Saturday, July 23, 2005
Return To Flight Part Two
NASA will give it another try Tuesday to send Space Shuttle Discovery into space. Liftoff is scheduled for 10:39 a.m. According to CNN.com, CNN will air special coverage from 10-11am EDT Tuesday. I am pretty sure CNN will follow coverage plans it had a couple of weeks ago when the the launch was scrubbed. The countdown has begun on CNN.com with a "Return to Flight Special Report". It features a comprehensive look at the shuttle crew, a look at what the crew expects to accomplish during the mission and a look at the testing and upgrades the shuttle has undergone since the Columbia tragedy. It also features a special 'System Navigator' with alot of interactive features.
# posted by ATN @ 6:20 PM 
Anchor Go Round Saturday
This from an e-mailer: "Lisa Sylvester who serves as a Washington based correspondent for Lou Dobbs Tonight and previously Washington based correspondent for Moneyline can be seen anchoring CNN Live Saturday. So far Lisa has proven herself to be a smooth anchor. It'll be interesting to see her throughout the afternoon given that she doesn't normarily appear on-camera outside Lou Dobbs Tonight, though her packages have aired on other CNN and CNN HLN broadcasts.
In addition Catherine Callaway was spoted providing reports from Atlanta's Centinneal Park this morning. Her interaction with Rob Marciano was priceless. When referring to the heat that is bearing down on the mid-west Catherine said, "Maybe they should flee to Canada", referring to those being battered by the excessive heat."
# posted by ATN @ 12:54 PM
Controversy Stirs Over New Latin American TV Channel
Source: UPI Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is warning the United States not to interfere with a new region-wide television station in South America.
A joint effort by Argentina, Cuba, Uruguay and Venezuela, the Telesur TV, is set to begin broadcasting July 24.
The station is being marketed as an alternative to major news outlets like CNN and Fox News with a focus on Latin America breaking new and features.
Chavez said if the United States interferes with the station it would spawn an electronic war.
The Venezuelan government will have to take appropriate measures if the United States interferes with the work of the TELESUR TV news channel by jamming its broadcast, said Chavez, El Universal reported Friday.
Earlier this week, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to broadcast alternative programming in Venezuela.
Chavez said he would consider blocking all U.S. radio and TV transmissions in Venezuela.
# posted by ATN @ 12:45 AM
Friday, July 22, 2005
CNN/I Pre-empts Lou Dobbs Re-run
What a shock!!! I was watching my local news but a blog reader alerted me to this: The 11pm EDT re-run of Lou Dobbs Tonight is being pre-empted for CNN/I coverage of today's Egypt explosions and other big stories of the day. We will have to see how long this will last. Can we hope all night long?
UPDATE: 11:33 PM CNN/I simulcast continues. World Report is now on.
UPDATE: Midnight EDT I knew it was too much to hope for. ANYWAY, CNN/US is back to the regular rer-un schedule as Larry King Live is now on.
# posted by ATN @ 11:24 PM
New Poll
It has been a while since I've had a poll up so I thought I'd throw one together. In this poll I want to know, "Compared to 6 months ago, do you watch CNN more, less or about the same. The poll will end next Friday.
# posted by ATN @ 7:56 PM
Phillips Put Out on Perch for Live From....
Kyra Phillips anchored Live From...... Friday afternoon from the same perch used by Wolf and Paula on Tuesday, June 28th while anchoring coverage of a Presidential Address to the nation. It is the rooftop of the CNN Newsource (affiliate service) building in DC. ALSO did anyone else notice how Suzanne Malveaux switched from the IP set to the DC Newsroom set towards the end of the program? AND Wolf anchored Wolf Blitzer Reports from the IP set. Additional: Well I am informed this has been going on for a number of weeks now. I guess not noticing this is my fault, as I have CNN on with my back to the TV while at the computer. Today was the first day I noticed it.# posted by ATN @ 5:54 PM
IP Retracts
Suzanne Malveaux today's anchor on Inside Politics just awhile ago aired a retraction to a story yesterday. Apparently CNN was provided a wrong photo by another news organization of a London bomber suspect. We will follow this story and have more when the transcript gets posted. Didn't this happen once before?
