Miles O'Brien investigates Continental 3407

One year ago today, Continental Airlines flight 3407 suddenly nosedived into a house while on approach to the Buffalo airport, killing all on board and one person on the ground. Former CNN anchor and science/tech guru Miles O'Brien investigated the causes of the crash for Frontline, and the full episode can be viewed online at the PBS website. While pilot error is cited as the official cause, there are disturbing political and bureaucratic issues that fostered the situation and put all of us -- in the air or sitting at home -- in danger.

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Ratings for the Week of July 6, 2009

Ratings for the week July 6, 2009 - July 10, 2009

	8PM^Adults 25-54 FOX 802,000 CNN 411,600 MSNBC 385,800 HLN 374,600
	9PM^Adults 25-54 FOX 625,600 CNN 578,200 MSNBC 320,600 HLN 213,200
	10PM^Adults 25-54 FOX 535,400 CNN 537,400 MSNBC 270,200 HLN 299,400

Welcome to this week's edition of the wacky world of ratings. Tuesday night's coverage following Michael Jackson's memorial service had a major impact on the averages for the week. Let's start with the 8PM time slot. On the surface the average adults 25 - 54 demographic ratings put FOX at number 1, CNN at number 2 (yes, that is CNN), MSNBC in third place and HLN trailing behind in fourth. If you look at the night to night rankings, FOX took first place four nights out of five. CNN came in first place on Tuesday night and had two third place finishes and two fourth place finishes. MSNBC took second place twice, third place once and fourth place twice. HLN took second place twice, third place twice, and fourth place once.

The averages are a bit more clear cut at 9PM. FOX came in first place for the week after taking the top spot four nights out five. CNN came in second place after coming in first place one night (Tuesday) and second place the other four nights. MSNBC was a consistent third place and HLN was a consistent fourth place.

The 10PM hour defies all logic when you look at the individual nights (but the math works in CNN's favor.) CNN takes the top spot when comparing the averages after having the highest demographic rating on Tuesday night and coming in second the other four nights. FOX comes in second for the week after coming in first four nights out of five and second one night. HLN comes in third place after coming in third three nights out of five. MSNBC comes in fourth place after coming in fourth three nights out of five.

^{^} Courtesy Nielsen Media Research; Demographics where noted; Live + Same Day (LS) Fast Track Nationals.

The ratings over the past two weeks have left lots of room for the networks to spin the results in their own favor. The Wrap recently posted an article titled Fox News Keeps Fending Off Rivals and they spoke with Miles O'Brien for his take on his former employer's ratings wins and woes. (Thanks to Julie for finding this for us.)

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Pakistan, Afghanistan ... and MOB visits PDX

Stan Grant (in Kabul) spoke to a former high-ranking Taliban official about his internment at Guantanamo Bay and his return to Afghanistan. Stan also discusses a major drug seizure in Helmand province:

Afghanistan supplies most of the illegal opiate trade to the world, but Reza Sayah reports that Iran is doing some PR to make it clear that the drugs are not welcome in that country:

Ivan Watson was one of the reporters flown into the Swat Valley by the Pakistani military so that they could show off captured Taliban turf. Friday, a brief bit of footage from that excursion:

Saturday, a longer look at the bunkers as the tour continues, but Ivan also points out that the military took reporters on a similar tour early last year. At the end of the clip, a brief Q&A from Islamabad:

And what about all those refugees? Yesterday Dan Rivers reported from a refugee camp near Peshawar:

Using your cell phones, Americans can text the word “SWAT" to the number 20222 and make a $5 contribution that will help the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees provide tents, clothing, food, and medicine to hundreds of thousands of affected people.

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Well, here's a familiar face we haven't seen on ATC in awhile ... this past week, PBS has been airing a documentary by Miles O'Brien titled Blueprint America: Road to the Future. Part of the program was filmed last month here in Portland, and I pulled a couple minutes of it:

The locals don't like anyone bragging up the city, afraid it will bring more people up here, so shhh... But it was great to see Miles riding the Max and seeing some of the sights. I still really miss his NASA coverage on CNN. You can keep up with Miles on Twitter and True/Slant.

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Where in the World...?

MONDAY: Wolf Blitzer hosted TSR from New York, where he accepted the Peabody Award given to TPBTOT; Larry King also hosted his program from New York all week as he promoted his new book.

TUESDAY: Anderson Cooper was one of the guest hosts for Larry King Live.

