As John King went to a commerical break during Sunday's State of the Union, he decided to quote James Earl Jones' famous CNN tag line: "This is CNN."
Bill Bennett got it right: "It's not the same!"
Showing posts with label Bill Bennett. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bill Bennett. Show all posts
Monday, October 19, 2009
This Is CNN
Sunday, October 18, 2009
State of the Union October 18. 2009
King interviewed White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and Senator John Kerry.
- Emanuel: Obama asking questions that have never been asked
- Obama aide defends tax on so-called 'Cadillac' plans
- Obama aides question Wall St. firms lobbying against reforms
- Emanuel explains White House's view of Fox News
- Kerry: Obama would be 'irresponsible' to send more troops to Afghanistan now
- 'This is not Vietnam,' Kerry says of Afghanistan
During the first part of the Sounds of Sunday, we heard from Bill Bennett, Donna Brazile, and David Gergen.
The conversation continued with the addition of Jessican Yellin and Gloria Borger.
The Last Word went to Hew Hampshire's Republican Senator Judd Gregg.
King visited his 40th state this week: Alaska. He took a look at the impact the recession has had in this week's American Dispatch as well as spoke with Zina Egbert, David Newlon, and Dan King in Wasilla, Alaska for the CNN Diner segment.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
State of the Union for October 11, 2009
The behind the scenes video clip for this week's State of the Union with John King was shot in Washington, D.C. The clip has an interesting start with John King asking, "What do you want to talk about?"
The first interview on program this morning was a pre-recorded interview that King did with Senator John McCain earlier in the week. Topics covered during the interview:
- President Obama's Nobel Peace Award
- Afghanistan war
- McCain: We need more troops
- Iran & nuclear negotiations
- Economy & job creation
- Health Care Reform - Senate bill
- McCain: GOP needs an agenda
- McCain: Tensions with Palin
King talked to two Democratic Senators in a live interview during the second half of the first hour: Senator Debbie Stabenow and Senator Bob Casey. King asked them about repealing the Defense of Marriage Act, the inclusion of sexual orientation into the hate crime bill, and the "don't ask, don't tell" policies. King had a hard time of getting the Senators to answer the question about repealing the Defense of Marriage Act and even asked Senator Stabenow directly why she wasn't answering the question. When asked about whether "don't ask, don't tell" should be looked at now or after the 2012 election, Senator Stabenow answered that human rights and jobs are always important issues and should be their primary focus. (Maybe its me, but I think she tried to dodge another question.)
King then moved on to asking the Senators about Afghanistan and troop levels as well as health care reform.
John King was in Kentucky this week for the American Dispatch segment. He took a look at the impact the recession has had on the horse racing industry: an industry that supports 100,000 jobs in the area. He also visited Hazard Kentucky.
Reliable Sources started off talking about the Nobel Peace Prize award to President Obama and the reaction from the press and pundits. Howard Kurtz pre-recorded an interview with the White House Communications Director, Anita Dunn. She responded to the negative reaction of some commentators. Kurtz asked her about her comments about FOX News, "It's opinion journalism masquerading as news." that appeared in Time magazine earlier this week. She stated this morning that FOX News "often operates almost as either the research arm or the communications arm of the Republican party." Kurtz followed up to the comment to ask her whether that was reason why Obama didn't include FOX news when he did his Sunday morning interviews a few weeks ago: yes. She went on to clarify that she doesn't have an issue with Major Garrett (WHC for FOX) but pointed out that Chris Wallace had not been fair to the administration. FOX issued a statement in response to this interview, but declined to have someone appear on Reliable Sources.
The first panel of the hour included Ana Marie Cox and Chris Stirewalt. The topics included the statements from the White House Communications Director, the pundits "slamming" Obama for receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, the Obama SNL skits from the past two weeks and its influence on the mainstream media, and MSNBC's Olbermann's expressing his views on health care reform.
Next Kurtz talked with Sharon Waxman, David Zurawik and Steve Friedman about the coverage of the David Letterman scandal (meanwhile Senator Ensign's sex scandal doesn't get as much coverage).
Friedman made an interesting (and true) statement during the segment: "Television is the greatest democracy in the world: people vote with their clicker." My one question: who calls it a clicker anymore?
The panel then discussed the negative impact Jay Leno's move to 10PM has been hurting local news ratings on NBC affiliates.
