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TYNDALL HEADLINE: HIGHLIGHTS FROM JUNE 02, 2009
Confirmation that Air France's Flight 447 had been doomed was the lead story on all three newscasts, the unanimous Story of the Day. Debris from the crashed Airbus 330 has been located in the Atlantic Ocean off the northeast coast of Brazil. The jetliner went missing amid heavy thunderstorms en route to Paris from Rio de Janeiro with 216 passengers on board and a crew of twelve. NBC anchored its newscast from the East Room of the White House where Brian Williams was preparing to file a two-part primetime behind-the-scenes documentary Inside the Obama White House.
TYNDALL PICKS FOR JUNE 02, 2009: CLICK ON GRID ELEMENTS TO SEARCH FOR MATCHING ITEMS
DEBRIS FIELD OF AIR FRANCE FLIGHT FOUND Confirmation that Air France's Flight 447 had been doomed was the lead story on all three newscasts, the unanimous Story of the Day. Debris from the crashed Airbus 330 has been located in the Atlantic Ocean off the northeast coast of Brazil. The jetliner went missing amid heavy thunderstorms en route to Paris from Rio de Janeiro with 216 passengers on board and a crew of twelve. NBC anchored its newscast from the East Room of the White House where Brian Williams was preparing to file a two-part primetime behind-the-scenes documentary Inside the Obama White House.
There may have been unanimity that the Air France crash was the Story of the Day but there was diametrically opposite reporting on what had been discovered. CBS' Mark Phillips and NBC's Lester Holt, both filing from Paris, told us that searchers had found two separate fields of debris, 35 miles apart, "indicating that the plane may have broken up at higher altitude, as CBS' Phillips put it. Washington-based Lisa Stark on ABC told us that a single debris field had been found "that stretches some three miles across the ocean surface." That narrowness led ABC's in-house aviation consultant John Nance to conclude that "the airplane entered the water pretty much intact…probably at high speed."
As for what caused the crash, "searchers believe the answer may lie at the bed of a very deep ocean," as NBC's Holt put it. The Atlantic where the crash occurred is 13,000 feet deep and consists of submarine mountain ranges. The plane's flight recorders--the so-called black boxes--will emit locator signals for 30 days yet "even once located the deep trenches of the mid-Atlantic could make recovery difficult."
WHAT IS BRIAN WILLIAMS ASKING ABOUT? Besides being featured in NBC News' primetime documentary, the President's main task for the day was preparing for his diplomatic tour of Saudi Arabia and Egypt, a trip whose "tent pole," as anchor Brian Williams put it, would be a speech to the people of the Arab World--and Moslems in general--in Cairo. This is the oddly phrased question that Williams' posed to Barack Obama in his Exclusive sitdown. "It has been said it is a speech that your predecessor perhaps could not have given constitutionally given who he is." Obama seemed appropriately mystified about whether Williams was referring to George Bush's psychic constitution or to the Constitution of the United States. He ventured an answer anyway: "I would not suggest that somehow I am uniquely positioned to deliver this speech."
CBS prepositioned Lara Logan in Cairo, "the intellectual center of the Arab World," in anticipation of Obama's arrival. She noted that even though only 20% of the world's Moslems are Arabs, the Arab World strategically is Islam's "most critical" region for the United States, and Egypt in turn is critical to the region's stability with "the Suez Canal at its northern tip where 30% of the world's oil passes." She warned that Obama's appearance in Cairo may be interpreted as an endorsement for the oppressive 28-year regime of President Hosni Mubarak that has consigned 40% of Egypt's population to a life of poverty.
In Washington, ABC's Martha Raddatz did not see Egypt as the focus of the President's effort: "He has to address the Israeli-Palestinian situation," she insisted, quoting Obama's comment in a National Public Radio interview that "the current trajectory in the region is profoundly negative." She reminded us that Obama had demanded that Israel halt construction of settlements on occupied Palestinian territory and that Israel had refused to do so. "This is the big problem," Raddatz argued.