WEDNESDAY: Candy Crowley was in New York.

THURSDAY: Candy was back in Washington; Cal Perry was on from Baghdad (above). Don Lemon was in for Heidi Collins.

FRIDAY: Dan Rivers reported from Islamabad; Ivan Watson was in the Swat Valley region of Pakistan; Reza Sayah was in Zahedan, Iran. Don was in for Heidi; John Roberts was in for Wolf (from New York); Kitty Pilgrim was in for Lou Dobbs; Ryan Seacrest was in for Larry.

SATURDAY: Ivan was back in Islamabad. Alina Cho was in for Betty Nguyen; Randi Kaye was in for Don.

SUNDAY: Stan Grant was on from Kabul; Dan had a piece on from Peshawar. Alina was in for Betty; Randi was in for Don. Domestic carried the International feed for about 20 minutes starting around 1amET to cover North Korea's nuclear test, with Zain Verjee and Don Riddell hosting.

That's it for me today... hope you had a good Memorial Day. Now it's back to work tomorrow. Speaking of which (nice segue there, huh?):

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News Around CNN: Thursday Edition

Former CNN correspondent Miles O'Brien will join the SpaceflightNow.com Webcast for the next shuttle launch. The five-hour live video broadcast will cover the March 11 launch of Discovery.

TVNewser is reporting that D.L Hughley is ending his show. Insiders tell us CNN's "D.L. Hughley Breaks the News" will end its run at the end of the month, and we're told the decision was Hughleys.

From CNN: "D.L. approached CNN about being permanently based in Los Angeles, where his family lives. To accommodate this, we agreed upon a new role where he will be a contributor for the network based in Los Angeles. We are eager to continue our relationship with D.L., who is a tremendous talent and a valued colleague."

Insiders tell TVNewser it would have become cost-prohibitive to produce the show in Los Angeles. The one-hour, Saturday night news/comedy show had been drawing about 200,000 viewers in the A25-54 demo in recent weeks.It's not known what will happen to the staff of "Hughley" who were made aware of the news in a meeting this afternoon. The show debuted Oct. 25, 2008.

Looks like we will be seeing Dr. Sanjay Gupta on the CNN airwaves for a while longer. Gupta opts out of surgeon general consideration You can read the full story here.

CNN will be increasing its coverage on Africa. With Nkepile Mabuse, Isha Sesay, Robyn Curnow, David McKenzie and Christian Purefoy leading the coverage.

The Daily News had a great article with Campbell Brown where Campbell talks O’Reilly, Olbermann and mold. Interesting combination I know. To read more click here.

A group of Washington State and Toronto youth have started a campaign to get Anderson Cooper to cover the plight of those in Sri Lanka. I could not agree more and I would guess Anderson would love to get out into the field and cover these stories. To read more click here.

That is it for me this week. Another huge thank you to Julie for her terrific finds ~ Sapphire

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Thursday Finds

The ratings for The Early Show with Erica Hill are out and it looks like Erica and her team on Saturdays is doing a great job

Here is a video of Christiane Amanpour and Irshad Manji who recently spoke at the 92nd Street Y in New York City.

Credit: 92nd Street Y

Jessica Yellin got to party it up Oscar style this past Sunday night. Jessica attended the Moet & Chandon’s Oscar Viewing PartyPlace: Georgetown home of Rick Rickertsen, managing partner of private equity firm Pine Creek Partners.The hook: One of a handful of Oscar parties thrown by Moet (the official champagne of the Oscars) in cities around the country.Charitable component: Attendees heard a spiel from Kate Roberts of Five & Alive.Perks: “Official” Academy Awards programs shipped in from L.A., a “red carpet” made from red candles.Food: The usual Washington spread of cheese, veggies, beef and pasta.Drink: Copious amounts of Moet & Chandon champagne, natch.Notable attendees: David Washington and Yosi Sargent from the White House Office of Public Liaison, CNN’s Jessica Yellin, “Meet the Press” Executive Producer Betsy Fischer, Ambassador Said Jawad of Afghanistan, Evans, Washington Kastles owner and venture capitalist Mark Ein.Seen: Two of Rickertsen’s paintings (he has a vast art collection) sliding away to reveal large flat-screen TVs. Rickertsen chipping in to help roll up the carpet and move the furniture in the living room to make more space for the crowd, which numbered about 100.


