Saturday's Scoop

Jeffrey Toobin has an article in The New Yorker. Click here for the link.

Campbell Brown did an interview last week with Julie Menin posted on TVNewser. Here's the link to the article.

Irish Central posted an article about Soledad O'Brien talking about her background and Black In America 2. Here's a link to the article.

Best of Luck to Susan Roesgen who is leaving CNN. Here is the TVNewser article.

Twitter

@kiranchetrycnn posted a picture of her two kids. Chris is 15 months old and Maya is 3 1/2

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A Few Strands of Tinsel

This was one of those weeks when not a lot caught my eye to clip (could be because I was preoccupied with the holidays and the crazy weather outside my window!) ... and half of what I did clip was already posted!

But I did get this piece by Zain Verjee, talking about the "bling" given to SecState Rice (which she can't keep):

Gary Tuchman fixes our Little Red Wagon (okay, not really, but how could I resist a line like that?):

This is the newest incarnation of the "Let's Go" promo:

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Two special year-end reviews air Sunday:

Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer: Best of 2008 will examine a remarkable year in news and look ahead at what is in store for 2009. CNN lead political anchor Wolf Blitzer will be joined by members of the “Best Political Team on Television” to look back at newsmaker interviews during the year of a historic election and a global economic crisis. Interviews with key political and business leaders including New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Sen. Hillary Clinton, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Sen. John McCain, President-elect Barack Obama, Gov. Sarah Palin and CNN founder Ted Turner. Airing Sunday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. (ET), Blitzer and the panel will look ahead at the incoming Obama administration and discuss the future of the GOP.  [This will also be Wolf's final Late Edition.]

Howard Kurtz hosts Reliable Sources: A Year in Review to examine coverage of the 2008 presidential campaign and changes in the news business. Kurtz will be joined by Amy Holmes, CNN political contributor; Bill Press, radio talk show host; Terence Smith, former PBS media correspondent; and Jessica Yellin, CNN national political correspondent. The one-hour program will air in its usual time slot, Sunday at 10 a.m. (ET). 

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Where in the World...?

SATURDAY: Randi Kaye was in Atlanta to host two hours of NewsRoom both days this weekend.

SUNDAY: Ed Henry was in Honolulu covering Obama; Bill Schneider was in Los Angeles; Jessica Yellin was in Washington; Susan Roesgen was in Denver to cover the plane that caught fire during takeoff; Arwa Damon was in New York.

MONDAY: Matthew Chance was in the Kaluga Region of Russia (south of Moscow); Carol Costello was in for John Roberts; Betty Nguyen was in for Kyra Phillips; TJ Holmes was in for Rick Sanchez; Suzanne Malveaux was in for Wolf Blitzer; Lisa Sylvester was in for Lou Dobbs; Erica Hill was in for Campbell Brown.

TUESDAY: Carol was in for Kiran Chetry; TJ was in for Rick; Suzanne was in for Wolf; Lisa was in for Lou; Erica was in for Campbell and for Anderson Cooper.

WEDNESDAY: Carol was in for Kiran; Betty was in for Heidi Collins; Richard Liu in for Kyra; TJ was in for Rick.

CHRISTMAS DAY: Joe Johns was in for John; Carol was in for Kiran; Alina Cho was in for Heidi; Richard was in for Tony Harris; from 1pmET on, all repeats (with the exception of Larry King Live, which was new but pre-recorded.) Zain Verjee was in the studio for news breaks.

FRIDAY: Nic Robertson was in London to report on the Pakistani troop movements; Peter Bergen was in New Orleans and also discussed the situation; Joe = John; Carol = Kiran; Alina = Heidi; TJ = Tony; Richard = Kyra; TJ = Rick; Suzanne = Wolf; Lisa = Lou; Campbell aired a pre-recorded special; Larry = himself; Erica = Anderson.

Hope everyone had a great Christmas week... now let's make plans for New Year's!

