in Alaska to corrode "leading to a major oil spill in the pristine wilderness." BP ran a scheme to corner the propane gas market, gouging 7m customers of $53m. Thomas played the audiotape of "tickled pink" executives celebrating.
NOTHING TO DO WITH DA VINCI CBS used the hook of Dan Brown's bestselling novel The Da Vinci Code to introduce Richard Roth's coverage of another book being published by the Vatican. The Trial of the Templars has no chance of becoming a bestseller since its print run is only 800. Still, at an $8000 list price, the leather-bound wax-sealed volume may make some money. The book consists of the transcript of the medieval ecclesiastical trial of the Knights Templar that led to their disgrace and dissolution. Roth mentioned Brown's tale of the Templars being "the supersecret guardians of the Holy Grail" only in order to debunk it. "The Knights, it turns out, were probably victims of C14th politics--of a French king who wanted their riches and a Pope who could not protect them."
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: crude oil prices continue to climb, with the price of a barrel surpassing $90…the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled more toys imported from China for using lead paint…the Airbus A-380 superjumbo jet made its maiden commercial flight.
"Winds have died down and the fires have stopped growing," declared NBC's George Lewis, so the giant evacuation center at the NFL San Diego Chargers' Qualcomm Stadium was closed. Now "this entire neighborhood," said ABC's Neal Karlinsky (subscription required) , referring to Rancho Bernardo, "is literally filling up all around us right now." For the hundreds of residents rendered homeless by the fire the recreation center was converted to an advice center, offering tips on "rebuilding and getting their kids to school--there is help with taxes and insurance, even getting the mail."
The theme of the coverage of President Bush's trip was to assess whether he had learned the lessons of 2005. NBC's John Yang called his role "the Consoler in Chief" and gave Bush marks for a "robust response" in contrast to the "debacle of Hurricane Katrina." The President himself "dismissed comparisons between Katrina and California," CBS' Dean Reynolds remarked. He "seemed generally satisfied by the efforts he witnessed--but if he actually thought anybody was doing 'a heckuva job' he did not say so in public."
ABC and CBS both sent reporters to Santiago Canyon where arson investigators have offered a $150,000 reward for clues. "Arson is one of the toughest crimes to investigate, prove and prosecute," CBS' Sandra Hughes stated. "Only 10% end up in court and are almost always circumstantial." So how do they know this was torched? ABC's Brian Rooney showed us neighborhood watch photographs that documented simultaneous flames at different points of the compass: "Natural and accidental fires do not start in three places at once."
NIX QUDS FORCE ATMS There was one other story that was assigned to a reporter on each of the three newscasts: the Treasury Department's threat of financial sanctions against businesses that trade with a trio of Teheran-based banks operated by the Revolutionary Guard branch of Iran's military. CBS assigned its White House correspondent Jim Axelrod to the announcement; NBC chose Andrea Mitchell at the State Department; ABC went with Pentagon man Jonathan Karl (subscription required).
CBS' Axelrod called the sanctions "an exclamation point on a recent round of escalating rhetoric about Iran" rerunning George Bush's soundbite from last week's press conference that merely "having the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon" needed to be prevented in order to avoid World War III. NBC' Mitchell spelled out Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's pair of specific complaints against the Revolutionary Guard: first, "financing weapons of mass destruction including a secret nuclear program;" second, the Guard's Quds Force is supporting Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Taliban in Afghanistan and Shiite militias in Iraq. ABC's Karl quoted the characterization of Rice by President Vladimir Putin of Russia: "Running around like a madman with a razor blade."
ABC's Karl also noted that the latest request for funds from Congress by the Pentagon included $88m to equip B-2 Stealth Bombers with "a massive new bunkerbusting bomb--the kind of weapons that could destroy Iran's underground nuclear facilities." Former diplomat Richard Haass, now head of the Council on Foreign Relations, was invited by CBS anchor Katie Couric to weigh up the likelihood of war. "I do not think we are talking about invasion. The United States does not have ground troops. There could be a military strike using aircraft and cruise missiles…Over the next two years can I imagine the United States and Iran moving to conflict? The short answer is 'Yes.'" Is it definite? Obviously not. Is it a real possibility? For sure."