Anyone else missing Miles O’Brien? Since the beginning of the year there have been at least 3 major stories that were just missing that extra bit that Miles would always bring to the stories he reported on. Well great news. Miles is getting a new show as the anchor and correspondent of Blueprint America: A Tale of Three Cities." To read more about Miles new show you can click here.


That is it for me. Another big thank you to our amazing researcher Julie for her great finds. ~ Sapphire

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The Business Side Of The News

Journalism may be a noble profession, but running a media conglomerate is a different story. Over the last week, I've been reminded that the business of reporting the news is just as much about profit and the bottom line as it is creating the first draft of our collective history.

The first example of this actually started over a year ago when CNN ended a 27 year relationship with the Reuters news service. CNN has been building its news gathering sources since then and if CNN Wire is successful, you may see CNN material in your newspaper. This week CNN met with several newspapers at a Summit in Atlanta.

For nearly a month, a trial version of CNN's wire service has been on display in some newspapers. But this week editors from about 30 papers will visit Atlanta to hear CNN's plans to broaden a service to provide coverage of big national and international events — and maybe local ones — on a smaller scale and at a lower cost than The AP.

"The reality is we don't have a lot of relationships with newspapers," said Jim Walton, president of CNN Worldwide. "We have relationships with TV stations around the world." Walton said the meeting this week, which CNN has billed the "CNN Newspaper Summit," is "kind of a get-to-know-you."

With its CNN Wire, the company is going up against the largest news-gathering operation in the world in The AP, and it must convince editors that it can offer something that is well outside its broadcast expertise — which may not be a tough task given the dire circumstances newspapers face. In addition, a number of newspapers are unhappy with the cost of The AP, a nonprofit corporation that is owned by the 1,400 papers that are its members. Some newspapers have even given notice that they intend to leave The AP.

Walton, of CNN, says that the network already runs an internal wire service for its bureaus and CNN.com, and that taking it outside is a logical step. The breadth of the service that CNN will ultimately offer is unclear, and partly depends on the demands of newspapers. CNN Wire could offer columns written by some of its high-profile personalities, like Anderson Cooper. It also plans to offer text versions of its major investigative pieces for television.

"The CNN system is set up so we use content across all our networks and platforms," Walton said. "It's not unusual for Anderson Cooper to appear online or on CNN International."

And local coverage could be in the offing. In August, CNN said it was dispatching journalists to 10 cities in the United States, but in a bare-bones fashion: the correspondents will be laptop- and camera-toting one-person bands, rather than workers in expensive bureaus.

The Associated Press is more than 150 years old and is the world's largest news-gathering operation, with more than 3,000 journalists in over 100 countries.

"I think the crucial question is whether CNN is going to try to really go head-to-head with The AP, or offer something that's a lot more selective," said Jack Driscoll, the former editor of The Boston Globe and editor in residence at the MIT Media Laboratory. "Newspapers are hurting so much that they could be willing to get less for less."

In that case, Driscoll said, there is probably room for a new competitor.

"But if CNN is going to try to do something close to the range and quality of The Associated Press, that's awfully hard to do, and it's a huge financial undertaking."

Some newspapers that have long relied on The AP have said they would drop the service because of its cost, which varies — The Columbus Dispatch, for example, paid more than $800,000 a year. Others, including The Star Tribune of Minneapolis and the Tribune Company, one of the largest newspaper chains, have also given notice that they plan to drop out of the service. The AP, in response, announced in October that it would reduce prices, which will result in a cumulative savings of $30 million annually for its member newspapers.

This stands in contrast to the current financial fortunes of CNN.

In October, CNN said it was hiring nearly 30 people to staff a news hub in Abu Dhabi, and has made other international expansion moves. And Walton said the network was on track for its fifth consecutive year of double-digit profit growth, a first for CNN.

"One of the good things is that when you are profitable, you can reinvest," Walton said.

Source: International Herald Tribune

CNN's multi-day pitch to newspapers this week for its new wire service appears to be a success, according to several editors and publishers who attended.

They said few specifics were presented, but welcomed that approach as CNN executives spent more time asking them what they wanted before presenting a formal newspaper package.

No pricing plans were put forth, according to those who attended the three-day summit in Atlanta from Monday to Wednesday. CNN officials said more formal proposals and packages would likely not be presented until after the new year.

Some attendees to the all-expenses-paid gathering said they would like to see more extensive photo options and more specifics on national, international and breaking news.

