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TYNDALL HEADLINE: HIGHLIGHTS FROM AUGUST 11, 2009
All that anger at all those Congressional town hall meetings by vociferous opponents of healthcare reform legislation was supposed to provide intense raw videotape for the Story of the Day. Barack Obama decided that the town hall format should go Presidential. All three newscasts led with their White House correspondents' coverage of his healthcare meeting in New Hampshire--but, inside the hall, civility prevailed so the headline turned out to be the anger that failed to spark.
TYNDALL PICKS FOR AUGUST 11, 2009: CLICK ON GRID ELEMENTS TO SEARCH FOR MATCHING ITEMS
CIVIL DISCOURSE BREAKS OUT, UNDERMINES ANGER STORYLINE All that anger at all those Congressional town hall meetings by vociferous opponents of healthcare reform legislation was supposed to provide intense raw videotape for the Story of the Day. Barack Obama decided that the town hall format should go Presidential. All three newscasts led with their White House correspondents' coverage of his healthcare meeting in New Hampshire--but, inside the hall, civility prevailed so the headline turned out to be the anger that failed to spark.
"A very friendly audience," NBC's Chuck Todd called it. "Inside the crowd was friendly," commented ABC's Jake Tapper. Tapper dubbed Obama the Fact Checker in Chief as he focused on the problems created by health insurance companies. He assured his audience that he was not in favor of pulling the plug on grandma. Todd found the President "spending much of his time saying what his plan is not going to do." For those who want to eliminate the power of the health insurance industry, Obama disappointed them: "This is not about putting the government in charge." For those who want fiscal discipline in the federal budget, Obama disappointed them: "We are not talking about cutting Medicare benefits." For those who want Medicare for all, Obama disappointed them: "I am not promoting a single player plan." ABC's Tapper fact-checked the Fact Checker: whereas Obama claimed that AARP is backing his plan, "in fact the group has not endorsed any bill."
In search of vitriol in the town halls, NBC's Anne Thompson and CBS' Chip Reid played clips of the heckling and insults confronting Arlen Specter in Pennsylvania and Claire McCaskill in Missouri. "The ferociousness of the attacks has caught many Democrats by surprise," CBS' Reid reported, finding Obama's critics "increasingly in control of the debate." The President's next town meetings will be in Colorado and Montana, where CBS' Reid suggested that he "might finally see that ferocious anger over healthcare reform face-to-face." On NBC, Todd does not think so: "If he did not get any heat here in New Hampshire it is probably unlikely he will get real heat in Colorado or Montana."
MORE HEALTHCARE EXPLAINERS For the second day in a row, CBS and ABC did the right thing and filed explainers about details of healthcare reform. CBS' Sharyl Attkisson took on the same topic that Kate Snow picked for ABC's Fact Check on Monday. Does the proposed legislation encourage euthanasia of the elderly in order to reduce end-of-life healthcare costs? Attkisson, like Snow, traced that anxiety to a radio interview last month with Betsy McCaughey, the former Lieutenant Governor of New York State. She claimed that the bill would make it "mandatory" for Medicare patients to attend counseling sessions "that will tell them how to end their life sooner." Attkisson contradicted McCaughey. The sessions would be voluntary; they would discuss "the goals and use of orders for life-sustaining treatment;" and organizations that "promote suicide, assisted suicide or the act of hastening death" would be excluded from funding. Attkisson quoted a Harvard study of the final week of life of terminal cancer patients that contrasted those who had received end-of-life counseling and those who had not. The benefits of counseling were improved comfort, equal longevity and $1,000 less in expense.
ABC's Fact Check had David Wright examine President Barack Obama's prediction about what would happen if healthcare legislation passes: "If you have got health insurance, you keep your plan, you keep your doctor." Wright contradicted the first half of Obama's pledge. Within five years all insurance plans would have to change "to comply with new government standards, for instance, banning discrimination based on pre-existing conditions and prohibiting caps on coverage." As for the second half, about keeping one's physician, "most Americans are perfectly happy with their own doctor" and changing insurers does "not necessarily" mean changing doctors. "The facts are that the bill includes tax breaks and mandates designed to prevent a mass exodus from the current employer-based system."
AMPED ABOUT TORQUE General Motors garnered plenty of free publicity by showcasing the Chevy Volt, scheduled to go on sale at the end of 2010. CBS' Jim Axelrod explained the difference between the Volt and Toyota's Prius or Honda's Insight: "Those two are gas-powered cars that get an electric boost; the Volt is an electric car that gets a gas assist." With a lithium battery that can be recharged overnight by household electricity, the Volt boasts a 40-mile daily range using no gasoline whatsoever and an average gasoline consumption of 320 mpg. CNBC's Phil LeBeau, who filed for NBC from GM's test track in Michigan, pointed out that the Volt's $40K selling price is "a little steep" yet he predicted that 'a lot of people will be interested" if the price of a gallon of gasoline returns to $4.