WILL ARNOLD GET TARP TREATMENT? The biggest crisis in domestic politics seems to be looming in Sacramento. Gov Arnold Schwarzenegger warned California's legislature of the Golden State's "day of reckoning," warning that its coffers will empty in fourteen days. NBC's George Lewis told us that Republicans have an unassailable majority to prevent tax increases and that Democrats are refusing to pass Schwarzenegger's proposed cuts to education, healthcare and social services. "In the past the two side have gridlocked over the budget. That is not an option now," Lewis asserted. Laura Marquez inquired on ABC: "Could there be relief in the form of a federal bailout?"
SONIA IS NO RACIST AFTER ALL The prospect of a nasty political fight over the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court receded, according to CBS' Wyatt Andrews, as the judge arrived on Capitol Hill to visit senators. "Senate Republicans have decided they will not be using the charge of racism." Andrews picked up on a "seemingly scripted phrase" that Sotomayor will use in response to questions about her infamous 2001 sentence about a wise Latina. "As a judge you follow the law," is her new mantra.
By the way, this is Andrews' latest attempt to paraphrase what Sotomayor actually said in that speech: "A wise Latina woman might reach a better conclusion than a white male." Andrews' use of the word "might" saves him from misrepresenting the judge even as it fails to tell us what she actually said. After all, if she "might" reach a better conclusion, she equally "might not," which is not what she meant.
A CLASSIFIED PENTAGON CHARITY When Sharyl Attkisson Follows the Money on CBS, her favorite trail leads to Johnstown Pa, the home of master-appropriator John Murtha. For the third time this year, Attkisson has examined the allocation of federal funds by the Pennsylvania Democrat. This time she is scrutinizing a pittance in the scheme of things, just $45m in Pentagon research contracts to the Commonwealth Research Institute. It is the conduit for its distribution, rather than its amount, that smells fishy. The institute, it turns out, is a charity, getting the "same benefits as the Salvation Army," even though it helps military soldiers not Onward Christian ones.
Attkisson recalled that when CRI applied to the IRS for not-for-profit status nine years ago, it "promised to serve the public by publishing most of its research." Since then not a word has gone public; the institute does not even have a Website; it refuses to disclose how many employees it has or how it has spent the $45m. All of its work is classified, the institute insists. Attkisson called the charity one of Congressman Murtha's "pet projects" but did not elaborate on any connection between the two: "There is no evidence Murtha profited," she assured us.
GOVERNMENT MOTORS GETS DOWN TO BUSINESS General Motors, even as it languishes in bankruptcy, has already unveiled an image to stay in business. All three newscasts filed a follow-up on GM's Chapter 11 filing that included snippets of free publicity for its new ad campaign. This is not about Going out of Business. This is about Getting down to Business was the slogan selected by ABC's David Muir. The only Chapter we are Focused on is Chapter One appealed to CBS' Anthony Mason. Leaner. Greener. Faster. Smarter. quoted CNBC's Phil LeBeau on NBC.
Apart from that the three reporters took different angles. CNBC's LeBeau analyzed GM's underdog pitch as "stealing a page" from Lee Iacocca and Chrysler in the 1970s. CBS' Mason contrasted GM's strategy with that at Ford Motors, which has chosen to borrow to keep out of bankruptcy. ABC's Muir had the most interesting take, wondering what will happen when the federal government, as GM's majority owner, finds its public policy in conflict with its commercial stake. Will it insist that GM makes greener, more fuel efficient vehicles even if they are less profitable? Will it insist that GM keep factories open in the United States even if foreign plants make more money? Will it maintain fair competition amongst automakers, including Ford Motors, or will it use its enormous financial muscle to ensure that GM prevails?
KILLING SUCCEEDS IN CLOSING CLINIC Only NBC filed a follow-up on the assassination of George Tiller, the Wichita abortionist. His accused killer Scott Roeder was charged with murder. Under Kansas law, the pro-life activist will not face the death penalty if convicted. "Tiller's clinic, one of the few in the nation that perform late-term abortions, was the frequent target of criticisms and attacks," Janet Shamlian told us. If the motive for the assassination was to close the clinic, it has succeeded for the time being at least. "Tiller's family says there is no plan yet to reopen it."