Still, most welcomed the opportunity and believe CNN could play a future role in their outside news source plans.

"They showed us the inner workings of the operation, how careful they are with accuracy and the things that are important to us," said Ben Marrison, editor of The Columbus Dispatch, one of about 30 newspapers with representatives at the event. "We have not been able to look at the active wire process. They were mainly looking for feedback from us on what they needed, they were open to questions from us and they were somewhat amenable to adjusting to what we needed."

Marrison, one of several editors who have complained about Associated Press's new rates and ongoing service, said for CNN to succeed with newspapers it would have to offer national and regional reporting, photo services, and breaking news.

"They have the full complement of video, which is already available," he added.

Jean Dubail, assistant managing editor/online for The Plain Dealer in Cleveland, said his paper has been using some CNN wire service on a trial basis. He said the presentation was positive.

"They had pretty much all of their big guns there." he said, citing on-air personalities such as John King and Gloria Borger. "They rolled out how the wire has worked internationally, with some written by on-air staff. Most of the day was spent talking about what it would take to turn it into something we could use."

But, he added, "they said several times they had no wish to replace AP."

As the summit took place, AP sent a strong message to its members on Monday promoting its services.

That notice, from Tom Brettingen, Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing and Chief Revenue Officer, said in part: "The Associated Press is the gold standard in global journalism. AP has 243 bureaus in 97 countries, and is the largest global news network in the world. AP’s video newsgathering agency, APTN, is the world’s leading provider of news video. AP state and regional news coverage is unparalleled in the United States in size and scope."

Roger Plothow, editor and publisher of The Post Register in Idaho Falls, called the Atlanta gathering, "quite encouraging."

"They really didn’t have a completely developed proposal; in fact, they had no proposal at all," he said. "Two-thirds of the day was spent asking -- what do you think of this? What do you think of that? Given the history of AP, which has not done that, this was the right thing to do."

Source: Editor and Publisher

At the same time that CNN expands its resources to support a wire service, it will eliminate their science and technology unit including their chief technology and environment correspondent, Miles O'Brien. What will the viewers of CNN be missing as a result of this decision? Well, here is a sampling of some of Miles O'Brien's reports:

November 29, 2008: CNN's Miles O'Brien talks to the crew of the space shuttle Endeavour as they get ready to return to Earth.

December 1, 2008: Miles O'Brien talks to SETI scientists and planet hunters about life beyond Earth.

November 25, 2008: CNN's Miles O'Brien follows a small airplane making an emergency landing in Van Nuys, California.

November 22, 2008: Pond scum could be a great alternative to oil, says one entrepreneur. CNN's Miles O'Brien reports.

November 4, 2008: Miles O'Brien takes a look at just how much hot air was created from all that hot air.

October 17, 2008: CNN's Miles O'Brien takes a look at metaphors used by business reporters and their effect on the markets.

September 8, 2008: A pilot figures out a way to fly without being fuelish. CNN's Miles O'Brien reports.

August 12, 2008: Scientists are genetically engineering bacteria to produce an oil alternative. Miles O'Brien explains how it all works.

July 31, 2008: CNN's Miles O'Brien tries out a futuristic personal jet pack -- which may soon sell for $100,000.

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Miles O'Brien

It is with such regret that we note the news of Miles O'Brien's departure from CNN.

We asked Miles for a statement and he sent us this:

In television news, a nearly 17-year stint at one shop is more than just a good run - it is an epoch. I can honestly say I have loved every minute of my time at CNN (well maybe not the 2:45 AM alarm bell when I was anchoring American Morning). It has been my privilege to be surrounded by the most talented, dedicated and creative people in the business. Collaborating with them - sharing many great adventures - is what I will miss the most - But I leave with great memories and great friendships intact.

These are tough times for all of us - especially in our business as it endures tectonic changes. But amid the chaos I see a lot of exciting opportunities - and I look forward to exploring what is on the horizon - which, after all, has been my mission at CNN all these years. - Miles O'Brien

We don’t usually go into a lot of opinion here at ATC, but this just begs us to break with tradition. Along with Miles 6 producers were let go, virtually shutting down CNN’s Space, Science & Technology unit. To me this is akin to dummying down a network that used to be cutting edge (no the hologram trickery doesn’t count as cutting edge) in the science field. Miles O’Brien has a true love for aviation, science and all that relates. He also has the ability to anchor report and inspire. What a huge loss to CNN viewers.