On ABC, Bill Weir profiled the Volt's electric competition: Myers from Akron, Tango from Spokane, Smith from Britain, BYD from China, Think City from Norway, Leaf from Nissan, the Roadster from Tesla and the Mini-E from BMW. Weir got behind the wheel of a Mini-E and floored it: "I do love that torque!" What is the hassle? Its batteries "take 23 hours to charge on a standard wall socket."
NO LONGER RETARDED All three newscasts filed an obituary for Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the sister of a President and senators, dead at 88. NBC and ABC assigned their anchors; CBS used Richard Schlesinger. "My mom never ran for office and she changed the world," was the soundbite from Robert Shriver that Schlesinger used. He was referring to Kennedy Shriver's invention of the Special Olympics in 1968, now 3m strong in 108 countries. Her inspiration, NBC's Brian Williams reminded us, was her elder sister Rosemary, "given an experimental lobotomy to control her mood swings, referred to at the time as mild retardation. The gruesome operation left her largely incapacitated for the rest of her life." That very change in vocabulary, discontinuing retards, is symptomatic of the transformation that Special Olympics has spearheaded. ABC's Charles Gibson variously referred to the "developmentally disabled," children with "special needs" and "intellectual disabilities."
BEWARE UNINVITED GUESTS Neither NBC nor CBS filed a single story from an overseas dateline. ABC had a couple--a quirky closer and a serious story from Clarissa Ward. Beijing-based Ward told us about Myanmar's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. "Her party won an overwhelming victory in the last election," which was held almost 20 years ago. Another vote is scheduled for next year but she will be prevented from campaigning because the junta's court has just extended her house arrest by another 18 months. Her crime? She allowed John Yettaw "to spend two nights in her house." Yettaw, an American who was sentenced to seven years by the same tribunal, "swam across a lake uninvited claiming he wanted to protect her from assassins."
THE PROJECTS COME TO SCARSDALE Westchester County in the northern suburbs of New York City is "one of the richest counties in the country and one of the whitest," Byron Pitts showed us on CBS, displaying a chart of its demography: "The lighter the map, the lighter the skin of the people who live there." Yet the county qualifies for $180m in federal subsidies to build affordable housing for low-income tenants and homebuyers. After three years it has settled a lawsuit over the location of the resulting 750 units: "At least 84% of those homes need to be in mostly white communities."
NOT MCQUEEN, CAINE & SINATRA The two-man team that stole $65m in gems from Graff Diamonds' jewelry store and made a getaway by changing cars three times within half a mile in central London executed "a heist Hollywood would love," reflected ABC's Miguel Marquez, in his newscast's second overseas story. So how did he illustrate his report? With fictional clips from The Thomas Crown Affair, The Italian Job and Ocean's Eleven. Unfortunately, in each case, Marquez selected the recent remake rather than the stylish original. The thieves must hope that Graff had its real stones on display, not copies.
"A very friendly audience," NBC's Chuck Todd called it. "Inside the crowd was friendly," commented ABC's Jake Tapper. Tapper dubbed Obama the Fact Checker in Chief as he focused on the problems created by health insurance companies. He assured his audience that he was not in favor of pulling the plug on grandma. Todd found the President "spending much of his time saying what his plan is not going to do." For those who want to eliminate the power of the health insurance industry, Obama disappointed them: "This is not about putting the government in charge." For those who want fiscal discipline in the federal budget, Obama disappointed them: "We are not talking about cutting Medicare benefits." For those who want Medicare for all, Obama disappointed them: "I am not promoting a single player plan." ABC's Tapper fact-checked the Fact Checker: whereas Obama claimed that AARP is backing his plan, "in fact the group has not endorsed any bill."
In search of vitriol in the town halls, NBC's Anne Thompson and CBS' Chip Reid played clips of the heckling and insults confronting Arlen Specter in Pennsylvania and Claire McCaskill in Missouri. "The ferociousness of the attacks has caught many Democrats by surprise," CBS' Reid reported, finding Obama's critics "increasingly in control of the debate." The President's next town meetings will be in Colorado and Montana, where CBS' Reid suggested that he "might finally see that ferocious anger over healthcare reform face-to-face." On NBC, Todd does not think so: "If he did not get any heat here in New Hampshire it is probably unlikely he will get real heat in Colorado or Montana."