The 11AM hour brings us to the Sounds of Sunday and the pundits.
Four commentators in the first panel: Peter Sprigg, Bill Bennett, Donna Brazile, and Robert Traynham. They discussed the President's comments at the Human Rights Campaign dinner about don't ask; don't tell and the Defense of Marriage Act and the potential culture war that could result from taking on these issues at this time.
A panel shake up at for the second segment Brazile and Bennett keep their seats and Candy Crowley and Dana Bash join the fun. They continue to discuss the "don't ask; don't tell" policy, and Defense of Marriage Act. Bennett thought that King was spending too much time this morning on these issues.
The panel then focused on troop levels in Afghanistan and the health care debate. And the lightening round topics were Gov. Palin and the Nobel Peace Prize.
I don't know if anyone else noticed this, but the 11AM hour went by very quickly and seemed to always be "interrupted" by the commerical breaks. I don't know if it was the lively debate or keeping Brazile and Bennett though the whole hour or having a three - four person panel instead of a two - three person panel. Whatever the cause, it seemed to work for that portion of the program.
CNN Diner segment was at Rick's White Light Diner in Frankfort, Kentucky. King spoke with Rick Paul (owner of the diner), Joel Schrader, and an unidentified woman. By far, the most spirited conversation that we've seen during the diner segment as they discussed health care reform.
The Last Word went to Assistant Surgeon General of the United States Public Health Service and the Director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD) Centers for the Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Rear Admiral Anne Schuchat, MD, to discuss H1N1 (swine flu) and the vaccine. Per Dr. Schuchat if you're getting the shots or a shot and one nasal mist, you can receive the H1N1 and the seasonal flu vaccination during the same visit. If you're receiving nasal mists of both vaccinations, then she recommended waiting three weeks between them.
King mentioned that he will be heading to Alaska this coming week: it will be the 40th state that he's visited since State of the Union began.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
State of the Union August 23, 2009
State of the Union with John King started off this morning with a discussion with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen and The US Ambassador to Afghanistan, Lt. Gen. Karl Eikenberry (Ret.). The discussion focused on the recent election in Afghanistan (results from the election have not been determined); US troop levels in Afghanistan; whether or not the public understands the mission in Afghanistan; fighting drug production and replacing it with food crops; troop levels in Iraq (can the decrease in troops continue?); and the release of the Lockerbie bomber.
Next, King spoke live with three Senators: Sen. Richard Lugar (R), Sen. Joe Lieberman (I), and Sen. Benjamin Cardin (D) in the DC Studio. The Senators were asked about the impact the release of the Lockerbie bomber will have on the US relations with Libya (which had been on the path of improvement); and the war in Afghanistan: what are the objectives? what are the appropriate troop levels? how long will we be there?
King then asked the panel about health care reform.
And finally, King asked Lieberman about a quote from Alec Baldwin that was in the July/August issue of Playboy magazine.
King stayed focus on the military with his America Dispatch this week. He visited Fort Riley to talk to the families that have members serving overseas.
At 10AM, it was time for Howard Kurtz and Reliable Sources. Kurtz spoke with Steve Kroft and Jeff Fager about the passing of Don Hewitt.
Kurtz' next panel included Anne Kornblut, David Frum, and Clarence Page. They talked about the White House blaming the press' coverage as well as O'Reilly versus Stewart in comments made about the town hall meeting protesters.
George Gombossy, a former reporter for the Hartford Courant, who says that he was fired because he did a negative story about an advertiser talked wtih Kurtz.
The final two segments focused on the career of Robert Novak, who passed away earlier this week and Jayson Blair's new career as a life coach.
Back to John King for the Sound of Sunday and bring in the pundits...
The first panel of the hour included Donna Brazile and Bill Bennett to discuss the release of the Lockerbie bomber; the war in Afghanistan; health care reform; and Bob Novak.
The CNN Diner segment was from Junction City, Kansas. King talked with Denise Ott, Buz Bruzina, and Bill Speer at Stacy's Restaurant.
Ed Henry, Jessica Yellin, and Dana Bash joined King in the studio for the final panel discussion of the hour. The topics that they covered this morning included: the Lockerbie bomber release, the war in Afghanistan, and health care legislation. The Lightening Round was all about wee-wee and Playboy...
