Betty Nguyen has been in Myanmar for the past week, trying to steer clear of junta patrols and get as close as possible to the areas hardest hit by the cyclone two months ago. It's grim footage, but the world needs to see it:
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
There is a new form of IED being used in Iraq -- a "flying" one. Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr described them last week:
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Today on American Morning, after a conversation about Budweiser no longer being American, a discussion of other non-American American icons:
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
A couple old Q&As I tripped over last night, from DC Fishbowl. First up is Zain Verjee. The year isn't listed but it seems to be 2006:
THURSDAY, SEP 14
Zain Verjee: The FishbowlDC Interview
Say hello to CNN correspondent Zain Verjee.
How many suits do you own? Only a few left behind by an ex
What word do you routinely misspell? Connecticut
Did you see Brokeback Mountain? I believe I stayed there while in Waziristan, Pakistan
Did you see The Da Vinci Code? No. but I read the book and bought the Mona Lisa...
What's the name of your cell phone ring? Vibrate
What time did you get up this morning? 5 a.m.
When did you last cry and why? Big girls don't cry
Which of the seven deadly sins are you? All of them
Beach, city or country? Beach
Would you say you're cute? Pretty? Hot? Beautiful? Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder
What color is your bathroom? Egg
How many emails do you receive a day, roughly? Hundreds ... Mostly from Jack Cafferty or my mum
What's your opinion of New York City? Takes up too much space in my head ... but good cheese pizza
What's your favorite letter? Zed (not zee)
What single person played the biggest role / had the biggest influence on your journalism career? My former co-anchor on CNN international Jim Clancy.
Have you ever downloaded a podcast? If so, which one? Loads ... poem of the day ...
Who's your all-time favorite American Idol candidate? I only watch "General Hospital" ... and lately someone is writing much better scripts for my friends in Port Charles
When's the last time you volunteered? Where? I volunteer as a P.A. on "The Situation Room." I'm getting really good at logging tape and bringing the producers coffee.
Who is your favorite active journalist? Candy Crowley [CNN senior political correspondent] ... Her writing is magical, lyrical and deliciously witty.
What did you have for breakfast? Porridge and wheatabix with Kenyan tea (milk, no sugar)
What one toiletry item could you not live without? Tea tree Face masks in Seoul
If you could have one superpower, which one would it be? To have tomorrow's news today
Better role model: GIJoe? Barbie? They're both plastic dolls
Each FishbowlDC Interview subject is asked to contribute a word to this ongoing thread. Thus far we have..."Leprechaun suits shimmer Sensenbrennerly. Never regurgitate, orginate! Ideally, chutzpah feathers one's soul melodically. Rhythmically, supergalifragilistic sounds baroque indeed..." nefarious
Next up is a more recent one with Candy Crowley:
WEDNESDAY APR 09, 2008That's all for me today...
Candy Crowley: The FishbowlDC Interview
Say hello to CNN political correspondent Candy Crowley.
What word do you routinely misspell? Guliani? gulliani? giuliani?
What's the name of your cell phone ring? "Loud Beeps"
What time did you get up this morning? 4:30am.
When did you last cry and why? This morning. See above. .
How many emails do you receive a day, roughly? 300? 350? of which roughly 25 actually relate to my day.
What's your favorite letter? Like "X" ? Or like the one my father wrote to my sons to be read when they grew up?
What single person played the biggest role / had the biggest influence on your journalism career? This is too hard because there wasn't a single person in a big role, but so many people in big roles including my children who once convinced me to stay in journalism at a time I thought I wanted out.
When's the last time you volunteered? Where? Last year. Cleaning up a bike path in Maryland
Who is your favorite active journalist? Washington Post's Peter Baker always has something I didn't know and writes beautifully. NBC's Lisa Meyers is dogged and always coming up with things beyond the headlines and things nobody else has.
What did you have for breakfast? Luna Bar and water
What one toiletry item could you not live without? Toothpaste?
If you could have one superpower, which one would it be? Oh please. The ability to read minds. The day would be so much shorter if you knew the truth in the first phone call.
Red or white wine? Sorry to be boring. don't drink
PG-13 or R? R
Lincoln, Jefferson or Washington Memorial? Lincoln
Leg or breast (chicken, of course) Ok, really boring. I'm a vegetarian
Friday night or Saturday night? Saturday. time to get ready and time to sleep in Sunday
"Wedding Crashers" or "Old School" Really, really boring. I had to be told these were movies. So, "Last Days" ?
The Palm or Cafe Milano? um Giant?
Yankees or Red Sox? Cardinals
Jenna or Barbara? Never choose between twins. It damages their psyche.
McSteamy or McDreamy? McDreamy
Leno or Letterman? Letterman
Stewart or Colbert? Stewart
Boxers or briefs? I mean, if presidential candidates have stopped answering this question, then I won't answer either. Boxers
and may not be used without consent of the blog administrator.
2 comments:
Good for Betty. CNN needs to do more of this
type of journalism and run long extended stories
on the weekend instead of the repeats of Dobbs
and King. It does not have to even by live, CNN would
be wise to move to a format of their awesome stories
runing for long periods of time on weekends. Heck
even let viewers vote during for the week the stories
they would like to see on weekends. They should
gaher mini docs all week long. Mixing the stories
with reporters talking and music for a good pace
and cut back on the repeats for the weekends.
This would cost them absolutely nothing to bring
together elements of CNN, AOL and all of their
magazines and even bands and music from BEBO
and even game and movies trailers and picture
sites operated by AOL.
They need to really cut down on the talk and
repeats. Time Warner has an arsenal that no
one comes close to. It is a real same that it
is not used. CNN has to have hundreds if not
thousands of stories they can put into rotation
on the weekends.
Very interesting to read Candy and Zain's informal interviews ... silly but fun and a little revealing. Nice respite from the somberness of news.
Post a Comment