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International Relations

Last Saturday I mentioned some clips I would be posting on Monday, and of course those plans got washed away by Hurricane Gustav, so I have some catching up to do!

First up are the interviews Matthew Chance did in Sochi, Russia. The first one is with President Medvedev:

The second interview was with Prime Minister Putin:

(Matthew also wrote a blog post about how the interviews were set up.)

Yesterday, an interview Matthew did in Moscow with the Russian Foreign Minister also aired:

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Last week, Michael Ware was in New York City and spoke to Kiran Chetry about VP nominee Joe Biden's plan (as he stated during the debates at the beginning of the year) to divide Iraq into three countries. Hopefully he's evolved by now!

(Sadly, we didn't get equal-time commentary from Michael on McCain's Iraq plans... I was looking forward to that!)

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Wednesday, Christiane Amanpour appeared on American Morning to discuss the latest twists and turns on the North Korean nuke saga:

Later in the morning, Soledad O'Brien had a discussion with Christiane's husband, James Rubin, about current foreign-policy issues:

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Where in the World...?

Well, this was a week that was supposed to be all about the Republican National Convention in St. Paul -- until Hurricane Gustav took aim at the Gulf Coast. It's a bit of a mess trying to keep track of everyone here, so for one week only, a special color-coded WitW: red for convention coverage, blue for hurricane reporting.

SATURDAY: John Roberts, Wolf Blitzer and Campbell Brown were in St. Paul, Minnesota; Dana Bash was in Washington, Pennsylvania with the McCain campaign; Susan Roesgen and Don Lemon were in New Orleans; Chris Lawrence was in Belle Chasse, Louisiana; Ali Velshi was in Grand Isle, Louisiana (where he would ride out the storm.)

SUNDAY: John King, Gloria Borger, Joe Johns, Ed Henry, Jessica Yellin and Dana join the party in St. Paul; Gary Tuchman and Sanjay Gupta are in New Orleans. Rick Sanchez goes on the air several hours earlier than normal.

MONDAY: TJ Holmes anchored from Atlanta overnight; adding to the Gulf Coast coverage: Anderson Cooper (NOLA, French Quarter) (above), Rob Marciano (NOLA, roof of the Omni Hotel in the FQ), NOLA Bureau Chief Sean Callebs (Harahan, LA), Susan Candiotti (Gulfport, MS), Ed Lavendera (Lafayette, LA), Jeanne Meserve (Baton Rouge, LA), Christine Romans (Alexandria, LA), Brian Todd (Baton Rouge, LA), John Zarella (Lafayette, LA), Kathleen Koch (Pass Christian, MS), Randi Kaye (Baton Rouge, LA), and Drew Griffin (Plaquemines Parish, LA). Kyra Phillips was in Anchorage, Alaska to check out Republican VP nom Sarah Palin.

TUESDAY: Suzanne Malveaux was in Chicago with the Obama campaign; Anderson arrived in St. Paul.

WEDNESDAY: Suzanne was in Dillonvale, Ohio with the Obama campaign; Christiane Amanpour was in New York; Nic Robertson was in Islamabad, Pakistan, where he reported on an assassination attempt on the Prime Minister (that clip and last week's interview re Darfur in the Monday post -- Hanna, Ike, and Josephine willing!)

THURSDAY: Suzanne was in Pittsburgh with the Obama campaign.

FRIDAY: Wolf was in New York; Dana was in Sterling Heights, Michigan with the McCain campaign; Zane Verjee was in Tripoli, Libya with SecState Rice; Suzanne was in Philadelphia with the McCain campaign; Cal Perry was in Damascus (clip coming on Monday); Drew and Randi were in Anchorage; Kathleen was in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, awaiting the arrival of Hurricane Hanna.

Here's hoping the hurricanes die down quickly -- in size and in numbers!

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and may not be used without consent of the blog administrator.

Catching Up

First let me thank everyone who participated in the nominating process for our Hottest CNN Personality contest. We are putting together the polls and voting will begin soon.

