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TYNDALL HEADLINE: HIGHLIGHTS FROM MARCH 19, 2010
Make that three days in a row. The looming vote in the House of Representatives on healthcare reform was the unanimous choice for Story of the Day yet again. ABC and NBC--with substitute anchor Ann Curry--led from the White House with Barack Obama's pep rally promising an "historic vote" at George Mason University. CBS, with substitute anchor Jeff Glor, led from Capitol Hill where 42 House Democrats were still counted as undecided, of whom Speaker Nancy Pelosi needed to win over 29 to reach her 216-vote majority.
TYNDALL PICKS FOR MARCH 19, 2010: CLICK ON GRID ELEMENTS TO SEARCH FOR MATCHING ITEMS
HEALTHCARE VOTE MINUS 48 HOURS Make that three days in a row. The looming vote in the House of Representatives on healthcare reform was the unanimous choice for Story of the Day yet again. ABC and NBC--with substitute anchor Ann Curry--led from the White House with Barack Obama's pep rally promising an "historic vote" at George Mason University. CBS, with substitute anchor Jeff Glor, led from Capitol Hill where 42 House Democrats were still counted as undecided, of whom Speaker Nancy Pelosi needed to win over 29 to reach her 216-vote majority.
Congressional correspondents Nancy Cordes on CBS and Jonathan Karl on ABC played the whips. Cordes detected "absolute certainty" from the Democratic leadership that a majority would be cobbled together by Sunday. Opposition from the Republican minority became unanimous when the lone GOP supporter for the House version decided to oppose the Senate bill. Karl just called it "as close as it gets," counting many more committed votes than Cordes, with only eight undecided. Karl dramatized the intensity of the lobbying of the undecided members by calling one on the telephone. His response was a busy signal.
Even though the action was on Capitol Hill, all three newscasts had their White House correspondents cover Obama's involvement. "This is the most important vote of his Presidency," CBS' Chip Reid announced. Obama's unidentified aides offered Reid their spin by bragging that "his arm-twisting has played a major role in turning the tide." NBC's Chuck Todd predicted that the weekend would contradict the White House mantra No Drama Obama. ABC's Jake Tapper told us that Obama has personally contacted 64 members of the Democratic caucus, some of them in person, in secret, at the White House; CBS' Reid put the number at "more than 60."
"It is a scrum" with the President "in person trying to get it over the line." While David Gregory, anchor of NBC's Meet the Press, used a sports metaphor, CBS' Sharyl Attkisson likened whipping for votes to playing her network's gameshow The Price is Right. What Democrats called persuasion, Republicans called that "special deal for that special someone." Wavering members won extra funding for hometown hospitals, or accelerated irrigation for hometown agribusiness, or new subsidy rules for homestate Big Pharma. Attkisson offered the caveat--"some things that look like a deal may be nothing more than coincidence"--before advising us not to be too surprised: "There is often arm-twisting and deal cutting on legislation but this is, arguably, the most attention those backroom bargains have ever gotten."
While almost all the coverage, understandably, concerned the nailbiting contest over votes, NBC's Todd did manage to mention some of the bill's substance. "The actual reforms, if passed, take months--years, even decades--to implement," he pointed out, citing tax hikes and mandates to purchase premiums. Yet "some benefits could kick in this year." Potential immediate goodies include guarantees of coverage for children with pre-existing conditions, a ban on dropping coverage when a patient becomes sick and coverage for young twentysomethings on their parents' policies.
CLEANING THE FLEECING Lisa Myers contributed a Fleecing of America backgrounder for NBC on the estimated $60bn in annual fraud stolen from the federal Medicare program that her colleague Mark Potter covered in January and two years earlier. ABC's Pierre Thomas covered the same fraud last year. Myers pointed out that medical equipment fraud had been "one of the most fertile areas for crooks"--until last year, when the program required all vendors to be accredited before they could submit bills. The result was that 16,000 suppliers "were forced out, or dropped out, of the program.
RAHM SAYS THINGS HAPPEN, NOT AN EXPLETIVE Rounding out the weekend of healthcare politics, CBS' Katie Couric, taking a long weekend off from the anchor desk, previewed her weekend 60 Minutes profile of Rahm Emanuel, the famously foul-mouthed White House Chief of Staff. Couric inquired whether the drive to pass healthcare legislation had "stretched too far." "Not at all," he answered predictably. After his stint at the White House, "would you still like to be Speaker of the House one day?" "No, that is gone." "Party over?" "Yes, that was a goal. Things happen in life."