UPDATE: This from an e-mailer: "Kyra also apologized for the error on today's Live From.... "
Below is the transcript from today's Live From....:
PHILLIPS: Well, earlier this week, CNN aired a photograph of a man that Pakistani intelligence and immigration officials had confirmed was one of suspected London bombers, Hasib Hussain. Well, we obtained that photograph, which has been broadcast on Pakistani television, from our CNN affiliate in Pakistan and from Reuter's News Agency. We have now information the passport photo may be of another man also named Hasib Hussain who is not a suspect and is not in any way connected to the bombings. CNN truly regrets this error.
# posted by ATN @ 3:54 PM
CNN/US Anchor to Host Special on CNNRadio
Source: CNN Press Room CNNRadio will air a special live one-hour program discussing child violence that will include experts in the field and guests who have been impacted first-hand. “Sexual Predators: How Safe Are Your Children?” will be hosted by CNN anchor Tony Harris for the nearly 2,000 CNNRadio affiliates. The program will air live Thursday, July 28, from 2-3 p.m. (ET) and will be produced by CNNRadio supervising producer Maria Boynton.The program’s scheduled guests include Ernie Allen, president and CEO of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children; Erin Runion, mother of 5-year old Samantha Runion, who was kidnapped and murdered in 2002; Heather Lackey, a police detective in Peachtree City, Ga., responsible for the arrests of several on-line sexual predators; and Mickey Goodman, a freelance writer for Atlanta Magazine who has reported on child sexual exploitation.
CNNRadio long-form programs are now available for podcasting on CNN.com. To listen to CNN’s podcast offerings, please visit: http://www.cnn.com/services/podcasting/. Additionally, CNNRadio programming, including long-form programs, can be heard streamed for the Web on the CNN.com home page.
# posted by ATN @ 3:39 PM
CNN Presents Replaces PZN Tonight
A CNN Presents will replace Paula Zahn Now tonight at 8 p.m./EST. Progress Report: War In Iraq will re-air this coming weekend in primetime too.
UPDATE: 3:20pm EDT An e-mailer adds this: "Newsnight is a pre-taped "special" on the 9/11 commission report. Can you say vacation Friday."
# posted by Anonymous @ 12:42 PM
United States vs. North Korea: CNNI airs Special-Report
CNN Senior Asia Correspondent Mike Chinoy explores the volatile developments of recent years in MELTDOWN: THE NORTH KOREAN NUCLEAR DISPUTE. This special program is based on extensive interviews with key players including former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Deputy Director John McLaughlin, Richard Armitage, Former Deputy Secretary of State and other important figures.The 30-minute long program airs this weekend on CNN International and is being replayed on Tuesday. Check CNNAP for airtimes in Asia.
# posted by Anonymous @ 12:25 PM
Looking for a Few Good CJ's
The Citizen Journalist idea has really taken off. CNN is offering folks with video and pictures and other type media the opportunity to share the stories and be apart of the storytelling. CNN did it with Hurricane Dennis and also implemented the idea with the latest attack against London. CNN.com has a special page for CJ's to upload their media and possibly get it shown on the air. The special page can be found HERE.
# posted by ATN @ 11:47 AM
Thursday, July 21, 2005
Olbermann Attacks a Fox News PR Person
I know this has absolutely nothing to do with CNN. BUT we know we can't count on other blogs to post anything bad about FNC, so here it is. This from an e-mailer:
From tonight's COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN on MSNBC:
Time for Countdown's list of today's three nominees for the coveted
title of Worst Person In The World:
We've got James Mazzarelli, who owns a small zoo in Litchfield, Connecticut.
He says six customers tried to leave the place without paying.
Police say he responded... by locking them in the zoo with the animals.
Then there's Publicist X -- the anonymous spokesperson for Fox News
who today continued to issue personal attacks on the reporters and
executives of the actual cable news networks.
We don't know who X is. However, Fox News's Vice President of Media
Relations is named Irena Briganti, and X presumably works for her --
and Ms. Briganti certainly doesn't want to appear as covering up for a
cowardly, insecure, ashamed, gutless employee. So she should fire them
post-haste.
But the winner is Liz Beattie, a retired primary school teacher in
England, who is leading the teachers' union there, in trying to change
the education system so that no student will ever fail again.
A student would be able to bank the correct parts of a failed test.
He wouldn't get an F...
