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TYNDALL HEADLINE: HIGHLIGHTS FROM JUNE 30, 2009
Baghdad cheered and Iraq's army went on parade for the first time since Saddam Hussein was its commander in chief. All three networks sent a correspondent to cover the official transfer of military authority from the United States to Iraq in its cities and towns. GIs are no longer combat troops; they are now advisors and trainers. Iraq was Story of the Day even though it did not qualify as the lead item on any of the three newscasts. That honor fell neither to Michael Jackson nor to Al Franken--but to Extra Strength Tylenol. An FDA panel, worried about liver damage, recommended a reduction in the daily dosage of acetaminophen.
TYNDALL PICKS FOR JUNE 30, 2009: CLICK ON GRID ELEMENTS TO SEARCH FOR MATCHING ITEMS
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED IN IRAQ’S CITIES Baghdad cheered and Iraq's army went on parade for the first time since Saddam Hussein was its commander in chief. All three networks sent a correspondent to cover the official transfer of military authority from the United States to Iraq in its cities and towns. GIs are no longer combat troops; they are now advisors and trainers. Iraq was Story of the Day even though it did not qualify as the lead item on any of the three newscasts. That honor fell neither to Michael Jackson nor to Al Franken--but to Extra Strength Tylenol. An FDA panel, worried about liver damage, recommended a reduction in the daily dosage of acetaminophen.
CBS' Lara Logan filed from the very parade ground where the dictator Saddam used to fire his rifle into the air to show off his military prowess. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki decided not to stand on that same balcony and the marching bands and rolling tanks avoided "the famous Cross Swords Monument, so visible in parades of old. It is a symbol of Iraq's victory over Iran during the last war, now unpopular with this country's pro-Iranian government."
Did Iraq really win that war? I remember stalemate.
NBC's Tom Aspell showed us overnight celebrations in Baghdad as the United States ended its occupation: "Fireworks instead of bombs, music instead of gunfire, Iraqis were overjoyed." ABC's David Kerley pointed out that GIs have been "packing up and pulling down blast walls for months." The US military will "no longer act unilaterally--no raids, no combat operations--unless Iraqi troops are with them or the Iraqis approve." Yet the Iraqi military, Kerley noted, still lacks Medevac and intelligence capabilities. And the nation is not at peace: bombs have killed almost 300 over the past two weeks.
ABC's Bob Woodruff updated us on the "bizarre" human interest story of a military police sergeant who was stabbed in the head on a Baghdad street almost two years ago. He reminded us of the X-ray of a blade plunged into Dan Powers' temple, implanted all the way past his nose. Woodruff was happy to tell us that Powers' rehab is complete. He is even parachuting again with his unit. Next stop: war in Afghanistan.
PINK BOXERS Winding up its deployment in Afghanistan is a platoon of 20 soldiers based in a mountain outpost in the Korengal Valley. The news media have made Viper Company famous: The New York Times for its front page photograph of an ambushed private joining a firefight in his pink I Love New York boxer shorts; NBC News for its award-winning Tip of the Spear series filed by Richard Engel. Engel concluded his series (previous episodes here, here, here, here and here) by noting that only ten of the original platoon survived the entire eight-month tour: "The rest were either killed, injured or got so sick they had to be evacuated." He also awarded Zachary Boyd, the private, a new pair of underpants.
DOGGONE IT! "I am good enough. I am smart enough. And, doggone it, people like me!" That was the Saturday Night Live clip that ABC's Jonathan Karl used to illustrate the fact that 312 more Minnesota voters--out of 2.9m casting ballots last November--liked Democrat Al Franken as their United States Senator over incumbent Republican Norm Coleman. "According to the Senate historian," Karl deadpanned, Franken is "the first professional comedian in the US Senate." NBC's Kelly O'Donnell described Franken as a former "funnyman." To be fair, CBS' Chip Reid did note that Franken had written liberal books and worked as a talkradio host in his time between comedy and politics.
Technically speaking, Franken's victory means that the Democratic caucus in the Senate now has 60 votes, a filibusterproof majority. CBS and ABC both consulted veteran political watchers to disabuse us of that notion. ABC's Cokie Roberts was quoted by Karl: "Democrats disagree with each other on healthcare; they disagree with each other on energy; they are going to disagree with each on taxes. So I would not count all 60 Democrats in one bloc." CBS' Jeff Greenfield was quoted by Reid: "The idea that this now answers the problem of how they get a legislative program through the Senate--No!--that would be a really big exaggeration."
TOO MUCH INFORMATION Associated Press reporter Evan Berland landed what ABC's Steve Osunsami called a "candid" interview with Mark Sanford about his sexual indiscretions. Osunsami characterized the Republican Governor of South Carolina as confessing that he had been "somewhat involved with other women" but was "sexually intimate with only the woman in Argentina." Berland described the governor as a "broken man" retelling how "he wiped tears from his eyes and wiped them on the couch." Candid may be one word for it. Too Much Information is closer to the mark. It is understood that AP would want to land the q-&-a. It is a mystery why ABC found it newsworthy enough to relay such cringemaking material.