SHEEP SMUGGLERS As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepares to visit the United States, the long-ignored Israeli-Palestinian conflict is finally resurfacing on the networks' news agenda. After a spasm of coverage last summer (here, here and here), Israel's construction of settlements on occupied territory is attracting attention once more. NBC's Andrea Mitchell covered the announcement of a real estate project in the Arab neighborhoods of East Jerusalem during the visit of Vice President Joe Biden. When Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton decried the development, NBC's Mitchell and ABC's Martha Raddatz reported on that spat. Now NBC's Tom Aspell tells us about street protests in Hebron and a police crackdown on Moslem worship in Jerusalem: "The Israelis have restricted access to the holy places inside the walls of Old Jerusalem. Those under the age of 50 must pray outside."
The day's coolest Palestinian pictures were filed by ABC's Simon McGregor-Wood from the smuggling tunnels that supply the Gaza Strip while Israel enforces an overland blockade. "They say they can get the people of Gaza anything they want from Egypt," McGregor-Wood reported as he was lowered underground by rope, sitting on a makeshift swing. He showed us a shipment of chocolate cookies and "on this night, a special delivery, six sheep, a bit dazed and confused but OK. They did say they could get anything."
THE UNIVERSAL CHURCH As promised, Pope Benedict XVI wrote a pastoral letter to the faithful of Ireland on the sexual abuse scandal surrounding Roman Catholic priests. CBS' Allen Pizzey covered the controversy from London while NBC sent Stephanie Gosk to Vatican City itself. Both remarked that the crisis for the church had moved beyond Ireland. Gosk reported "growing anger" that the Pope has failed to address the scandal in his homeland: "More than half of Germany's dioceses are facing abuse allegations." Pizzey saw a universal problem threatening "the future of the Catholic Church around the world…an issue that just keeps going from bad to worse."
BIGGER RED RIVER The sandbagging of the banks of the Red River in downtown Fargo has been completed so ABC's Barbara Pinto and Heather Brown of CBS' Minneapolis affiliate WCCO-TV both ventured out of town to await the weekend's flood crest. Pinto was in the Heritage Hills neighborhood where "there is not a hill in sight; just water everywhere." Brown showed us time-lapse photography as the Red River changed from "snow to thaw to rising waters...In some spots, horses are stranded and houses have become islands."
SISTER ON A WIN STREAK March Madness was the obvious choice for the week's closer. On ABC, Ron Claiborne (no link) decided to treat the NCAA Tournament as a news story, covering the suggestion by Education Secretary Arne Duncan that colleges be disqualified from the competition if fewer than 40% of their athletes graduate. The University of Maryland was Exhibit A: its basketball program has an 8% graduation rate. NBC's Making a Difference turned the controversy into a feelgood feature by making Xavier University in Cincinnati Exhibit B. Mike Taibbi got up close and personal with the Jesuit school's Sister Rose Ann Fleming. The 77-year-old nun is the hoopsters' academic advisor: "In a sport that reveres numbers, sister has a beaut going, a perfect 77-0. Every player who has reached his senior year has earned his degree." CBS, whose sports division has broadcast rights to the tournament, found nothing newsworthy in the graduation shortfall.
Congressional correspondents Nancy Cordes on CBS and Jonathan Karl on ABC played the whips. Cordes detected "absolute certainty" from the Democratic leadership that a majority would be cobbled together by Sunday. Opposition from the Republican minority became unanimous when the lone GOP supporter for the House version decided to oppose the Senate bill. Karl just called it "as close as it gets," counting many more committed votes than Cordes, with only eight undecided. Karl dramatized the intensity of the lobbying of the undecided members by calling one on the telephone. His response was a busy signal.
Even though the action was on Capitol Hill, all three newscasts had their White House correspondents cover Obama's involvement. "This is the most important vote of his Presidency," CBS' Chip Reid announced. Obama's unidentified aides offered Reid their spin by bragging that "his arm-twisting has played a major role in turning the tide." NBC's Chuck Todd predicted that the weekend would contradict the White House mantra No Drama Obama. ABC's Jake Tapper told us that Obama has personally contacted 64 members of the Democratic caucus, some of them in person, in secret, at the White House; CBS' Reid put the number at "more than 60."
"It is a scrum" with the President "in person trying to get it over the line." While David Gregory, anchor of NBC's Meet the Press, used a sports metaphor, CBS' Sharyl Attkisson likened whipping for votes to playing her network's gameshow The Price is Right. What Democrats called persuasion, Republicans called that "special deal for that special someone." Wavering members won extra funding for hometown hospitals, or accelerated irrigation for hometown agribusiness, or new subsidy rules for homestate Big Pharma. Attkisson offered the caveat--"some things that look like a deal may be nothing more than coincidence"--before advising us not to be too surprised: "There is often arm-twisting and deal cutting on legislation but this is, arguably, the most attention those backroom bargains have ever gotten."