He'd get... a Deferred Success!
Liz Beattie... today's Worst Person In The World!
# posted by ATN @ 11:13 PM
TWC: The Lighter Side
# posted by ATN @ 4:30 PM
Another London Terror Attack
Well we know what will be the topic of the day on the cable news networks. From what I can gather from various sources on the internet, FNC broke in first, at 8:19:16. CNN followed at 8:22:09 and MSNBC was last at 8:23:17 with the news. As I type this, CNN is once again using its vast resources from CNN/International to cover the story. So far in the few minutes I have been watching we've heard from Matthew Chance and Christiane Amanpour and others. Carol Costello and Miles O'brien are anchoring probably what will be an expanded edition of American Morning.
UPDATE: Prime Minister Tony Blair is speaking. CNN is carrying it live. Kinda funny as I flip back and forth from CNN to FNC during the press conference, the audio on FNC is delayed by about 5 seconds.UPDATE: CNN/I has been airing CNN/US coverage of the terror attack.
UPDATE 11:13am EDT: CNN seems to be giving Miles and Carol a break. Christiane Amanpour is anchoring the coverage from the streets of London. UPDATE: CNN is using resources also from ITN London.
UPDATE: 11:58am EDT CNN/US continues to use Christiane Amanpour to cover the story in the streets of London. Reporters and other resources from ITN continue to be used for coverage as well. Thanks to a CNN/I viewer for the screen grab.
Noon EDT CNN/US has joined CNN/International for coverage.
UPDATE 12:16pm EDT This from an e-mailer: ""Christiane Amanpour is anchoring the coverage from the streets of London” sounds actually better than it is. She is just outside 16 Great Marlborough Street a couple of steps away from Turner House but miles away from any of the three Underground stations."
UPDATE: 12:30pm EDT CNN.com offers a great archive of video dating back to the attacks two weeks ago when the first bombing took place. The video focuses on how London has been dealing with those attacks. I am sure the video-log will be updated to include this attack as well. CNN.com's Special Report: London Terror has been updated as well.
UPDATE: 12:50pm EDT CNN's prime-time schedule will be focused on the attacks in London. According to the program schedule, today's attack will the topic of AC 360, PZN and NN.
UPDATE: 1:15pm EDT Kyra Phillips is now anchoring coverage on CNN/US.
Pics from CNN Coverage Notes
E-mail your coverage observations to cnnblog@yahoo.com OR use the anonymous tip box!
# posted by ATN @ 10:29 AM
Supreme Court Nominee Annoucenment Good For Cable News Nets
Source: Variety (subscription required) President Bush's speech announcing his pick for the Supreme Court delivered big numbers for cable news nets, which spent much of the day Tuesday speculating on whom the nominee would be.
Fox News Channel led the way with 3.3 million viewers for the first half of the hour -- a 89% increase over its July average for the time period. CNN drew 1.2 million viewers for the speech, a 31% increase, and MSNBC had 504,000, a 145% jump, according to Nielsen.
# posted by ATN @ 2:33 AM
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
CNNRadio Uses Magazine-style Format to Cover Varied Topics for Affiliates
Source: CNN PressRoom CNNRadio adopts a magazine-style format for its next long-form program for affiliates, enabling the network to cover a myriad of issues ranging from computer security to online journalism to Harry Potter in a single hour. CNN Headline News anchor Renay San Miguel hosts the program for the nearly 2,000 CNNRadio affiliates.The new CNNRadio program will air live Thursday, July 21, from 2-3 p.m. (ET) and will be produced by CNNRadio supervising producer Sherri Maksin.
“With this new magazine format, CNNRadio provides our affiliates with a broader range of topics and experts and a tighter focus on some of the most interesting stories of the moment,” said Jerry DeMink, vice president, CNN News Services. “This format is a great addition to our long-form programming for affiliates.”
For the topics and schedule of the first program, see the CNN Press Release.
# posted by ATN @ 2:30 PM
Brown Covers Up Hemmer's Pic in Morning Paper Segment
I was watching last night BUT had my back to the tv and only heard what Aaron was saying and didn't know what was on the tv screen. An e-mailer says Brown covered up the pic of Bill Hemmer last night when he used Hemmer's hometown paper in the Morning Paper's segment. And yes the transcript of last night's NewsNight does mention it: "The Cincinnati Enquirer," "Bush Nominates a D.C. Insider." Wait I need to cover that picture over there. "Bush Nominates D.C. Insider, Roberts Familiar with High Court" is the headline."