RETURN TO THE WEST WING NBC closed its newscast with an extended promotion for its primetime documentary Inside the Obama White House. Anchor Brian Williams, a one-time White House correspondent, boasted that the East Room was "an extraordinary backdrop for a newscast" and that his network had deployed 32 camera crews to document "the inner workings of the West Wing." Andrea Mitchell, another of NBC's former White House correspondents, pitched in with coverage of Nancy Reagan's return to her former home to honor her late husband. "Poignant," Mitchell called it, even as she reminded us "earlier awkwardness" when Barack Obama publicly teased the former First Lady about her astrological seances.
There may have been unanimity that the Air France crash was the Story of the Day but there was diametrically opposite reporting on what had been discovered. CBS' Mark Phillips and NBC's Lester Holt, both filing from Paris, told us that searchers had found two separate fields of debris, 35 miles apart, "indicating that the plane may have broken up at higher altitude, as CBS' Phillips put it. Washington-based Lisa Stark on ABC told us that a single debris field had been found "that stretches some three miles across the ocean surface." That narrowness led ABC's in-house aviation consultant John Nance to conclude that "the airplane entered the water pretty much intact…probably at high speed."
As for what caused the crash, "searchers believe the answer may lie at the bed of a very deep ocean," as NBC's Holt put it. The Atlantic where the crash occurred is 13,000 feet deep and consists of submarine mountain ranges. The plane's flight recorders--the so-called black boxes--will emit locator signals for 30 days yet "even once located the deep trenches of the mid-Atlantic could make recovery difficult."
WHAT IS BRIAN WILLIAMS ASKING ABOUT? Besides being featured in NBC News' primetime documentary, the President's main task for the day was preparing for his diplomatic tour of Saudi Arabia and Egypt, a trip whose "tent pole," as anchor Brian Williams put it, would be a speech to the people of the Arab World--and Moslems in general--in Cairo. This is the oddly phrased question that Williams' posed to Barack Obama in his Exclusive sitdown. "It has been said it is a speech that your predecessor perhaps could not have given constitutionally given who he is." Obama seemed appropriately mystified about whether Williams was referring to George Bush's psychic constitution or to the Constitution of the United States. He ventured an answer anyway: "I would not suggest that somehow I am uniquely positioned to deliver this speech."
CBS prepositioned Lara Logan in Cairo, "the intellectual center of the Arab World," in anticipation of Obama's arrival. She noted that even though only 20% of the world's Moslems are Arabs, the Arab World strategically is Islam's "most critical" region for the United States, and Egypt in turn is critical to the region's stability with "the Suez Canal at its northern tip where 30% of the world's oil passes." She warned that Obama's appearance in Cairo may be interpreted as an endorsement for the oppressive 28-year regime of President Hosni Mubarak that has consigned 40% of Egypt's population to a life of poverty.
In Washington, ABC's Martha Raddatz did not see Egypt as the focus of the President's effort: "He has to address the Israeli-Palestinian situation," she insisted, quoting Obama's comment in a National Public Radio interview that "the current trajectory in the region is profoundly negative." She reminded us that Obama had demanded that Israel halt construction of settlements on occupied Palestinian territory and that Israel had refused to do so. "This is the big problem," Raddatz argued.
WILL ARNOLD GET TARP TREATMENT? The biggest crisis in domestic politics seems to be looming in Sacramento. Gov Arnold Schwarzenegger warned California's legislature of the Golden State's "day of reckoning," warning that its coffers will empty in fourteen days. NBC's George Lewis told us that Republicans have an unassailable majority to prevent tax increases and that Democrats are refusing to pass Schwarzenegger's proposed cuts to education, healthcare and social services. "In the past the two side have gridlocked over the budget. That is not an option now," Lewis asserted. Laura Marquez inquired on ABC: "Could there be relief in the form of a federal bailout?"
