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TYNDALL HEADLINE: HIGHLIGHTS FROM APRIL 18, 2011
The first anniversary of the oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico that caused months of pollution from a seabed gusher was marked by NBC, the leader in coverage all of last year. Anchor Brian Williams traveled to Venice La for a special edition, Disaster in the Gulf, that included his wharfside examination of the state of the Grand Isle shrimp fishery and environmental correspondent Anne Thompson's survey of the damage to the region's ecology and economy. Even though ABC has not started its anniversary coverage yet, the oil anniversary was Story of the Day, helped by Mark Strassmann's feature on CBS about continuing skepticism over the safety of seafood from Gulf waters. NBC did not lead with the oil disaster, however. NBC and CBS both led with the devastating string of tornadoes, numbering almost 250 from Alabama to North Carolina, that killed 45 over the weekend. ABC kicked off for the second Monday in a row with the price of gasoline, now averaging $3.84 per gallon nationwide.
TYNDALL PICKS FOR APRIL 18, 2011: CLICK ON GRID ELEMENTS TO SEARCH FOR MATCHING ITEMS
NBC LEADS THE RETURN TO THE POLLUTED GULF OF MEXICO The first anniversary of the oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico that caused months of pollution from a seabed gusher was marked by NBC, the leader in coverage all of last year. Anchor Brian Williams traveled to Venice La for a special edition, Disaster in the Gulf, that included his wharfside examination of the state of the Grand Isle shrimp fishery and environmental correspondent Anne Thompson's survey of the damage to the region's ecology and economy. Even though ABC has not started its anniversary coverage yet, the oil anniversary was Story of the Day, helped by Mark Strassmann's feature on CBS about continuing skepticism over the safety of seafood from Gulf waters. NBC did not lead with the oil disaster, however. NBC and CBS both led with the devastating string of tornadoes, numbering almost 250 from Alabama to North Carolina, that killed 45 over the weekend. ABC kicked off for the second Monday in a row with the price of gasoline, now averaging $3.84 per gallon nationwide.
ABC's Steve Osunsami performed play-by-play of the weather porn, narrating streams of stormchasing video. The Weather Channel's Jeff Morrow explained the meteorology of the supercells on NBC: this single weekend had many more touchdowns than are seen in an average month of tornado season. On ABC, Good Morning America weathercaster Sam Champion told us about the big box retail store in Sanford NC that was directly in the path of one funnel cloud. Attention Shoppers! Escape those tall-stacked shelves and hide in the cinderblock office in the rear! CBS' Cynthia Bowers was in Raleigh for a regional summary, including input from her network's affiliates WTVR in Virginia and WCSC in South Carolina. Impoverished Bertie County in northeastern North Carolina was hardest hit by the twisters. NBC's Kerry Sanders filed from Colerain.
MAKE THE WORLD GO AWAY Not a single package on any of the three newscasts was from an international dateline--or even covered a foreign story. The closest was Jim Avila's on ABC from New York. He found that the rising price of crude oil is not caused by supply and demand. There is no global production shortage. Instead commodity speculators are betting on further Arabian unrest. CBS' Anthony Mason fingered the speculators last month. CBS' latest on rising oil prices took the domestic angle. Bill Whitaker showed us strapped commuters changing their driving habits. As noted, NBC's focus was not on the price of oil but on the environmental costs of its extraction.
MONDAY’S MENTIONS Donald Trump proves to Good Morning America's George Stephanopoulos on ABC that he is an unreconstructed imperialist
United States Treasury bonds may lose their AAA credit rating. Only CBS deemed S&P's threat to be worth a correspondent. Thumbs up Anthony Mason. Thumbs down NBC and ABC
ABC's flagwaving David Muir revives that Made in America series: here is what went wrong with MiA's first effort
Income Tax Day: 45% of Americans do not have to pay, per CBS' Bill Plante. The very rich paid at a 26% rate in 1992; now 17%
In 1981, Wade Boggs and Cal Ripken played a baseball game that was worth an entire book: CBS' Steve Hartman summarized Bottom of the 33rd on Assignment America
We have been told eight times in the past three years that too much salt in the diet is unhealthy. ABC's Sharyn Alfonsi repeats the message with free publicity for Subway sandwiches
ABC's Steve Osunsami performed play-by-play of the weather porn, narrating streams of stormchasing video. The Weather Channel's Jeff Morrow explained the meteorology of the supercells on NBC: this single weekend had many more touchdowns than are seen in an average month of tornado season. On ABC, Good Morning America weathercaster Sam Champion told us about the big box retail store in Sanford NC that was directly in the path of one funnel cloud. Attention Shoppers! Escape those tall-stacked shelves and hide in the cinderblock office in the rear! CBS' Cynthia Bowers was in Raleigh for a regional summary, including input from her network's affiliates WTVR in Virginia and WCSC in South Carolina. Impoverished Bertie County in northeastern North Carolina was hardest hit by the twisters. NBC's Kerry Sanders filed from Colerain.
MAKE THE WORLD GO AWAY Not a single package on any of the three newscasts was from an international dateline--or even covered a foreign story. The closest was Jim Avila's on ABC from New York. He found that the rising price of crude oil is not caused by supply and demand. There is no global production shortage. Instead commodity speculators are betting on further Arabian unrest. CBS' Anthony Mason fingered the speculators last month. CBS' latest on rising oil prices took the domestic angle. Bill Whitaker showed us strapped commuters changing their driving habits. As noted, NBC's focus was not on the price of oil but on the environmental costs of its extraction.
MONDAY’S MENTIONS Donald Trump proves to Good Morning America's George Stephanopoulos on ABC that he is an unreconstructed imperialist
United States Treasury bonds may lose their AAA credit rating. Only CBS deemed S&P's threat to be worth a correspondent. Thumbs up Anthony Mason. Thumbs down NBC and ABC
ABC's flagwaving David Muir revives that Made in America series: here is what went wrong with MiA's first effort
Income Tax Day: 45% of Americans do not have to pay, per CBS' Bill Plante. The very rich paid at a 26% rate in 1992; now 17%
In 1981, Wade Boggs and Cal Ripken played a baseball game that was worth an entire book: CBS' Steve Hartman summarized Bottom of the 33rd on Assignment America
We have been told eight times in the past three years that too much salt in the diet is unhealthy. ABC's Sharyn Alfonsi repeats the message with free publicity for Subway sandwiches