MORE HEALTHCARE EXPLAINERS For the second day in a row, CBS and ABC did the right thing and filed explainers about details of healthcare reform. CBS' Sharyl Attkisson took on the same topic that Kate Snow picked for ABC's Fact Check on Monday. Does the proposed legislation encourage euthanasia of the elderly in order to reduce end-of-life healthcare costs? Attkisson, like Snow, traced that anxiety to a radio interview last month with Betsy McCaughey, the former Lieutenant Governor of New York State. She claimed that the bill would make it "mandatory" for Medicare patients to attend counseling sessions "that will tell them how to end their life sooner." Attkisson contradicted McCaughey. The sessions would be voluntary; they would discuss "the goals and use of orders for life-sustaining treatment;" and organizations that "promote suicide, assisted suicide or the act of hastening death" would be excluded from funding. Attkisson quoted a Harvard study of the final week of life of terminal cancer patients that contrasted those who had received end-of-life counseling and those who had not. The benefits of counseling were improved comfort, equal longevity and $1,000 less in expense.
ABC's Fact Check had David Wright examine President Barack Obama's prediction about what would happen if healthcare legislation passes: "If you have got health insurance, you keep your plan, you keep your doctor." Wright contradicted the first half of Obama's pledge. Within five years all insurance plans would have to change "to comply with new government standards, for instance, banning discrimination based on pre-existing conditions and prohibiting caps on coverage." As for the second half, about keeping one's physician, "most Americans are perfectly happy with their own doctor" and changing insurers does "not necessarily" mean changing doctors. "The facts are that the bill includes tax breaks and mandates designed to prevent a mass exodus from the current employer-based system."
AMPED ABOUT TORQUE General Motors garnered plenty of free publicity by showcasing the Chevy Volt, scheduled to go on sale at the end of 2010. CBS' Jim Axelrod explained the difference between the Volt and Toyota's Prius or Honda's Insight: "Those two are gas-powered cars that get an electric boost; the Volt is an electric car that gets a gas assist." With a lithium battery that can be recharged overnight by household electricity, the Volt boasts a 40-mile daily range using no gasoline whatsoever and an average gasoline consumption of 320 mpg. CNBC's Phil LeBeau, who filed for NBC from GM's test track in Michigan, pointed out that the Volt's $40K selling price is "a little steep" yet he predicted that 'a lot of people will be interested" if the price of a gallon of gasoline returns to $4.
On ABC, Bill Weir profiled the Volt's electric competition: Myers from Akron, Tango from Spokane, Smith from Britain, BYD from China, Think City from Norway, Leaf from Nissan, the Roadster from Tesla and the Mini-E from BMW. Weir got behind the wheel of a Mini-E and floored it: "I do love that torque!" What is the hassle? Its batteries "take 23 hours to charge on a standard wall socket."
NO LONGER RETARDED All three newscasts filed an obituary for Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the sister of a President and senators, dead at 88. NBC and ABC assigned their anchors; CBS used Richard Schlesinger. "My mom never ran for office and she changed the world," was the soundbite from Robert Shriver that Schlesinger used. He was referring to Kennedy Shriver's invention of the Special Olympics in 1968, now 3m strong in 108 countries. Her inspiration, NBC's Brian Williams reminded us, was her elder sister Rosemary, "given an experimental lobotomy to control her mood swings, referred to at the time as mild retardation. The gruesome operation left her largely incapacitated for the rest of her life." That very change in vocabulary, discontinuing retards, is symptomatic of the transformation that Special Olympics has spearheaded. ABC's Charles Gibson variously referred to the "developmentally disabled," children with "special needs" and "intellectual disabilities."
BEWARE UNINVITED GUESTS Neither NBC nor CBS filed a single story from an overseas dateline. ABC had a couple--a quirky closer and a serious story from Clarissa Ward. Beijing-based Ward told us about Myanmar's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. "Her party won an overwhelming victory in the last election," which was held almost 20 years ago. Another vote is scheduled for next year but she will be prevented from campaigning because the junta's court has just extended her house arrest by another 18 months. Her crime? She allowed John Yettaw "to spend two nights in her house." Yettaw, an American who was sentenced to seven years by the same tribunal, "swam across a lake uninvited claiming he wanted to protect her from assassins."
THE PROJECTS COME TO SCARSDALE Westchester County in the northern suburbs of New York City is "one of the richest counties in the country and one of the whitest," Byron Pitts showed us on CBS, displaying a chart of its demography: "The lighter the map, the lighter the skin of the people who live there." Yet the county qualifies for $180m in federal subsidies to build affordable housing for low-income tenants and homebuyers. After three years it has settled a lawsuit over the location of the resulting 750 units: "At least 84% of those homes need to be in mostly white communities."
NOT MCQUEEN, CAINE & SINATRA The two-man team that stole $65m in gems from Graff Diamonds' jewelry store and made a getaway by changing cars three times within half a mile in central London executed "a heist Hollywood would love," reflected ABC's Miguel Marquez, in his newscast's second overseas story. So how did he illustrate his report? With fictional clips from The Thomas Crown Affair, The Italian Job and Ocean's Eleven. Unfortunately, in each case, Marquez selected the recent remake rather than the stylish original. The thieves must hope that Graff had its real stones on display, not copies.
