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TYNDALL HEADLINE: HIGHLIGHTS FROM FEBRUARY 7, 2013
There were three major stories vying for attention: one on the west coast, one on the east coast, and one on Capitol Hill. All three warranted coverage by a correspondent on all three newscasts. The confirmation hearings in the Senate Intelligence Committee for John Brennan, nominated to be the next CIA Director, were not picked to be the lead on any newscast. On the east coast, New England is bracing for a blizzard: storm preparations kicked off the newscasts from both NBC and CBS. On the west coast, ABC led with an apparent murder plot by one of its own former officers against the Los Angeles Police Department itself. With three already dead, the LAPD manhunt for Christopher Dorner was Story of the Day.
TYNDALL PICKS FOR FEBRUARY 7, 2013: CLICK ON GRID ELEMENTS TO SEARCH FOR MATCHING ITEMS
COPKILLER MANHUNT TOPS SPOOKS & BLIZZARD There were three major stories vying for attention: one on the west coast, one on the east coast, and one on Capitol Hill. All three warranted coverage by a correspondent on all three newscasts. The confirmation hearings in the Senate Intelligence Committee for John Brennan, nominated to be the next CIA Director, were not picked to be the lead on any newscast. On the east coast, New England is bracing for a blizzard: storm preparations kicked off the newscasts from both NBC and CBS. On the west coast, ABC led with an apparent murder plot by one of its own former officers against the Los Angeles Police Department itself. With three already dead, the LAPD manhunt for Christopher Dorner was Story of the Day.
The breaking news reporting from LAPD headquarters was delivered by NBC's Miguel Almaguer, ABC's David Wright, and CBS' Ben Tracy. ABC's Nick Watt consulted Dr Howard Askins, a forensic psychologist, to offer his interpretation of the revenge manifesto apparently posted online by Dorner. At CBS, revolving-door reporter-turned-cop-turned-reporter John Miller detailed the training Dorner received from the LAPD, including intelligence and heavy weaponry and urban warfare tactics. How did Miller know? Because he was part of the LAPD brass at the time.
All three newscasts offered the same combo on the blizzard: a reporter in the field in New England, plus a meteorologist's forecast. ABC slapped a gaudy eXtreme Weather-Team logo on Ginger Zee's efforts, perched on a ridge under a mountain of road salt. CBS was the most relaxed, assigning Terrell Brown to look on the bright side for Massachusetts' ski resorts. NBC's Ron Mott hung out amid the snow shovels at Home Depot: catch Mott's reminder of John Chancellor's Nightly News diction from 1978.
As for soon-to-be top spook John Brennan, none of the three correspondents covering his hearings could bring themselves to utter the T-word. NBC's Andrea Mitchell managed "harsh interrogations" and "enhanced techniques" as the lead element of her package. CBS' Bob Orr used the acronym EITs and "harsh tactics." On ABC, Jonathan Karl did not even bother to include the question of interrogation in his report. And those targeted killings by CIA drones? Michael Isikoff, whose Exclusive on NBC Tuesday brought that story onto the news agenda, sniffed that the word drone never left Brennan's lips.
THURSDAY’S THOUGHTS CBS' David Martin offered a preview of his Sunday Morning feature on the future of military drones. The current technology is operated by remote control. The next unmanned generation will take off from aircraft carriers, drop their bombs, and return to the ship, all piloted by pre-programed computer code. Here is the X-47B.
A couple of airline stories, by CBS' Sharyl Attkisson and ABC's Paula Faris. As part of her Real Money series, Faris turned to saving money on air fares. She did her usual thing and offered free publicity to a couple of Websites: this time kayak.com and hipmunk.com. Attkisson has apparently decided that the lithium-ion battery fires in Boeing's 787 Dreamliner are worth serious scrutiny. This was her fourth report in the last four weeks.
Faris' other plugs: SaveLoveGive.com for cellphone savings; GiftCardGranny.com, secondipity.com, thredup.com, and NextWorth.com for second-hand recycling.