We had recently talked Miles into doing a Q & A with ATC and hope that after the dust settles he will find a few minutes to give us his insights. Also we will be passing along to Miles any emails and comments you wish to send along. ~Phebe

Don't forget to tune in Thursday, December 4th at 9 PM Eastern for Christiane Amanpour CNN documentary about genocide, CNN Presents: Scream Bloody Murder. Also on Thursday Amanpour will participate in an in-depth discussion on the subject of her special at 1 PM Eastern on CNN.com Live. During the CNN.com Live special, Amanpour also will answer video questions from iReport.com users. To submit a question follow the link. Amanpour will also make a guest appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno Wednesday night, December 3rd.

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The Truth Is Out There

Miles O'Brien is doing a series all this week on American Morning about the search for alien life. He interviewed people who believe they have seen UFOs, went to Roswell, and spoke with scientists searching the stars. His first segment was about serious people who have seen...something...in the skies:

If you follow Miles on Twitter, he was giving us updates as he crisscrossed the country for interviews, and as he went through the writing and editing process to put the series together. He seems to really enjoy tweeting, and it's fascinating to follow the behind-the-scenes work that goes into what we see on our TVs.

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Arwa Damon did a piece on Iraqi journalists who are being targeted by the Iraqi security forces, and they even go after the CNN crews. This is a very dangerous situation, and it is incredible that so many Iraqis are still determined to show the world what is really happening in their country:

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Friday, Christiane Amanpour was awarded the prestigious Fourth Estate Award by the National Press Club. Among those who roasted Christiane were Wolf Blitzer, Richard Cohan, and Madeline Albright. Video of some of the evening's comments is available on Huffington Post. (Thanks to Sapphire for the link.)

Over the weekend, The New York Times had an article detailing a new show that Christiane will be hosting on International. (If you listened to the HuffPo clip of Richard Cohen roasting Christiane, the comment about her reaction to Fareed Zakaria getting his own show has to make you laugh! Oh, and I just love the fact that in his little fable about her, he named her Cynthia. Great name!)

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And to end on a bit lighter side, we have Nic Robertson reporting on... Michael Jackson?

Have a great week, and if you're in the US, have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Hope you have a long list of things to be thankful for!

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Transitions

Friday, we got a preview of the interview Fareed Zakaria did with Al Gore for this week's GPS, and you know it's going to be a good one:

Wednesday, Christiane Amanpour did a "Memo to the President" about how to handle Iran:

Also on Wednesday, Peter Bergen appeared on AC360 to discuss the latest tape recording from al-Qaeda:

And on Friday, Miles O'Brien gave us a preview of the upcoming week of specials on UFOs that he's been putting together:

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On Thursday, John Roberts decided to go tie-less on American Morning. At first I thought he'd spilled coffee on it or something, and kept waiting for someone to bring him a replacement! But eventually it became obvious that this was no accident... I can only guess that upper management left early for the holidays because, come on: Ali Velshi had to shave his goatee but the host can decide to go casual all of a sudden?

Well, on Friday they discussed the new look and how people were reacting to it, and Lola Ogunnaike even quizzed some fashion-HE-stas about it:

Later in the day, Kyra Phillips spoke with John by phone for some fashion tips for TJ Holmes:

I'm sure you noticed how enthusiastic TJ's EP was about it... but he did indeed appear sans tie. But I'm just not seeing Wolf embracing the new trend! So we'll see what Monday brings. But I did want to clear up one thing: when it comes to not wearing a tie on CNN, we all know who the real trendsetter is. I'm just sayin'...

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Where in the World...?

SATURDAY: Suzanne Malveaux and Ed Henry were still in Chicago covering the Obama transition team.

SUNDAY: Dana Bash and Ed Henry were in Washington.

MONDAY: Michael Ware was in Washington; Ali Velshi was in Detroit; Kitty Pilgrim hosted Lou Dobbs Tonight, as she would all week.

TUESDAY: Jessica Yellin was in Chicago; John King was in Washington; Ali Velshi was back in New York; Sanjay Gupta was in New York for the Fit Nation Summit.

WEDNESDAY: Sean Callebs was in Lincoln, Nebraska, to cover the debate over the state's Safe Haven Law; Peter Bergen was in Washington (via phone for American Morning, in the bureau for AC360).