That brings us to the 12PM hour and a repeat of a large portion of the first hour of the program. 44 minutes later, live programming resumed with The Last Word. This week, Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D) was the last guest of the morning and the interview focused on health care reform.
Here's John King's behind the scenes video for this week:
And finally, here are your links to this week's podcasts:
Sunday, August 2, 2009
State of the Union August 2, 2009
No John King this morning on State of the Union. Jessica Yellin anchored the program in his place. Yellin started the program with a live in studio interview with Christina Romer, Chair of the WH Council of Economic Advisors. They discussed the economy and the unemployment rate. Romer believes that after five months the stimulus package is working and will deliver 3.5 millions jobs (either created or saved) by the end of 2010. Yellin also asked her about corporate executive bonuses.
Romer is the only woman on the White House Council of Economic Advisors.
Next on the program was a taped interview that John King did with Senator John McCain. They talked about the economy and the long term impact the stimulus package will have. McCain conceded that the stimulus package has provided "short-term improvements."
The next topic was health care reform and the Senator does not like the idea of a public health insurance option. McCain's advice for Obama:
When the Senator described the blue dog democrats he used phrases like: bark and no bite and roll over and play dead. He doesn't see that Washington has changed any with Obama as President.
King also asked McCain about whether or not he will support Judge Sotomayor's Supreme Court nomination. Senator McCain will be spending at least part of his August recess overseas. King asked him about whether additional troops would be required in Afghanistan and about nuclear concerns with Iran. McCain criticized the US' allies for relying too much on diplomacy.
And of course, King had to ask about Palin's resignation. Senator McCain "respects" her decision. When asked about who he would support in the 2012 Republican primary, he wouldn't comment.
Turns out McCain has more twitter followers than the White House.
And another taped segment from John King- this one about Blue Dog Democrats in his American Dispatch. He went to western Idaho to talk to conservative voters.
For more coverage on the Blue Dog Democrats in Idaho, see this story from the CNN Political Ticker.
Later in the program, we saw some of the same people in the CNN Diner segment. He was at Bud's diner and spoke to Dr. Patricia Bauer, Don Griesel, and William Bauer. They talked about Fmr Gov. Palin, health care reform, and how President Obama has done over the first 200 days of his administration.
Reliable Sources with Howard Kurtz started off this morning with comments made by Glenn Beck about the President being a racist. The first panel included Michel Martin, Amanda Carpenter, and Michelle Cottle. Cottle summed it up well: "crazy sells."
The next was a discussion about the birther debate and CNN's Lou Dobb's commentary. FOX's O'Reilly defended Dobbs; MSNBC's Maddow criticized him and Dobb's fought back by calling her names. And what would a discussion about last week's media be without bringing up the beer summit- when has four men sitting around a table drinking a beer received so much coverage?
The same panel also discussed remarks that Former Governor Palin's made about the media. (She just won't go away, will she?)
The next panel included Harvey Levin, Sharon Waxman, and Amy Argetsinger . They discussed the reliability of trusting TMZ as a source.
Next, Kurtz interviewed a fifteen year old journalist from the Bronx: Myles Miller. He's the Political Editor for Children's Press Line
. Here's a quick quote from the interview that gives me hope for the next generation of journalists:I mean, I think that as a journalist, I'm very objective. I make sure that all my questions are asked from a point of view that don't have my opinion in it. And I also make sure that the reporters that I manage are asking questions that are objective because I feel that that's the integrity of journalism.
We've lost integrity a lot. And I feel that we are the ones who are going to bring it back.
Source: CNN Transcript, State of the Union with John King/ Reliable Sources, August 2, 2009
Jessica Yellin was back for the 11AM hour and the Sounds of Sunday or as I like to call it: the hour of pundits. First panel for this hour included Bill Bennett and Donna Brazile. They talked about the economy and whether or not there has been any improvement and whether or not the stimulus package has anything to do with it. They debated the lack of change inside the beltway (what happened to bipartisan legislation/ Congress). Brazile compared the health care legislative debate to "sausage making" and that some of the ingredients she wouldn't have accepted.
The next panel included Chris Cillizza, Karen Tumulty, and Peter Baker. They discussed possible tax increases in order to pay for health care reform, the economic recovery (will it be a jobless recovery), health care reform, the "Cash for Clunkers" program, reform on the housing market and on Wall Street, and Fmr. Gov. Palin's relationship with the media.