While almost all the coverage, understandably, concerned the nailbiting contest over votes, NBC's Todd did manage to mention some of the bill's substance. "The actual reforms, if passed, take months--years, even decades--to implement," he pointed out, citing tax hikes and mandates to purchase premiums. Yet "some benefits could kick in this year." Potential immediate goodies include guarantees of coverage for children with pre-existing conditions, a ban on dropping coverage when a patient becomes sick and coverage for young twentysomethings on their parents' policies.
CLEANING THE FLEECING Lisa Myers contributed a Fleecing of America backgrounder for NBC on the estimated $60bn in annual fraud stolen from the federal Medicare program that her colleague Mark Potter covered in January and two years earlier. ABC's Pierre Thomas covered the same fraud last year. Myers pointed out that medical equipment fraud had been "one of the most fertile areas for crooks"--until last year, when the program required all vendors to be accredited before they could submit bills. The result was that 16,000 suppliers "were forced out, or dropped out, of the program.
RAHM SAYS THINGS HAPPEN, NOT AN EXPLETIVE Rounding out the weekend of healthcare politics, CBS' Katie Couric, taking a long weekend off from the anchor desk, previewed her weekend 60 Minutes profile of Rahm Emanuel, the famously foul-mouthed White House Chief of Staff. Couric inquired whether the drive to pass healthcare legislation had "stretched too far." "Not at all," he answered predictably. After his stint at the White House, "would you still like to be Speaker of the House one day?" "No, that is gone." "Party over?" "Yes, that was a goal. Things happen in life."
SHEEP SMUGGLERS As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepares to visit the United States, the long-ignored Israeli-Palestinian conflict is finally resurfacing on the networks' news agenda. After a spasm of coverage last summer (here, here and here), Israel's construction of settlements on occupied territory is attracting attention once more. NBC's Andrea Mitchell covered the announcement of a real estate project in the Arab neighborhoods of East Jerusalem during the visit of Vice President Joe Biden. When Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton decried the development, NBC's Mitchell and ABC's Martha Raddatz reported on that spat. Now NBC's Tom Aspell tells us about street protests in Hebron and a police crackdown on Moslem worship in Jerusalem: "The Israelis have restricted access to the holy places inside the walls of Old Jerusalem. Those under the age of 50 must pray outside."
The day's coolest Palestinian pictures were filed by ABC's Simon McGregor-Wood from the smuggling tunnels that supply the Gaza Strip while Israel enforces an overland blockade. "They say they can get the people of Gaza anything they want from Egypt," McGregor-Wood reported as he was lowered underground by rope, sitting on a makeshift swing. He showed us a shipment of chocolate cookies and "on this night, a special delivery, six sheep, a bit dazed and confused but OK. They did say they could get anything."
THE UNIVERSAL CHURCH As promised, Pope Benedict XVI wrote a pastoral letter to the faithful of Ireland on the sexual abuse scandal surrounding Roman Catholic priests. CBS' Allen Pizzey covered the controversy from London while NBC sent Stephanie Gosk to Vatican City itself. Both remarked that the crisis for the church had moved beyond Ireland. Gosk reported "growing anger" that the Pope has failed to address the scandal in his homeland: "More than half of Germany's dioceses are facing abuse allegations." Pizzey saw a universal problem threatening "the future of the Catholic Church around the world…an issue that just keeps going from bad to worse."
BIGGER RED RIVER The sandbagging of the banks of the Red River in downtown Fargo has been completed so ABC's Barbara Pinto and Heather Brown of CBS' Minneapolis affiliate WCCO-TV both ventured out of town to await the weekend's flood crest. Pinto was in the Heritage Hills neighborhood where "there is not a hill in sight; just water everywhere." Brown showed us time-lapse photography as the Red River changed from "snow to thaw to rising waters...In some spots, horses are stranded and houses have become islands."
SISTER ON A WIN STREAK March Madness was the obvious choice for the week's closer. On ABC, Ron Claiborne (no link) decided to treat the NCAA Tournament as a news story, covering the suggestion by Education Secretary Arne Duncan that colleges be disqualified from the competition if fewer than 40% of their athletes graduate. The University of Maryland was Exhibit A: its basketball program has an 8% graduation rate. NBC's Making a Difference turned the controversy into a feelgood feature by making Xavier University in Cincinnati Exhibit B. Mike Taibbi got up close and personal with the Jesuit school's Sister Rose Ann Fleming. The 77-year-old nun is the hoopsters' academic advisor: "In a sport that reveres numbers, sister has a beaut going, a perfect 77-0. Every player who has reached his senior year has earned his degree." CBS, whose sports division has broadcast rights to the tournament, found nothing newsworthy in the graduation shortfall.