Yes the lovely Kyra Phillips was one of our readers nominee's in the Hottest CNN Anchor (female) group. What's more important than winning ATC's 'Hottest' title? Maybe for Kyra it would be The Atlanta Press Club's National Television Journalist of the Year award she won recently.

Phillips has been anchoring her midday news program from New York since she finished subbing for Kiran Chetry (while Kiran was on maternity leave from American Morning). A CNN spokesperson told TVNewser Phillips plans to continue broadcasting from NYC through mid-August, when she expects to return to anchoring from Atlanta.

In related news American Morning's exec producer, Janelle Rodriguez said. “Last month (June), American Morning saw its best ratings in nearly two years among total viewers". Would those 'best ratings' have been when Kyra Phillips was at the anchor desk with John Roberts.? Hmm, need to do some further research on that one.



Part 1 of CNN's documentary Black in America aired on Wednesday evening. Its host, Soledad O'Brien, appeared on AC360 with Anderson Cooper to talk with guests from the documentary and further explore the issues of being black in America.
Part 2 will air at 9PM ET tonight and again there will be follow up discussion and exploration of the issues on AC360, immediately following BIA.
Earlier today (noon on Thursday) Soledad hosted a live, one-hour online special entitled Black in America: Your Reaction on CNN.comLive.
Black in America was filmed in high definition and will air on CNN/U.S., CNN HD and CNN International. The series will be available on iTunes and on video on demand (VOD) 24 hours following the premiere. Viewers should check with their local cable providers for VOD availability

Speaking of blockbuster documentaries CNN is in the process of filming Planet in Peril 2 with Anderson Cooper, Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Lisa Ling. Here is the trailer that aired on Wednesday's AC360.

And I'll leave you today with a few caps of CNN's reporters blowing in the wind as Hurricane Dolly made landfall on Wednesday.
Gary Tuchman

Reynolds Wolf

Susan Roesgen (screengrab courtesy of TVNewser)

Ed Lavandera
Have a great week and I hope to see you back her soon. ~Phebe


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Missile tests

Sorry no photos today -- for some reason Blogger is fine with videos but doesn't like the photo uploads. Go figure...

Reza Aslan was on Election Center Wednesday night, where he discussed the differences between the presidential candidates when it comes to dealing with Iran:

Later on AC360, Reza explained that Iran is really suffering from a bit of an inferiority complex ... oh, and the fact that American troops are pretty much surrounding the country makes them nervous:

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Miles O'Brien visited the Atlanta newsroom for a segment about climate change and why the wildfire seasons are getting worse:

And later on The Situation Room, Miles explained how that jet got a busted nosecone at 18.000 feet:

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Jamie McIntyre got exclusive access to the pilots of those drone aircraft being utilized in Iraq and Afghanistan. But the pilots aren't in the war zone, they're in New Mexico:

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Friday on Election Center, Campbell spoke with Fareed Zakaria and got a preview of the exclusive interview he did with Barack Obama for Sunday's GPS:

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PROGRAMMING NOTE: Robin Meade had an exclusive interview with the American hostages freed from 5 years in the Columbian jungle; it aired on Headline News Friday and has also been compiled into an hour-long special that will be shown on CNN Saturday and Sunday nights at 8pm ET.

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Where in the World...?

Another quiet, post-holiday week...

SATURDAY: Susan Roesgen was in San Antonio, Texas to report on the Columbian hostages.

MONDAY: Nic Robertson was in London, reporting on a bombing in Afghanistan; Miles O'Brien hosted The Situation Room.

TUESDAY: Suzanne Malveaux hosted The Situation Room; Frederik Pleitgen reported from Baghdad on the latest SoFA talks; Cal Perry filed a report from Damascus about some Iraqi refugees.

WEDNESDAY: Miles O'Brien was in Atlanta and discussed the role of climate change on wildfires; Ben Wedeman reported from Jerusalem about the Israeli reaction to the Iranian missile tests; Jamie McIntyre reported from Creech AFB in New Mexico regarding the Predator and Reaper drone pilots; Wolf Blitzer was back in The Situation Room; Reza Aslan appeared on both Election Center and AC360; Campbell Brown hosted AC360.