THURSDAY: Jamie McIntyre was at the Port of Baltimore for a report on the Navy's efforts to battle pirates; Gary Tuchman was in Moraine, Ohio, where a GM plant is shutting down.

FRIDAY: Miles O'Brien was in New York, previewing his reports next week on UFOs; TJ Holmes (above) was in for Rick Sanchez' hour of NewsRoom; John King hosted Larry King Live.

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A Blend of Serious and Funny

Alicia Keys, John Legend to Perform at Second Annual ‘CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute’
Hugh Jackman to Present PEOPLE Magazine’s 2008 ‘Heroes Among Us’

CNN today announced celebrities who will be participating in the second annual “CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute,” which honors ordinary people accomplishing extraordinary things in their communities and beyond. Hosted by CNN anchor Anderson Cooper from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood , the program will air globally on Thanksgiving, Thursday, Nov. 27, at 9 p.m. (ET) on CNN/U.S., CNN International and CNN en Español.
Grammy Award-winning artists Alicia Keys and John Legend will each perform at the “CNN Heroes” gala. Celebrities slated to appear include: Cameron Diaz, Meg Ryan, Forest Whitaker, Salma Hayek, Lucy Liu, Terrence Howard, Jessica Biel, Kate Beckinsale and Selena Gomez. In addition, Hugh Jackman will present PEOPLE Magazine’s 2008 “Heroes Among Us”; PEOPLE has partnered with CNN for this portion of the telecast.
This year’s Blue Ribbon Panel judges included: Queen Rania Al Abdullah; Rabbi Shmuley Boteach; Sir Richard Branson; Deepak Chopra; Jane Goodall, PhD, DBE; Franklin Graham; Earvin “Magic” Johnson; George Lopez; Holly Robinson Peete; Jeffrey Sachs; Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu; and Kristi Yamaguchi.
This year’s Top 10 CNN Heroes, as selected by the Blue Ribbon Panel, were unveiled last month by Cooper on CNN’s American Morning, and their profiles are available at www.CNN.com/Heroes. The public will select the “CNN Hero of the Year” via voting at the CNN Heroes site through Wednesday, Nov. 19. At the Kodak Theatre gala, CNN will honor the 10 heroes and reveal the CNN Hero of the Year, who will receive an additional $100,000. In its second year, the multiplatform initiative received nearly 4,000 submissions from 75 countries.
Joel Gallen, who has helmed ambitious telethon events supporting victims of both the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and Hurricane Katrina, returns as executive producer for the event. Kelly Flynn is senior executive producer for the CNN Heroes initiative.

This weekend CNN will be airing two special. One is with Soledad O’Brien called “One Crime At A Time”. You can find out more about the show by clicking here.

The other special is with Miles O'Brien called “Green Warriors”.

If you did not catch John King's acting debut on The Daily Show you can check it out.






All Things CNN sends belated birthday wishes to Larry King who celebrated his birthday on Wednesday November 19th.

I end tonight with a funny clip from Thursday’s American Morning. Don’t you just love live television. Oh and by the way love the casual look on John Roberts.

Have a great week ~ Sapphire

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Michael and Peter and MOB rules!

Michael Ware and Peter Bergen made some appearances on Veteran's Day to discuss the realities on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan. What does the new administration face and is there any realistic chance of wrapping the wars up and getting the troops home anytime soon?

First, on Campbell Brown's program:

Later, on AC360:

Earlier in the day, Michael was on World News Europe on International, where he and retired General (and former presidential candidate) Wesley Clark discussed the threats on the ground:

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I've always been fascinated with technology and gadgets, so I look forward to Miles O'Brien's reports. And he always seems like he's having such a great time investigating the latest cool stuff. But his most-fun reports are the Shuttle launches. (And I refrained from saying he always looks like he's having a blast!)