As you may remember from yesterday, Bill Hemmer is now a tele-prompter reader for FOX.
UPDATE: Here are several screen grabs of AB's attempt to cover up Hemmer's pic: HERE.....HERE......and HERE. Thanks to the NewsNighter's for the pics!
# posted by ATN @ 10:49 AM
News Orgs Go into Speculation Overload Mode Before Nominee Announcement
This article from WP columnist and CNN Reliable Sources Host Howard Kurtz doesn't present any surprise to anyone I don't think. Kurtz writes today about all the speculation the news orgs did, more specifically cable news channels, before Bush officially announced his Supreme Court Nominee last night. Below is an excerpt from the article:"By 5 p.m., a shoot-from-the-lip environment ruled cable news. MSNBC's Dan Abrams: "Rumors are swirling, but the name that seems so far to have been leaked to just about everyone is 5th Circuit Judge Edith Brown Clement, a woman with conservative credentials." Clement was "at the top of the buzz right now," said commentator Craig Crawford.
But wait -- maybe it was the wrong Edith!
Fox News Channel's John Gibson: "We have heard a lot about Edith Clement. What about this Edith Jones?"
CNN's Suzanne Malveaux: "There's been a lot of speculation over Judge Edith Clement. We have been waved off of that as well. There are mixed reports whether she is going to be the candidate." Half an hour earlier, CNN had run a piece on Clement and Jones as "two front-runners."
At about 5:30, ABC reported on its Web site that Clement had gotten a call saying she wasn't the one -- perhaps the fastest flameout in Supreme Court history."
You'll find the full article HERE.
Pics from CNN Coverage Notes.
# posted by ATN @ 10:36 AM
News Outlets Aiming to Attract Young Viewers to Websites
Pretty good article in the Wall Street Journal on the recent makeovers of news websites, including CNN.com. The article presents this interesting stat; "Our audience on the Web is 10 to 15 years younger than our TV audience" for news, says Larry Kramer, president of CBS's digital-media operations. Visitors to ABC News's long-established Web site have a median age of 45, nine years younger than ABC News's median TV audience, according to Nielsen/NetRatings and research by the network.
The article says, "CNN hopes its Web effort will bring in advertisers, such as movie studios, that traditionally seek younger audiences. CNN is in discussions with 70 to 80 marketers about online ad deals, says Greg D'Alba, CNN's chief operating officer. He says "it's early days, but with a heck of a lot of promise.""
Read the full article HERE.
# posted by ATN @ 10:18 AM
Just wanted to remind ya'll, your's truley, DCG, will be on this week's edition of Subject2Discussion talking about my blog, CNN and cable news. Subject2Discussion airs LIVE Wednesday at 6pm PST, 8pm CST and 9pm EST on www.LVROCKS.com. Once at LVROCKS click on LISTEN and to join in the chatroom click on CAM/CHAT. The blog is www.subject2discussion.com . If you miss the program it will be archived at Spankwagon.
Remember that's tonight, Wednesday, July 20th.
# posted by ATN @ 12:10 AM
EPA Paid The Weather Channel for Videos
Source: Washington Post The Environmental Protection Agency paid the Weather Channel $40,000 to produce and broadcast several videos about ozone depletion, urban heat problems and the dangers of ultraviolet radiation as part of the Bush administration's efforts to inform the public about climate change, agency records show.The agreements, reached in 2002 and 2004, required the cable TV station to create four two-minute "video capsules" on the topics and air them several times during peak viewing periods, according to interviews and EPA records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act. The Weather Channel also was to provide access to the segments through its Web site. The EPA had the right to review scripts and suggest content, but the Weather Channel retained editorial control.
The Weather Channel "is in a unique position to help EPA expand its audience," an EPA official wrote in a document justifying the sole-source agreement. "It is the only channel that focuses its programming solely on weather and environmentally-related information. Broadcasting to more than 80 million households and 95 percent of all cable TV homes in the U.S., the weather channel has established itself as the strongest electronic-media brand among all 24-hour news and information channels." MORE
# posted by ATN @ 12:05 AM
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
Unions at CNN Atlanta?