THURSDAY: Campbell Brown hosted AC360.

FRIDAY: Fredericka Whitfield co-hosted NewsRoom in place of Heidi Collins; Fareed Zakaria was in Dayton, Ohio to interview Barack Obama; Tom Foreman hosted a special about the Clintons in place of AC360.

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This morning it was announced that former FOX newsman, former Bush Press Secretary, current CNN contributor Tony Show has died at the age of 53, following a long battle with cancer.

The following statement was issued from CNN/U.S. president Jon Klein:

"Tony Snow was a highly respected colleague and a friend to many of us. The intelligence and warmth he brought to every conversation will be missed and the example he set of professionalism combined with humanity will be long remembered. He loved this country and its people and was looking forward to getting out into America to listen to their stories and share them with the rest of us. It is all of our loss that he never got the chance to do so. We regret that he was not a part of our CNN family longer, and our deepest condolences go out to his family."

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That's all for me today...

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and may not be used without consent of the blog administrator.

A Day at the Beach

I hope everyone in the US is enjoying their holiday weekend, whether "staycationing" or traveling!

We aren't the only ones having problems with gas prices, of course. On Tuesday, Zain Verjee reported about long, long lines to buy gas in Baghdad:

And here's a cool idea: scientists are working on creating something that works like a giant paper towel but absorbs only oil and petrochemicals. If it works, it will be a quicker-picker-upper for oil-spills!

And on Friday, John Roberts flashed back to his MuchMusic days to introduce us to a musician who is blurring the lines in more ways than one: a transexual pop singer in Israel who has also become a huge hit in Lebanon:

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Where in the World...?

SATURDAY: Dr. Sanjay Gupta was building a playground in Metairie, Louisiana; Arwa Damon was in Jakarta, Indonesia, where she filed a report on families having to give their children to orphanages because they could not afford to feed them.
SUNDAY: Christiane Amanpour was in London, reporting on food aid being sent to North Korea; Candy Crowley hosted Late Edition; Fareed Zakaria took GPS to London.
MONDAY: Peter Bergen was on American Morning to discuss the attacks in Peshawar; Mike Watkiss reported on the Medivac helicopter collision in Flagstaff, Arizona; TJ Holmes was in Fayetteville, North Carolina to report on the pregnant Fort Bragg marine found dead in a motel room; Dana Bash was in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania with the McCain campaign; John Roberts hosted The Situation Room.
TUESDAY: Morgan Neill was in London for the premiere of "Mama Mia"; Chris Lawrence was in Los Angeles and reported on the new California ban on hand-held cell phones while driving; Susan Roesgen was in Rock Falls, Illinois to report on the capture of a spree killer; John Roberts hosted The Situation Room; Soledad O'Brien hosted Election Center.
WEDNESDAY: Michael Ware was in New York and discussed the SoFA (Status of Forces Agreement) talks on American Morning; Drew Griffin and Ed Lavendera were in San Antonio, Texas to await the arrival of the freed American hostages from Columbia. John Roberts hosted The Situation Room; Soledad O'Brien hosted Election Center.
THURSDAY: John Zarella reported from Miami about how the price of gas is affecting the pleasure boating business; Susan Candiotti and Harris Whitbeck were in Bogota, Columbia to cover the story of the released hostages. Suzanne Malveaux hosted The Situation Room; Erica Hill hosted Election Center; John King hosted Larry King Live.
FRIDAY: Frederik Pleitgen was in Tikrit, Iraq to spend the 4th with troops; Cal Perry was in Damascus, Syria after traveling to the Syrian/Iraqi border with Syrian troops; Fredericka Whitfield and Soledad O'Brien were in New Orleans to cover the Essence Festival. Suzanne Malveaux hosted The Situation Room.
That's it for me today -- stay safe and enjoy your weekend!
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