FOUR EIGHT PILLS A DAY So many people take medicines that contain acetaminophen--28bn doses annually according to ABC--that even though it is "overall very safe and effective," as the network's in-house physician Timothy Johnson put it, that yearly usage causes 56,000 cases of emergency liver damage nationwide resulting in more than 450 deaths. Accordingly, an advisory panel for the Food & Drug Administration recommended that individuals limit themselves to 4g of the drug each day, equivalent to four eight pills of Tylenol's Extra Strength brand. Dr Johnson warned us to avoid the drug altogether on any day we may enjoy more than two drinks of alcohol.
The problem with sticking to those four daily grams is that acetaminophen is so ubiquitous. "It is a common ingredient in pain and fever reducers, cold and 'flu medications, sleep aids and prescription drugs," noted NBC's Tom Costello. ABC's John McKenzie reckoned there is a total of more than 200 over-the-counter brands that use it, including Nyquil and TheraFlu. CBS' Nancy Cordes mentioned Excedrin and Midol as part of acetaminophen's $2.6bn annual sales--leading doctors to believe that many liver-damaging overdoses are accidental.
Unlike aspirin, which reduces inflammation, CBS' Cordes explained that acetaminophen works as a mind-altering drug, "lowering the brain's perception of pain." The FDA panel also recommended that the prescription painkillers Vicodin and Percocet be pulled from sale altogether. ABC's Dr Johnson identified them as an acetaminophen-narcotic cocktail. CBS anchor Katie Couric asked her in-house physician Jon LaPook (at the tail of the Cordes videostream) if he expected that ban to be implemented: "This was a narrow vote and we are going to have to wait for the full vote of the FDA to see what happens."
CRIPPLING COSTS The woes of the automobile industry have been out of the news for the last couple of weeks, what with Michael Jackson and the Iranian elections. CBS had Randall Pinkston catch up with an angle on General Motors' bankruptcy that ABC's Brian Ross covered at the start of the month. Not only will "bondholders, vendors, lawyers and everyone else" be paid pennies on the dollars owed them, but also those crippled in accidents caused by negligently manufactured vehicles. Pinkston introduced us to Amanda Dinnigan, a girl whose neck was broken by a General Motors passenger seatbelt. She went to court to get the $500K she needs for quadriplegic care annually but reorganization will likely nullify her lawsuit.
FROM SILK TO POLYESTER Anthony Mason traveled to Sears' retailing headquarters in Chicago for CBS' Life After Debt series to check out how the chain is handling an annual 12% cutback in consumer spending. Sears will shutter more than 50 stores over a two year period; it now offers money-back guarantees on appliances and children's clothing; its apparel designers are switching from $100 silk to $20 washable polyester chiffon. Mason called it an "earthshaking shift in American shopping habits."
JACKSON STORY HAS POST-MORTEM LIFE The aftermath celebrity coverage of the late Michael Jackson should stretch into the Fourth of July weekend. NBC's Chris Jansing showed us preparations underway at the pop star's Neverland Ranch near Santa Barbara for a "very public memorial," a viewing of his body open to mourning fans over the holiday. CBS' Ben Tracy (no link) reported that even though the singer died with $331m in debts, his estate is still worth a fortune, including a $390m share in SONY's catalogue of copyrighted music titles. ABC's Jim Avila focused on reports that Jackson's will, written in 2002, has been located. It takes care of his three children and his mother but "makes no mention" of Joe Jackson, the patriarch.
CBS' Lara Logan filed from the very parade ground where the dictator Saddam used to fire his rifle into the air to show off his military prowess. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki decided not to stand on that same balcony and the marching bands and rolling tanks avoided "the famous Cross Swords Monument, so visible in parades of old. It is a symbol of Iraq's victory over Iran during the last war, now unpopular with this country's pro-Iranian government."
Did Iraq really win that war? I remember stalemate.
NBC's Tom Aspell showed us overnight celebrations in Baghdad as the United States ended its occupation: "Fireworks instead of bombs, music instead of gunfire, Iraqis were overjoyed." ABC's David Kerley pointed out that GIs have been "packing up and pulling down blast walls for months." The US military will "no longer act unilaterally--no raids, no combat operations--unless Iraqi troops are with them or the Iraqis approve." Yet the Iraqi military, Kerley noted, still lacks Medevac and intelligence capabilities. And the nation is not at peace: bombs have killed almost 300 over the past two weeks.
ABC's Bob Woodruff updated us on the "bizarre" human interest story of a military police sergeant who was stabbed in the head on a Baghdad street almost two years ago. He reminded us of the X-ray of a blade plunged into Dan Powers' temple, implanted all the way past his nose. Woodruff was happy to tell us that Powers' rehab is complete. He is even parachuting again with his unit. Next stop: war in Afghanistan.