This from the tip jar: CNN Atlanta Technical Operations employees are meeting with representatives of NABET to discuss union representation. At issue: job security, overworked staff, poor middle management, and cross-network scheduling between CNN and Headline News. Union organizers hope that if Atlanta can be unionized, then the non-union New York and Washington bureaus will demand union representation as well. NABET hopes to schedule an election at CNN Atlanta by the end of the year.# posted by ATN @ 10:14 PM
The Supreme Decision: CNN's Coverage Plans
7pm EDT Anderson Cooper 360: Who's leading the pack? How did the president narrow it down? We'll preview the president's announcement of his high court pick. Additional: AC 360 will be LIVE at 11pm EDT.
8pm EDT Paula Zahn Now: The president is ready to name his nominee. We'll look at the process to get to this point, and tell you what insiders are saying.
9pm EDT Larry King Live: Immediately following the announcement, Larry gets live reaction to the naming of the president's Supreme Court nominee.
10pm EDT NewsNight: Supreme decision: The president has announced his nominee for the Supreme Court. Are they a uniter or divider?
11pm EDT AC360 LIVE :We'll learn more about the Supreme Court nominee and look at what's ahead in the confirmation process.
ALSO AC360, LKL and NN will all be reran twice overnight.Additional: AC 360 will be LIVE at 11pm EDT.
# posted by ATN @ 5:04 PM
Hemmer Joins Fox News...MORE Details
Source: Business Wire Bill Hemmer has joined FOX News Channel (FNC) as a weekday anchor and correspondent, announced Roger Ailes, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of FOX News. In making the announcement, Ailes said, "Bill is a journalist of great integrity, and his strong reporting and anchoring skills will prove beneficial to the entire FOX News team." Hemmer added, "I am thrilled to be joining FOX News Channel, and I welcome the opportunity to be a part of the nation's leading cable news network."
Thanks to Inside Cable News for the tip!
# posted by ATN @ 2:18 PM
CNN Scrapping 2 Saturday Morning Business Shows
Source: New York Daily News CNN is pulling the plug on biz shows again.Two Saturday morning personal finance programs, "Dolans Unscripted" and "The Turnaround," will be history in a matter of weeks - and won't be replaced with money programs.
A third Saturday morning financial show, real estate program "Open House" will remain on the air and will get an additional weekend airing.
In a big retreat from business news, CNN shuttered sister financial channel CNNfn last year. It will replace its weekend biz shows with general news programs, which will be hosted by CNN weekend anchors Betty Nguyen, Tony Harris and Fredericka Whitfield.
CNN U.S. president Jon Klein noted that financial reporting will continue on a new three-hour daily program called "The Situation Room," set to debut Aug. 8.
Turnaround" host Ali Velshi, and Jack Cafferty, anchor of "In The Money," another
CNN weekend business show, will contribute to the afternoon show."We're not backing away from business coverage, we are finding new and better ways to showcase it," Klein told the Daily News.
The two shows, which went on the air earlier this year, pre-dated Klein. MORE
# posted by ATN @ 9:54 AM
Monday, July 18, 2005
Just wanted to let ya'll know your's truley, DCG, will be on this week's edition of Subject2Discussion talking about my blog, CNN and cable news. Subject2Discussion airs LIVE Wednesday at 6pm PST, 8pm CST and 9pm EST on www.LVROCKS.com. Once at LVROCKS click on LISTEN and to join in the chatroom click on CAM/CHAT. The blog is www.subject2discussion.com . If you miss the program it will be archived at Spankwagon.
Remember that's this Wednesday, July 20th.
# posted by ATN @ 9:14 PM
Park Leaving CNN
This from an e-mailer: "I read today that CNN's Christina Park who has been lead anchor of CNN Quickcast, CNN.com, and a substitute anchor for Headline News is headed to KPRC in Houston."
# posted by ATN @ 9:02 PM
More on 'Pipeline'
Broadcasting and Cable spoke to CNN execs Sunday following the announcement of plans for CNN Pipeline. Below is a excerpt from the article:
Speaking to B&C after the presentation, Walton said they are exploring means by which to deliver the service to cell phones and PDA’s. “I can tell you that it won’t be a part of this rollout, but it's something we are looking at in early ’06,” he said.