SONIA IS NO RACIST AFTER ALL The prospect of a nasty political fight over the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court receded, according to CBS' Wyatt Andrews, as the judge arrived on Capitol Hill to visit senators. "Senate Republicans have decided they will not be using the charge of racism." Andrews picked up on a "seemingly scripted phrase" that Sotomayor will use in response to questions about her infamous 2001 sentence about a wise Latina. "As a judge you follow the law," is her new mantra.
By the way, this is Andrews' latest attempt to paraphrase what Sotomayor actually said in that speech: "A wise Latina woman might reach a better conclusion than a white male." Andrews' use of the word "might" saves him from misrepresenting the judge even as it fails to tell us what she actually said. After all, if she "might" reach a better conclusion, she equally "might not," which is not what she meant.
A CLASSIFIED PENTAGON CHARITY When Sharyl Attkisson Follows the Money on CBS, her favorite trail leads to Johnstown Pa, the home of master-appropriator John Murtha. For the third time this year, Attkisson has examined the allocation of federal funds by the Pennsylvania Democrat. This time she is scrutinizing a pittance in the scheme of things, just $45m in Pentagon research contracts to the Commonwealth Research Institute. It is the conduit for its distribution, rather than its amount, that smells fishy. The institute, it turns out, is a charity, getting the "same benefits as the Salvation Army," even though it helps military soldiers not Onward Christian ones.
Attkisson recalled that when CRI applied to the IRS for not-for-profit status nine years ago, it "promised to serve the public by publishing most of its research." Since then not a word has gone public; the institute does not even have a Website; it refuses to disclose how many employees it has or how it has spent the $45m. All of its work is classified, the institute insists. Attkisson called the charity one of Congressman Murtha's "pet projects" but did not elaborate on any connection between the two: "There is no evidence Murtha profited," she assured us.
GOVERNMENT MOTORS GETS DOWN TO BUSINESS General Motors, even as it languishes in bankruptcy, has already unveiled an image to stay in business. All three newscasts filed a follow-up on GM's Chapter 11 filing that included snippets of free publicity for its new ad campaign. This is not about Going out of Business. This is about Getting down to Business was the slogan selected by ABC's David Muir. The only Chapter we are Focused on is Chapter One appealed to CBS' Anthony Mason. Leaner. Greener. Faster. Smarter. quoted CNBC's Phil LeBeau on NBC.
Apart from that the three reporters took different angles. CNBC's LeBeau analyzed GM's underdog pitch as "stealing a page" from Lee Iacocca and Chrysler in the 1970s. CBS' Mason contrasted GM's strategy with that at Ford Motors, which has chosen to borrow to keep out of bankruptcy. ABC's Muir had the most interesting take, wondering what will happen when the federal government, as GM's majority owner, finds its public policy in conflict with its commercial stake. Will it insist that GM makes greener, more fuel efficient vehicles even if they are less profitable? Will it insist that GM keep factories open in the United States even if foreign plants make more money? Will it maintain fair competition amongst automakers, including Ford Motors, or will it use its enormous financial muscle to ensure that GM prevails?
KILLING SUCCEEDS IN CLOSING CLINIC Only NBC filed a follow-up on the assassination of George Tiller, the Wichita abortionist. His accused killer Scott Roeder was charged with murder. Under Kansas law, the pro-life activist will not face the death penalty if convicted. "Tiller's clinic, one of the few in the nation that perform late-term abortions, was the frequent target of criticisms and attacks," Janet Shamlian told us. If the motive for the assassination was to close the clinic, it has succeeded for the time being at least. "Tiller's family says there is no plan yet to reopen it."
RETURN TO THE WEST WING NBC closed its newscast with an extended promotion for its primetime documentary Inside the Obama White House. Anchor Brian Williams, a one-time White House correspondent, boasted that the East Room was "an extraordinary backdrop for a newscast" and that his network had deployed 32 camera crews to document "the inner workings of the West Wing." Andrea Mitchell, another of NBC's former White House correspondents, pitched in with coverage of Nancy Reagan's return to her former home to honor her late husband. "Poignant," Mitchell called it, even as she reminded us "earlier awkwardness" when Barack Obama publicly teased the former First Lady about her astrological seances.