MORE MADRASSAS NBC followed up on Pakistani politics. Monday Today newscaster Ann Curry profiled Benazir Bhutto and her Karachi-based militancy against radical Islamists. Now Richard Engel files In Depth from the northern city of Peshawar on the Islamists' growing strength there. Peshawar, Engel reminded us, was the birthplace of al-Qaeda and the onetime home of Osama bin Laden. "Now al-Qaeda and Taliban militants are moving back to raise funds and find new recruits." The city is turning puritanical in its religious observance, with stores intimidated into halting sales of movies and music and barbers warned to stop shaving beards. The recruits are found in Pakistan's 20,000 rural madrassas, schools whose role is "to teach Islam and equip holy warriors with education and morals." Responding to pressure from the United States, President Pervez Musharraf tried to close some madrassas this summer "but the crackdown seems to have backfired." Madrassa administrators told Engel "the more the United States and Pakistan are perceived as fighting Islam, the more students enroll."
HUGS AND FLAGELLATION There was a hug 214 miles above Earth that attracted coverage from ABC's David Muir and CBS' Kimberly Dozier. It was between a pair of spacewomen in the International Space Station: to be precise "the embrace of two women in charge," as Dozier put it. Space Shuttle Discovery commander Pamela Melroy is "a self-described military brat," according to ABC's Muir; "a former USAF test pilot who flew combat missions in Iraq," per Dozier. Space Station commander Peggy Whitson has "roots on an Iowa farm," says Muir; is "a Russian-speaking biochemist" and a "renowned space jock who can out-leg-press the guys," offers Dozier.
Dozier showed the better clip: when Whitson took command before her Soyuz launch, she was awarded a formal symbol of her authority over her crew--a whip.
AHEAD IN THE POLLS Campaign 2008 coverage focused on the two frontrunners. As Hillary Rodham Clinton celebrated her 60th birthday, CBS' Jeff Greenfield made her very frontrunning status the topic of his analysis. His network's opinion poll showed her with a commanding lead (51% v 23%) over nearest Democratic rival Barack Osama. "How," wondered Greenfield, "did so controversial, so polarizing a figure come to dominate her party's race for the nomination?" Greenfield offered a four-part answer: she appeals to the middle class; she has convinced her party's base that she will get troops out of Iraq; she embodies toughness and perseverance; and she has claimed "the mantle of change for herself."
On NBC, Ron Allen followed up on an analysis by The New York Times of the neo-conservative foreign policy team advising Republican Rudolph Giuliani. His "supporters insist that it is a policy that projects strength," Allen observed. Specific recommendations made on the record by his advisors include security profiling of Moslems at airports, a repeal of the ban on assassinations by the United States government--and bombing Iran. Commented MSNBC political analyst Pat Buchanan, a so-called paleo-conservative: "A vote for Rudy is tantamount to a vote for permanent war."
COMING CLEAN When BP, the multinational oil conglomerate, pled guilty to criminal negligence in the Texas oil refinery explosion two years ago that killed 15 workers, along with a stiff $373m fine, it agreed to expose its internal procedures. ABC's Pierre Thomas took a look and found "a pattern of bad corporate behavior." Not only did BP ignore Clean Air Act rules for operating refineries, it also allowed its pipeline in Alaska to corrode "leading to a major oil spill in the pristine wilderness." BP ran a scheme to corner the propane gas market, gouging 7m customers of $53m. Thomas played the audiotape of "tickled pink" executives celebrating.
NOTHING TO DO WITH DA VINCI CBS used the hook of Dan Brown's bestselling novel The Da Vinci Code to introduce Richard Roth's coverage of another book being published by the Vatican. The Trial of the Templars has no chance of becoming a bestseller since its print run is only 800. Still, at an $8000 list price, the leather-bound wax-sealed volume may make some money. The book consists of the transcript of the medieval ecclesiastical trial of the Knights Templar that led to their disgrace and dissolution. Roth mentioned Brown's tale of the Templars being "the supersecret guardians of the Holy Grail" only in order to debunk it. "The Knights, it turns out, were probably victims of C14th politics--of a French king who wanted their riches and a Pope who could not protect them."
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: crude oil prices continue to climb, with the price of a barrel surpassing $90…the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled more toys imported from China for using lead paint…the Airbus A-380 superjumbo jet made its maiden commercial flight.