Elaine Quijano on CBS returned to suburban New Jersey to follow up on Robert and Kim Summers, the distraught would-be adopters who were foiled by Vladimir Putin at the end of last year. The fate of the orphan Preston turns out to be an anticlimax, but still a lachrymose one.
Kayla Sloane is an ambitious young lady. When she was 15-years-old, then going by Kayla Rice, she recorded an album of her country music stylings I'm Not Over You. No success. Now, five years later, she has turned to non-stop vocalizing while on the job at Walmart. Video went viral, which found its way onto ABC, where Steve Osunsami donates free publicity to Sloane, en route, she hopes, to the Grand Ole Opry.
Kristen Dahlgren loves big trees. Some 15 months ago on NBC she was awestruck in Sequoia National Forest. Now she is splayed across the front of a redwood trunk, where the Archangel Ancient Tree Archive collects clones for seedlings.
The breaking news reporting from LAPD headquarters was delivered by NBC's Miguel Almaguer, ABC's David Wright, and CBS' Ben Tracy. ABC's Nick Watt consulted Dr Howard Askins, a forensic psychologist, to offer his interpretation of the revenge manifesto apparently posted online by Dorner. At CBS, revolving-door reporter-turned-cop-turned-reporter John Miller detailed the training Dorner received from the LAPD, including intelligence and heavy weaponry and urban warfare tactics. How did Miller know? Because he was part of the LAPD brass at the time.
All three newscasts offered the same combo on the blizzard: a reporter in the field in New England, plus a meteorologist's forecast. ABC slapped a gaudy eXtreme Weather-Team logo on Ginger Zee's efforts, perched on a ridge under a mountain of road salt. CBS was the most relaxed, assigning Terrell Brown to look on the bright side for Massachusetts' ski resorts. NBC's Ron Mott hung out amid the snow shovels at Home Depot: catch Mott's reminder of John Chancellor's Nightly News diction from 1978.
As for soon-to-be top spook John Brennan, none of the three correspondents covering his hearings could bring themselves to utter the T-word. NBC's Andrea Mitchell managed "harsh interrogations" and "enhanced techniques" as the lead element of her package. CBS' Bob Orr used the acronym EITs and "harsh tactics." On ABC, Jonathan Karl did not even bother to include the question of interrogation in his report. And those targeted killings by CIA drones? Michael Isikoff, whose Exclusive on NBC Tuesday brought that story onto the news agenda, sniffed that the word drone never left Brennan's lips.
THURSDAY’S THOUGHTS CBS' David Martin offered a preview of his Sunday Morning feature on the future of military drones. The current technology is operated by remote control. The next unmanned generation will take off from aircraft carriers, drop their bombs, and return to the ship, all piloted by pre-programed computer code. Here is the X-47B.
A couple of airline stories, by CBS' Sharyl Attkisson and ABC's Paula Faris. As part of her Real Money series, Faris turned to saving money on air fares. She did her usual thing and offered free publicity to a couple of Websites: this time kayak.com and hipmunk.com. Attkisson has apparently decided that the lithium-ion battery fires in Boeing's 787 Dreamliner are worth serious scrutiny. This was her fourth report in the last four weeks.
Faris' other plugs: SaveLoveGive.com for cellphone savings; GiftCardGranny.com, secondipity.com, thredup.com, and NextWorth.com for second-hand recycling.
Elaine Quijano on CBS returned to suburban New Jersey to follow up on Robert and Kim Summers, the distraught would-be adopters who were foiled by Vladimir Putin at the end of last year. The fate of the orphan Preston turns out to be an anticlimax, but still a lachrymose one.
Kayla Sloane is an ambitious young lady. When she was 15-years-old, then going by Kayla Rice, she recorded an album of her country music stylings I'm Not Over You. No success. Now, five years later, she has turned to non-stop vocalizing while on the job at Walmart. Video went viral, which found its way onto ABC, where Steve Osunsami donates free publicity to Sloane, en route, she hopes, to the Grand Ole Opry.
Kristen Dahlgren loves big trees. Some 15 months ago on NBC she was awestruck in Sequoia National Forest. Now she is splayed across the front of a redwood trunk, where the Archangel Ancient Tree Archive collects clones for seedlings.