Walton also told B&C that beta testing will begin in two weeks, saying the new technology has been the biggest challenge to overcome. “We are writing code and it has never been done before,” he said. “Anytime you are building a product that is code, there are no absolutes and to make all the things work the way we want them to is complicated and time-consuming, that is the single thing that could delay us.”
But speaking to the audience of TV critics, Walton was bullish on the product, saying his new service was “Playstation” compared to “some of what recently has been announced by our competitors,” which he referred to as “the video game PONG from many years ago.”
CNN says they have not agreed on a price point.
The video service will be commercial-free, although banner ads will appear on the site.
Read the complete article HERE.
UPDATE: MultiChannel News has a pretty good article about the new service as well.
UPDATE: Now we have the official CNN Press Release.
# posted by ATN @ 10:45 AM
CNN Plans High-Tech News Show
An article in the LA Times gives us more details about The Situation Room. The article quotes Wolf Blitzer as saying, "We're not going to compromise on journalism but we're going to take you behind the scenes and let viewers see what we're getting when we're getting it, especially in those critical hours where news is gelling," Blitzer said. "I've been frustrated that viewers are only able to [see] a small fraction of what we are able to gather." The program, which would air from 3 to 6 p.m. ET, is loosely modeled on the concept of the White House Situation Room, and would combine traditional reporting with online resources, such as blogs, Blitzer said.
UPDATE: This from the official CNN Press Release: The program will gather dozens of experts, analysts and opinion leaders to explore homeland security, politics, national and world affairs, establishing a “CNN Security Council” with expertise spanning topics from personal security to the economy to the war on terrorism. Regular contributors will include political commentators and analysts Paul Begala, James Carville, Robert Novak, Jeff Greenfield, Bill Schneider and Carlos Watson; former Republican advisor and spokesperson for the Department of Defense Victoria Clarke; security analysts such as former Defense Secretary William Cohen, Richard Falkenrath, a former terrorism advisor to President George W. Bush, Clark Kent Ervin, former inspector general for the Department of Homeland Security, and John McLaughlin, former acting director of the Central Intelligence Agency; and military analysts Gen. David Grange and Gen. Don Shephard.
In addition, Jack Cafferty will offer commentary and insights on the day’s events; CNN business correspondent Ali Velshi will contribute regular business features and updates; and Zain Verjee, co-anchor of CNN’s international news report Your World Today, will report on international news developments. CNN’s groundbreaking Internet reporters Abbi Tatton and Jacki Schechner will cover the blogs and beyond on the Internet. CNN Correspondent Mary Snow will also contribute to The Situation Room.
Sam Feist, senior executive producer of political programming for CNN, will be executive producer of The Situation Room.
# posted by ATN @ 10:43 AM
CNN Tracking Hurricane Emily
Looks as though CNN will be providing regular updates on Hurricane Emily as it heads straight towards Mexico. Meteorologist Jacqui Jeras has been providing updates on the storm at the top and bottom of each hour Sunday evening. We'll see if the updates continue overnight.
UPDATE: 7/18 1am EDT CNN/International is being simulcasted on CNN/US. CNN/US viewers are seeing 100% CNN/I, complete with CNN/I graphics and everything. It seems Hurricane Emily is the reason for this. Not sure how long the simulcast will last. It seems CNN/US didn't want to air a rerun of CNN Sunday Night.
UPDATE: O geez, that didn't last long. CNN/US just used CNN/I for a Hurricane Emily update and Typhoon Haitang hitting Taiwan. CNN's Karl Penhaul phoned in a report from a place feeling the effects of Emily. THEN CNN/US dumped out of CNN/I coverage at 1:10am EDT and went into a rerun of CNN Sunday Night, already in progess.
# posted by ATN @ 12:14 AM
Sunday, July 17, 2005
Plans for CNN Pipeline are Revealed
Source: TV Newser "CNN.com today announced that its broadband premium service, CNN Pipeline, will offer an unrivaled on-demand news experience that showcases the full depth of CNN's video resources," a press release says. "CNN Pipeline will put users in control of multiple live video streams, CNN's video archives and on-demand news clips from CNN's unmatched newsgathering operation around the world."The service was unveiled at the TCA Press Tour in Los Angeles. Jim Walton introduced a brief demo of the technology.
