http://tyndallreport.com/ John McCain Wants to Avoid a Holocaust http://tyndallreport.com/comment/20/2965 Andrew Tyndall 2008-07-18T06:13:51-08:00 Republican Presidential candidate John McCain took the opportunity presented by a foreign policy flare-up to showcase his Commander-in-Chief chops. All three networks led with the tightening of tensions between Iran and Israel, as Teheran test fired nine missiles including a Shahab 3 with 1200-mile range, which is far enough to bombard Tel Aviv. McCain followed up by granting interviews with all three network anchors, logging enough total time to qualify as Story of the Day. His key soundbite, invoking the Third Reich, would have satisfied Godwin's Law: "We cannot afford to have a second Holocaust."

None of the networks filed from either Iran or Israel on the missile tests: NBC's Jim Miklaszewski and ABC's Jonathan Karl (embargoed link) were at the Pentagon; Lara Logan filed from the DC bureau for CBS. The McCain interviews were pre-taped: NBC's Brian Williams added a question about the candidate's Vietnam War ad; CBS' Katie Couric followed up on McCain's economic platform; ABC's Charles Gibson tried to get McCain to call Barack Obama for flipping and flopping.]]> Anatomical Sensitivity http://tyndallreport.com/comment/20/2964 Andrew Tyndall 2008-07-18T06:13:15-08:00 sotto voce, by Jesse Jackson on Fox News Channel. ABC's Jake Tapper filed on Jackson's fantasy of castrating the candidate for criticizing young black men, Bill Cosby style, but not the social conditions in which they live. Tapper did not actually spell it out that they were testicles that Jackson wanted to cut off--he referred to "nuts" as "a sensitive part of Obama's anatomy." NBC's Andrea Mitchell summarized the story in a brief standup. Other brief political stand-ups came from CBS' Chip Reid on the standing ovation that greeted Edward Kennedy as he left cancer treatment to vote in the Senate and from NBC's Pete Williams on the bill to extend the wiretapping of international telephone calls and the immunity granted to the telecoms corporations that sidestepped required warrants.]]> Armen's Trailers http://tyndallreport.com/comment/20/2963 Andrew Tyndall 2008-07-18T06:12:43-08:00 Martin Savidge checked on the story that has been owned by CBS' Armen Keteyian: the toxic indoor air from formaldehyde in FEMA's emergency housing trailers. Keteyian had an Exclusive Tuesday, on their unsafe manufacture at Gulf Stream Coach's plant in Indiana; New Orleans based Savidge covered hearings on Capitol Hill.]]> Blue Helmet Blues http://tyndallreport.com/comment/20/2962 Andrew Tyndall 2008-07-18T06:12:19-08:00 Today's Ann Curry was in Paris for NBC, claiming an Exclusive sitdown with Ingrid Betancourt, the French-Colombian politician who was one of the hostages held by FARC guerrillas. ABC's Bob Woodruff chose an African warzone for his report on the obstacles facing United Nations peacekeepers in Sudan's Darfur Province--undermanned, with restricted access, lacking helicopters, facing heavily-armed militias.]]> Skipping Prescriptions http://tyndallreport.com/comment/20/2961 Andrew Tyndall 2008-07-18T06:11:53-08:00 Laura Marquez (embargoed link) and David Price of CBS' Early Show updated us on the California wildfires. NBC skipped the story, having been the only newscast to cover it Tuesday with George Lewis. CBS provided publicity for a report on drugs from the Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University: John Blackstone showed us how easy it is to buy narcotics without a prescription from online pharmacies.]]> Remembering JonBenet http://tyndallreport.com/comment/20/2960 Andrew Tyndall 2008-07-18T06:11:26-08:00 Dan Harris covered the DNA analysis that led to the official exoneration of the six-year-old girl's late mother, her father and brother. In a throwback to one of the abiding concerns of her stint as Today anchor, CBS' Katie Couric turned to the family's defense attorney Lin Wood for an interview on his reaction.]]> Boone Pickens Blows a Mighty Wind http://tyndallreport.com/comment/20/2959 Andrew Tyndall 2008-07-18T05:27:06-08:00 Into the vacuum of a very light day of news entered T Boone Pickens. Not a single development this day was deemed newsworthy enough to warrant coverage by a reporter on all three newscasts. President George Bush may have been at the G8 Summit in Japan but no White House correspondent filed on global diplomacy. Instead oilman Pickens qualified as Story of the Day as he unveiled his plan to end imports of crude oil by building windmills. ABC led with Pickens while CBS and NBC each chose a lead that no other network even mentioned. NBC selected breast cancer; CBS chose low tar cigarettes.

Pickens' plan is to end the national dependence on gasoline by converting cars to natural gas. Where would the natural gas come from? The fuel that is currently used to generate electricity would not be required by power stations because it would be replaced by wind-generated power. ABC's Betsy Stark led with Pickens' scheme and CBS invited the billionaire into the studio to be interviewed by anchor Katie Couric. NBC did not even mention Pickens but it did assign its environmental correspondent Anne Thompson to assess the agreement by the G8 Summit to reduce worldwide greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Since the pact was non-binding, Thompson observed that "the planet shrugged."]]> Tour de Peacock http://tyndallreport.com/comment/20/2958 Andrew Tyndall 2008-07-18T05:26:30-08:00 What Works feature on pedal power. Monday, Tom Costello told us how Portland Ore is leading the nation in turning car commuters into bicyclists. Now Savannah Guthrie follows up with advice on how the exercise that cycling provides is good for one's health and improves one's mood.]]>