Then a report introduced by Deborah Brunswick that is part of the CNN series called In Focus. A Health Care Co-op that includes a doctor on a motocycle.
This brings us to the beginning of the noon "repeat" hour. Live broadcasting resumed 44 minutes later for the Last Word.
Joseph Stiglitz joined Yellin via satellite to discuss possible tax increases. Stiglitz thinks that we may need more stimulus packages and argued that the deficit would be just as high even if we didn't have the stimulus spending.
Here are this week's podcasts:
Want to voice your opinion on the second 100 days of the Obama administration? Thursday night, CNN will repeat their Report Card program – this time for the last 200 days. You can put in your vote at: http://www.cnn.com/reportcard.
Tom Foreman had another article in this week's Metro: OMG: That’s so dangerous!:
Picture a car careening down a Los Angeles freeway in rush hour with the driver crunching a phone between his cheek and shoulder, one hand holding a sputtering tape recorder, the other furiously scribbling in a notebook, all while he steers with his knees. Here is a great truth of the American roadway: I have multitasked at 70 mph in heavy traffic like a Zen master.
But now, like a congressman caught in a sex scandal, I am ready to swear I’ll never do it again.
At least when it comes to the practice of messaging or texting while behind the wheel.
A new report coming out of Virginia Tech’s Transportation Institute says texting while driving is not merely dangerous, but something akin to juggling rabid cats. Try it enough times and you’ll get hurt. In real studies of real drivers in real traffic, the researchers found that truckers were 23 times more likely to have an accident if texting, and Tom Dingus, who runs the VTTI, says there is no reason for the rest of us to think we’ll do any better.
The rest of the article can be found on Metro's website: OMG: That’s so dangerous!.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
State of the Union for July 26, 2009
State of the Union with John King started off this morning with an interview with Senior White House Advisor David Axelrod. The first topic that John King covered was whether the stimulus package has been a success. Of course, the conversation soon turned to health care reform. Congress will not complete the task of passing legislation prior to the August recess. Listening to Axelrod, I was reminded of another President's promise of "no new taxes"- I'm afraid that the current President's pledge to not raise taxes on those making less that $250,000 may end up going the same way. Axelrod made the point this morning that the current health care system works for the insurance companies but doesn't work for the insured. It is nice to see that the policy discussion is at least in part starting to include reforms in addition to expanding those that would receive coverage. The next topic was Professor-gate. Oddly, Axelrod seemed to stumble around on this topic a bit.
Is Axelrod worried about the political future of Gov. Palin? Nope. His answer implied that he has more important things to worry about politically (although he was much more diplomatic with his actual answer).
John King spoke with Speaker Nancy Pelosi late on Friday. King taped the behind the scenes preview from the CNN parking area on his way to the interview.
Pelosi was firm that the House bill is ready and that there has been enough debate on the bill and she's very confident that when she takes the bill to the floor of the House that it will pass.
Pelosi dodged the question about whether a public health care option would include coverage for abortion. The question actually seemed to shock her. She was prepared for the question about whether or not those that were in the US illegally would be covered by the bill but didn't have an answer on how hospitals were supposed to deal with it when they show up in the emergency room.
Is it time for another stimulus package? Per Pelosi: no.
King interviewed Senate Minority Leader, Mitch McConnell (R) live in the D.C. studio. They discussed the health care legislation and whether the Republicans would except a public/ government option. The Senator's opinion is that "the only thing bipartisan with this legislation is the opposition to it." And the Senator's first idea on how to fix the legislation: stop lawsuits against doctors. (That smells of lobbyist to me.) The Senator declared the stimulus package a failure and that we haven't seen the last of Gov. Palin.
John King was in Texas this week. He spoke with Gregory Rose, a 23 year old man, who graduated from college and found out he had leukemia. His medication alone costs $5,000 a month. He no longer has health care coverage because he receives too much money from his social security disability. The impression from the report was that Rose could either have health insurance via Medicaid or pay his rent (with his disability check).
In the America Dispatch segment, King also spoke with JPS' CEO and Chief of Medicine about the possibility of "squeezing" Medicaid/ Medicare payments.
Howard Kurtz's Reliable Sources started off with a discussion on the arrest of Professor Gates in Cambridge, MA. The panel included Callie Crossley, Lauren Ashburn, and Roger Simon.