"With the upcoming launch of CNN Pipeline, CNN.com stakes out new ground for the online news user," Susan Grant, executive vice president of CNN News Services, says in the press release. "Together with our launch of free video in June, this groundbreaking premium service puts broadband consumers in the ultimate driver's seat. You select whether you want to watch daily news clips for free on the site or any one of several live streams of news from CNN Pipeline."
# posted by ATN @ 8:47 PM
CNN Stands by Novak in Plame Probe
Source: Associated Press Lynn Elber writes: Journalist Robert Novak's status as a CNN contributor will remain unaffected during a federal probe into the revelation of a CIA officer's identity, executives at the news channel said Sunday.
"I think we're all aware that no one really knows what's going on in the investigation of the Valerie Plame incident," said Jonathan Klein, president of CNN/U.S. "So it would be awfully presumptuous of us to take steps against a guy in his career based on second, third, fourth-hand reporting."Klein praised Novak as "one of the most outstanding political reporters this country has ever known."
A special prosecutor is investigating the Bush administration's leak of Plame's name. In a July 2003 newspaper column, Novak identified Plame, the wife of administration critic and former U.S. ambassador Joseph Wilson, as a CIA operative.
Appearing before the Television Critics Association, CNN News Group President Jim Walton was asked if Novak could be expected to have a long relationship with CNN despite questions about his role in the probe.
"Yes," Walton responded. He was then asked if Novak didn't represent a problem for CNN.
"Robert Novak has broken no laws and he has distinguished himself as a journalist for many, many years and he brings a different voice to our air ...," Walton said.
Read the complete artice HERE.
# posted by ATN @ 8:35 PM
A Journalistic Coup?
We all know that Miles O'brien was heading towards space before Columbia broke up over a Texas sky 2 1/2 years ago BUT this Associated Press article sheds new light on the story. Here's an excerpt:
CNN began thinking about sending O'Brien to space about the time California businessman Dennis Tito paid the Russian space agency about $20 million for a trip to the space station in 2001. CNN negotiated with the Russians but backed away when the price was too steep, O'Brien said.It seems O'Brien was also worried about the conflict of interest of reporting about NASA while it was in the position of deciding whether he would be able to travel in space.
The network then turned to National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Sean O'Keefe, NASA's boss at the time, said the idea was attractive to the space agency because few astronauts can match a journalist's ability to convey the wonder of space travel. O'Brien came from a family of fliers, and his pilot license made him a very attractive candidate, he said.
NASA conducted a well-publicized competition in the 1980s to send a journalist to space, a plan that died when the Challenger exploded. This time, the talks were kept secret, and kept to only one news organization.
O'Keefe said the program would have sought other applications once the requirements became clear.But, frankly, I don't think anybody would have risen to the same level of qualifications that (O'Brien) had," he said. CNN and O'Brien were also willing to commit to the rigorous two-year training period, said O'Keefe, now chancellor of Louisiana State University.
CNN's motives for keeping quiet are clear: Why spoil your chance at a journalistic coup?
"No one else was asking," O'Brien said. "No one else was showing up. It wasn't as if Dan Rather was beating down the door right after me."
You'll find the complete article HERE.
# posted by ATN @ 1:07 PM
Blitzer's New Program to Begin Next Month
TV Newser reports: ""The Situation Room" will premiere on Monday, August 8." TV Newser says Jon Klein and Jim Walton are to promote the new program later today at the TCA Press Tour.
UPDATE: 8:40 pm EDT TV Newser is reporting: "With The Situation Room, our viewers have the advantage of CNN's unmatched access to national and world leaders as well as the leading journalists and experts on any topic of the day," Blitzer said in a press release. "The Situation Room will bring the control room to the living room, making the entire process of our newsgathering more transparent and placing the latest news and information at the viewers' fingertips."
> The program will feature a "CNN Security Council" "with expertise spanning topics from personal security to the economy to the war on terrorism."
> "The Situation Room studio has been expressly designed to combine traditional reporting methods with the newest innovative online resources such as blogs, Web sites and podcasts," the P.R. hints.
UPDATE: 10:44pm EDT A blog readers tells me promos for The Situation have been airing tonight on CNN.
# posted by ATN @ 1:04 PM