In a piece that was supposed to air Friday but got bumped, Miles covers some of the challenges facing NASA as we enter the Obama years: the Shuttles are about to be retired and there will be several years when we will have to hitchhike on Russian launches if we want to get into space. How long that gap is depends on how much money we give NASA:

In this piece from BackStory, Miles takes us on a tour of CNN's command-center RV as they get ready to cover the launch of the Endeavour last night:

And yes, he really did drink the recycled-urine water on the air:

And just because it is so beautiful: the nighttime launch of the Endeavour:

By the way, If you don't follow Miles as he Twitters (something else he does with relish ... and Miles can insert his own condiment joke here) here's a look at how launch day unfolded. Timestamps frozen at around 4pmET:

Launch day. Writing a piece for Sit Room on Obama and space. He did not start out well on this subject. But now offers chrome and tailfins. 4:55 AM yesterday from web

Got my cigars, DD ice coffee, some snacks - heading for launch complex 39. Blue sky - hope it holds. 8:37 AM yesterday from txt

First live shot from the Cape in 3 mins. I will drink urine water live! 10:56 AM yesterday from txt

Still 70% go for weather. Crew getting wx briefing now. Suit up pix shortly. If they don't launch today, it may be a while. Front coming. 12:11 PM yesterday from web

inspection team (ice team) is on the pad looking for signs of trouble. 12:20 PM yesterday from web

About to do a live shot for CNN-I. 12:48 PM yesterday from txt

Astro convoy just passed by our site on the mound. Armored vehicle - helicopter escort. Seems a little excessive. But tin gods love this. about 24 hours ago from web

Crew strapping in now. Soon they will be saying the astronauts prayer: "Dear Lord, don't let me be the one to f@*k it up" about 23 hours ago from txt

ten miles from O and C building to pad...plus stop at Launch Control Center for mgt. to get inside about 23 hours ago from web

Watch my piece on Obama and space at 5:50pm ET. CNN Situation Room. about 22 hours ago from txt

We will be broadcasting launch in High Def. Second time for us. Hope you have surround sound as well. about 22 hours ago from txt

Piece just got Hillary'd. S@#t about 22 hours ago from txt   [the Obama/space piece was bumped for the Breaking News that Hillary might be named SecState]

Hatch closed- checking to make sure it is sealed. This can be tricky at times. about 22 hours ago from web

Now about 50 mins to launch. Weather improves. Now 80% green. about 21 hours ago from web

getting ready to poll the team "go or no go" about 21 hours ago from web

'twas a beautiful thing - like dawn. Wish you were here. about 20 hours ago from web

Thirty minutes into the flight - and the shuttle is a third of the way around the world. 0 to 17,500 mph in 8.5 minutes. Not very good MPG. about 19 hours ago from web

Post launch jam on SR-3. Endeavour going mach 25. Me: 5 about 18 hours ago from txt

I love the whole Twitter thing when it comes to the reporters and correspondents; like BackStory, it gives us a chance to see what they do to get a story, put the piece together, and get it on the air. Absolutely fascinating.

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Speaking of BackStory: Richard Quest tours the CNN DC bureau roof while getting ready to cover the G-20 summit for International. Ever heard of "roof envy"? Well, now you have:

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Where in the World...?

SATURDAY: Suzanne Malveaux was still in Chicago, covering the Obama transition team.

SUNDAY: David Mattingly was in Petionville, Haiti to cover the collapse of a school there; Morgan Neill reported from Ciego de Avila, Cuba on the effects of Tropical Storm Paloma; Matthew Chance reported from Moscow on the accident onboard a Russian nuclear submarine; Jessica Yellin was still in Chicago for the Obama transition; John King hosted Late Edition.

MONDAY: Barbara Starr was in Malakashay, Afghanistan; Carol Costello was in for Kiran Chetry; Fredricka Whitfield was in for Heidi Collins; John Roberts hosted Campbell Brown's show.

TUESDAY: Gary Tuchman was back in Atlanta; Fredricka handled in-studio duties while Heidi Collins reported live from the deck of the Intrepid; Michael Ware was in New York; Peter Bergen was in Washington.

WEDNESDAY: Fredricka was in for Heidi; Candy Crowley and Ed Henry were in Chicago for the Obama transition; John Zarella and Dana Bash were in Miami for the Republican Governor's convention; Wolf Blitzer was in Miami to interview Governor Sarah Palin.

THURSDAY: Fred was in for Kyra Phillips; Wolf was back in DC; Tom Foreman was in New Orleans to report on the KKK killing; Anderson Cooper hosted AC360 from Los Angeles (as he would also do on Friday).

FRIDAY: Chris Lawrence was in Montecito, California to report on the wildfire there; Richard Quest was in DC for the G20 summit; Miles O'Brien was at Kennedy Space Center for the launch of the Endeavor; Kitty Pilgrim hosted Lou Dobbs Tonight.

Don't forget to vote for the CNN Heroes, which will be presented Thanksgiving night on CNN. Enjoy your weekend!

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