Then the panel turned to the "Birthers". The longer I listen to Lauren Ashburn from USA Today the more I like her. Here was her response to the "Birthers" issue:
ASHBURN: One of the only newspapers -- and here I am, you know, shilling for "USA Today," essentially -- to not cover this since the election is "USA Today." Why?
KURTZ: Yes, why?
ASHBURN: Cottage industry of conspiracy theorists is basically what we're seeing here. And why do you give a voice to that. You know, why not help drive the dialogue forward on issues that are important to Americans like health care and other things that need addressing?
...
ASHBURN: I would go even a step farther to say that it's unethical. It's unethical of the media to be taking this issue and putting it front and center when all of the proof is there to the country.
Source: CNN Transcript, Reliable Sources/ State of the Union with John King, July 26, 2009.
The coverage of the nude photos of EPSN's Erin Andrews was criticized by Callie Crossley, Christine Brennan and Lauren Ashburn. The panel agreed that the media was just as guilty as those who took the peep hole pictures since they showed them on air and in print. The next topic was ESPN not initially covering sex charges made against a quarterback.
Roger Simon, Ryan Lizza, and Debra Saunders discussed the President's prime time press conference and how Lynn Sweet's question about Louis Henry Gates' arrest became the headline - not the topic of the press conference which was health care. The President has been doing more interviews than is typical: filling the void so that his opponents can't.
Kurtz interviewed Ben Mezrich the author of The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius, and Betrayal. The book is non-fiction, but has a based on a true story feel to it with dialogue recreated and condensed in order to keep the story moving. Kevin Spacey is reportedly involved with the upcoming movie version of the book. Mezrich is also the author of the book that was the basis for the movie 21.
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The pundit hour started with a review of the Sound of Sunday and then followed with a round table discussion with Paul Begala, Alex Castellanos, Bill Bennett, and Marc Morial. The first topic for the panel was the controversy over the President's remarks concerning Professor Gates' arrest. (The first part of the discussion ended with a debate on what type of beer one drinks.)
The final minutes with this panel were spent talking about the future for now former Gov. Palin. The mention of Alaska gave Paul Begala the perfect opportunity to show off a picture from his vacation to Seward, Alaska. (If you had seen Begala earlier in the week - he was sporting some facial hair - a left over from his vacation.) As to the question at hand: Begala is hoping she runs in 2010; Castellanos thinks she will split the party; and Bennett doesn't have or at least wasn't willing to share his opinion.
While King was in Texas, he stopped in to Norma's Cafe in Dallas to tape the CNN Diner segment where he spoke with Connie Obenhaus, Chase Robinson, and Theresa Moreno. They shared their health care stories and they discussed whether abortion should be included if the Congress approved a tax payer funded health care option and about whether illegal immigrants should receive care.
The next panel included Joe Johns, Ed Henry, and Dana Bash. Health care dominated the first part of the conversation. When they came back from commercial break, they discussed the economy and the impact of the recovery act (short term or long term?). Next, they visited the President's comments about Professor Gates' arrest.
During the last hour of the program, a flashback to the 9AM hour with a repeat of the interview with David Axelrod, Speaker Pelosi, and Senator Mitch McConnell.
The Last Word went to the Mayor of Cambridge, E. Denise Simmons to discuss with the controversy over the arrest of Louis Henry Gates.
And here are your podcast links for the week:
A few extras this week... clips from The Situation Room that caught my eye. First, imagine this: Wolf Blitzer and the Beastie Boys... Too Many Rappers the latest song from the Beastie Boys featuring NAS mentions the CNN anchor.
Here's the full version of the new single:
What Blitzer didn't mention is that the Beastie Boys made news earlier in the week with the announcement that they will be delaying the release of the their new album Hot Sauce Committee PT 1 and canceling several concert dates because rapper MC is having a cancerous tumor removed from his neck.
Are George and Hank terrorists? Its incredible the unintended consequences well meaning laws have on the little guys. CNN's Jeanne Meserve reported about mule handlers having to get TWIC cards along the Lehigh Canal.
And the final item for the night... Tom Foreman's latest Metro article: Washington’s Secret Society. Here's an excerpt:
Less than a year ago, President Barack Obama (then a mere candidate) was storming the campaign trail making some of those “Come on kids, let’s change government for the better!” promises that enthralled the fans. And among them was this little gem. He said as he prepared his health care initiative, he would not merely insist on keeping his meetings open, but also “have the negotiations televised on C-SPAN, so that people can see who is making arguments on behalf of their constituents, and who are making arguments on behalf of the drug companies or the insurance companies.”