PINK BOXERS Winding up its deployment in Afghanistan is a platoon of 20 soldiers based in a mountain outpost in the Korengal Valley. The news media have made Viper Company famous: The New York Times for its front page photograph of an ambushed private joining a firefight in his pink I Love New York boxer shorts; NBC News for its award-winning Tip of the Spear series filed by Richard Engel. Engel concluded his series (previous episodes here, here, here, here and here) by noting that only ten of the original platoon survived the entire eight-month tour: "The rest were either killed, injured or got so sick they had to be evacuated." He also awarded Zachary Boyd, the private, a new pair of underpants.
DOGGONE IT! "I am good enough. I am smart enough. And, doggone it, people like me!" That was the Saturday Night Live clip that ABC's Jonathan Karl used to illustrate the fact that 312 more Minnesota voters--out of 2.9m casting ballots last November--liked Democrat Al Franken as their United States Senator over incumbent Republican Norm Coleman. "According to the Senate historian," Karl deadpanned, Franken is "the first professional comedian in the US Senate." NBC's Kelly O'Donnell described Franken as a former "funnyman." To be fair, CBS' Chip Reid did note that Franken had written liberal books and worked as a talkradio host in his time between comedy and politics.
Technically speaking, Franken's victory means that the Democratic caucus in the Senate now has 60 votes, a filibusterproof majority. CBS and ABC both consulted veteran political watchers to disabuse us of that notion. ABC's Cokie Roberts was quoted by Karl: "Democrats disagree with each other on healthcare; they disagree with each other on energy; they are going to disagree with each on taxes. So I would not count all 60 Democrats in one bloc." CBS' Jeff Greenfield was quoted by Reid: "The idea that this now answers the problem of how they get a legislative program through the Senate--No!--that would be a really big exaggeration."
TOO MUCH INFORMATION Associated Press reporter Evan Berland landed what ABC's Steve Osunsami called a "candid" interview with Mark Sanford about his sexual indiscretions. Osunsami characterized the Republican Governor of South Carolina as confessing that he had been "somewhat involved with other women" but was "sexually intimate with only the woman in Argentina." Berland described the governor as a "broken man" retelling how "he wiped tears from his eyes and wiped them on the couch." Candid may be one word for it. Too Much Information is closer to the mark. It is understood that AP would want to land the q-&-a. It is a mystery why ABC found it newsworthy enough to relay such cringemaking material.
The problem with sticking to those four daily grams is that acetaminophen is so ubiquitous. "It is a common ingredient in pain and fever reducers, cold and 'flu medications, sleep aids and prescription drugs," noted NBC's Tom Costello. ABC's John McKenzie reckoned there is a total of more than 200 over-the-counter brands that use it, including Nyquil and TheraFlu. CBS' Nancy Cordes mentioned Excedrin and Midol as part of acetaminophen's $2.6bn annual sales--leading doctors to believe that many liver-damaging overdoses are accidental.
Unlike aspirin, which reduces inflammation, CBS' Cordes explained that acetaminophen works as a mind-altering drug, "lowering the brain's perception of pain." The FDA panel also recommended that the prescription painkillers Vicodin and Percocet be pulled from sale altogether. ABC's Dr Johnson identified them as an acetaminophen-narcotic cocktail. CBS anchor Katie Couric asked her in-house physician Jon LaPook (at the tail of the Cordes videostream) if he expected that ban to be implemented: "This was a narrow vote and we are going to have to wait for the full vote of the FDA to see what happens."
CRIPPLING COSTS The woes of the automobile industry have been out of the news for the last couple of weeks, what with Michael Jackson and the Iranian elections. CBS had Randall Pinkston catch up with an angle on General Motors' bankruptcy that ABC's Brian Ross covered at the start of the month. Not only will "bondholders, vendors, lawyers and everyone else" be paid pennies on the dollars owed them, but also those crippled in accidents caused by negligently manufactured vehicles. Pinkston introduced us to Amanda Dinnigan, a girl whose neck was broken by a General Motors passenger seatbelt. She went to court to get the $500K she needs for quadriplegic care annually but reorganization will likely nullify her lawsuit.
FROM SILK TO POLYESTER Anthony Mason traveled to Sears' retailing headquarters in Chicago for CBS' Life After Debt series to check out how the chain is handling an annual 12% cutback in consumer spending. Sears will shutter more than 50 stores over a two year period; it now offers money-back guarantees on appliances and children's clothing; its apparel designers are switching from $100 silk to $20 washable polyester chiffon. Mason called it an "earthshaking shift in American shopping habits."
JACKSON STORY HAS POST-MORTEM LIFE The aftermath celebrity coverage of the late Michael Jackson should stretch into the Fourth of July weekend. NBC's Chris Jansing showed us preparations underway at the pop star's Neverland Ranch near Santa Barbara for a "very public memorial," a viewing of his body open to mourning fans over the holiday. CBS' Ben Tracy (no link) reported that even though the singer died with $331m in debts, his estate is still worth a fortune, including a $390m share in SONY's catalogue of copyrighted music titles. ABC's Jim Avila focused on reports that Jackson's will, written in 2002, has been located. It takes care of his three children and his mother but "makes no mention" of Joe Jackson, the patriarch.