Maybe my cable company has done another of those squirrelly channel realignments, but somehow I’ve missed that reality show. Instead, the Obama administration, much like the Clinton administration years ago, has held virtually all of its health care meetings on this signature subject in private, doors closed, “do not disturb” signs hanging outside.
... to continue reading this article visit: Washington’s Secret Society
Sunday, July 19, 2009
State of the Union July 19, 2009
State of the Union with John King started with a report on the proof of life video of a US soldier captured in Afghanistan with Barbara Starr. Later in the program, King reported that the Defense Department had identified the soldier as Pfc. Bowie Bergdahl of Ketchum, Idaho.
The first guest on the program was Peter Orszag the White House Budget Director to discuss the numbers on the health care legislation.
They also discussed the economy and the impact of the stimulus package and the budget deficit.
King talked with Senator Patrick Leahy (D) and Senator Jeff Sessions (R) on the confirmation hearings for Judge Sotomayor. Senator Leahy pointed out that he has voted on the confirmation of every member of the current Supreme Court. King tried multiple times to get Sen. Sessions to commit one way or another to how he planned to vote on the confirmation.
John King's column this week on CNN Politics was GOP sees fertile ground in taxes, pocketbook issues.
King mentioned that today's Reliable Sources would be discussing the passing of Walter Cronkite. King shared his thoughts on Friday night's coverage (which he anchored during both Larry King Live and Anderson Cooper 360) in the behind the scenes video clip for this week.
As part of the American Dispatch series, King reported from Newark, New Jersey talking to Mayor Cory Booker (D) who was offered a position in the Obama administration, but turned it down to focus on local politics.
Howard Kurtz was on with Reliable Sources at 10AM. His focus the first half of the hour on the death of the CBS anchorman, Walter Cronkite. Kurtz talked with Bob Schieffer, Susan Zirinsky, Bernard Shaw, Don Hewitt, Connie Chung, Daniel Schorr, and Sandy Sokoloff.
Kurtz then turned the program to the coverage of the Supreme Court nominee with Terry Moran, Dahlia Lithwick, and Jim Geraghty. Kurtz talked to Moran about the ratings success of Nightline and also grilled Moran on Nightline's decision to lead with the Michael Jackson story 12 out or 15 nights.
Wrapping up the hour, Kurtz reported on the release of emails to Gov. Sanford from various people in the media attempting to get the Governor to come appear on their programs. John King was one of those whose emails were being critiqued.
The Sounds of Sunday segment reviewed what some of the other Sunday morning programs were talking about:
Donna Brazile and Bill Bennett were in the Washington, D.C. studio with John King this morning. The topics this morning were the Sotomayor confirmation hearing and the health care reform legislation and whether or not it is going to make it through Congress.
The CNN Diner segment was in Newark, New Jersey this week at Je's Diner (Restaurant). King spoke with Gerard Drinkard, Charles Hayes, and Peggy Godrey-Drinkard.
The next panel had Ed Henry, Jessica Yellin, and Dana Bash discussing the Obama administration's August health care deadline as well as Secretary of State Clinton's comments on the vetting process for appointed positions within the Federal government.
The first 36 minutes of the noon hour was a repeat of interviews that were done during the first hour of the program. The Last Word this week went to Rev. Jesse Jackson. King asked Jackson about how the Obama administration was treating the older generation of African American leaders as well as how civil rights had progressed over the past 25 years.
Here are the links to this week's podcasts:
One last note tonight, looks like they are overhauling the graphics being used during the program… here's an example of the graphics that we saw during the intros at the top of each hour:
Sunday, July 5, 2009
State of the Union for July 5, 2009
John King was in the Los Angeles studio this morning for State of the Union. Other than the introduction and the news break at mid hour, the first hour of the program was pre-recorded.
John King interviewed former Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Colin Powell earlier in the week. They discussed the "America's Promise" program that assists children as well as encourages youth to serve. Powell discussed that his family was key to keeping him on the right path and that kids today need a "gang" and if their family doesn't provide this support then some will find it with a street gang.
They also discussed whether or not the country will be able to support the veterans that are coming back from war as well as the Iraq war and the withdrawal of troops from the cities. The conversation progressed to discussing whether Powell's way of approaching conflicts could have worked better than Rumsfeld's in Iraq and how the US should proceed in stabilizing Afghanistan. King asked Powell about the "don't ask; don't tell" policy and received the answer that Powell thinks that it should be reviewed, but that it is more complicated that just reversing it.
The next topic of discussion was the nomination of Judge Sotomayor and the Republican party's inability to reach out to minority voters.
When asked about the cost and size of government, Powell was worried and stated he wants a government that is as small as possible but a government that works.
Powell admitted that he understood the impact that Michael Jackson had had on pop culture, but that his memories of Jackson were of his younger years singing with his brothers in the Jackson Five and that the success of Thriller wasn't of his generation. Powell speculated that he may have been in Vietnam or Korea at the time.
The last part of the discussion was about the Independence Day holiday and what it meant to someone who had served in the armed forces.
King spoke with Tora Burns who works with Americorp as a mentor in Washington, D.C. She's a Howard University student who is spending her summer as an instructor in a Heads Up program.
At 10AM, you would expect a segue to Howard Kurtz, but not this morning. Instead another pre-recorded interview of King speaking with the Joint Chief's Chairman, Admiral Mike Mullen. Mullen got to use the magic wall while he explained the Helmand strategy. They also discussed troop levels and who the enemy in Afghanistan is.
Then the discussion moved to Iraq and how the troop withdrawal in the major cities is going to work.
The next topic covered was the recent actions of North Korea and the relations in that part of the world. As well as the President's visit to Russia and the military's policy of don't ask/ don't tell.
We got a shortened pre-recorded version of Reliable Sources with Howard Kurtz, who according to his tweets, is on vacation. Kurtz started with the coverage of Michael Jackson and began by claiming that the "wall to wall" coverage has been "out of control." His first panel included Sharon Waxman, Don Lemon, and David Zurawik. The conversation was spirited with Kurtz being the only one with the position that the coverage had been too much. Lemon justified the coverage that he was more than just an entertainer and described those that have criticized the coverage as "elitist." Zurawik also agreed that the coverage wasn't overdone because Jackson represents the conflicts within our culture. Bottom line- we have several more days before there is any chance of this story going away.
Next, Kurtz talked with TMZ founder, Harvey Levin. TMZ has been the first to break several of these stories, but other news sources have been hesitant to report and credit TMZ. Levin defended TMZ saying that they have high news standards and doesn't put information out without multiple sources and chasing down verification of the story. Kurtz took issue with paying for information, but Levy justified it since some news organizations pay for interviews.
I'd guess that the program was taped prior to Gov. Palin's announcement that she was resigning. I would have expected this story to have been mentioned at some point, otherwise.
Kurtz had a clip on the CNN.com website that did not air on today's program about last week's Nico Pitney versus Dana Milbank discussion and the coverage of it that followed.
Back to John King in Los Angeles at the beginning of the 11AM hour & the first live segment of the program. Donna Brazile, Bill Bennett, and Ed Rollins were on the strategist panel, this morning. The first topic was the Palin resignation. Even though there were two Republicans and only one Democrat, Rollins was very critical of Palin's decision. Bennett floated the idea that maybe the wrong governor resigned (referring to Gov. Sanford of South Carolina). The next debate was over the economy and what went wrong with the stimulus package.
The CNN Diner segment was at the Walter Reed Medical center. King spoke with Maj. Bryon Vaughn Bridges, a chaplin, and Sgt. Joseph Highberger, a medic.
Will post a link to the video clip if it becomes available.
The next political panel was with Barbara Starr, Jill Dougherty, and Ed Henry. Doughtery and Henry are currently in Russia covering the President's trip. They discussed Iran policy, the don't ask/ don't tell policy, the military actions in Helmand province, and the politics of US relations with Russia.
King visited central Florida to discuss Hispanic health care issues.
The top of the noon hour brought a repeat of the taped programming from earlier. It was 12:44pm when the Last Word started. King spoke with Queen Noor Al-Hussein earlier in the week when he was in Washington, D.C. and she was in London. Her Majesty has supported efforts to eliminate nuclear weapons within the next 14 years. They also discussed the difference between the view & popularity of the President versus the United States and what service & the 4th of July holiday means to Queen Noor.
This week's behind the scenes clip was once again the staff meeting in Washington, D.C.
And finally, here are this week's podcast links:
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