Blitzer, Dobbs, & The Masked Journalist

John Hopkins University graduate and CNN's anchor of The Situation Room, Wolf Blitzer, was interviewed by James Freedman for the JHU Newsletter. Below are excerpts from the article:

When CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer found out he had passed his final exams and would be graduating from the School of Advanced International Studies, he was elated.

"I literally jumped up in the air and clicked my heels together and did a big scream, as if I were a cheerleader or something, and it sounds so stupid, but I was so happy I literally jumped for joy," he said. "The moment I found out that I was going to graduate and get the degree -- it's not the kind of moment that you forget."

...

In a time when the impartiality of reporting is often called into question, and partisan motives guide news coverage, Blitzer is a defender of what he calls "classical" journalism.

"I'm a classical, old-fashioned kind of journalist," he said. "[I try] not to inject too much of my own personal opinions and attitudes, but what I try to do is make sure I give all sides a good chance to present their respective cases. But if I see someone is saying something that's not true or distorted or not answering the question -- it's my job, because I see myself as really the representative of the viewers out there, the people who are watching my shows -- to speak up and say, `Excuse me, you didn't answer the question.'"

...

Blitzer feels "blessed" to have a job that lets him learn all day, speak to interesting people and report on what's going on in the world, and credits Hopkins for making it happen.

"I get paid on a daily basis now to learn and to see and to report on what's going on," said Blitzer. "I'm really blessed that I can take that SAIS and Johns Hopkins experience that I had and parlay it into a daily profession c9 It really was one of those life-changing events for me -- the two years that I spent getting my Master's degree -- because it opened up my eyes, it opened up my curiosity, it opened me up to new opportunities that I never knew existed earlier."

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Lou Dobb's will be speaking at Roger Williams University later this month. Below is an excerpt from the RWU announcement:

No stranger to controversy, [Lou Dobbs]— financial news legend and anchor for CNN’s “Lou Dobbs Tonight”—will visit Roger Williams University as part of its Civil Discourse lecture series on Thursday, Sept. 27, to share his insights on the most topical issues affecting our country today.

“Civil Discourse is designed to bring to campus as many points of view as possible,” said University President Roy J. Nirschel. “Recent speakers run the gamut from Salman Rushdie to Gary Bauer, David Gergen to Bob Geldof—whether they agree with him or not, Lou Dobbs will certainly energize our students.”

Mr. Dobbs will speak at 5:30 p.m. in the University’s Recreation Center Gymnasium on the Bristol Campus at One Old Ferry Road. The event is free and open to the public as space allows. Members of the media are encouraged to attend as well.

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Mystery Journalist

Which CNN journalist was caught hiding behind a mask?

Can you name this CNN journalist?

The Mystery Journalist will be unmasked in Sunday night's post.

CNN Odds And Ends

A whole lot of little odds and ends have been floating around my laptop for the last little bit so I finally have chance to get them out to you. Here we go....

CNN Launches Iraq Fact Desk

On Monday September 10, 2007, CNN launched the Iraq Fact Desk. It will be featured prominently all week as CNN reports on and gives context to official accounts of conditions in Iraq. The Fact Desk, led by CNN correspondent Tom Foreman and CNN senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre, will be viewers’ central fact-checking source to provide details on what has been said in the past, how progress is defined and measured, what details are possibly being left out, places in which positive developments have been made, and where official government assessments may differ from other analysis.

Following yesterday’s progress report from Gen. David Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker, the Fact Desk examined their testimony in light of previous Iraq assessments. Don Lemon and Jamie McIntyre discussed the testimony.
LEMON: You’re looking at testimony now from these hearings. Representative Tom Lantos questioning General Petraeus, as well as Ambassador Crocker about Iran. Also diplomatic surge rather than a troop surge. And also asking General Petraeus just exactly how much influence his recommendation would have on other parts of the war, like the war in Afghanistan.
So lots of information, lots of facts to check when it comes to both of these men testifying today, more specifically General Petraeus. Congress listens when he talks. CNN’s Iraq Fact Desk is checking the general’s testimony. Our Senior Pentagon Correspondent Jamie McIntyre is on the Fact Desk duty.Jamie, any red flags here? Lots of numbers being tossed around.
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Yes, say that five times fast.Let’s take a look at the key assertion that General Petraeus made to underscore the fact that he believes he can draw down U.S. troops back to the pre-surge levels by next summer. That is that there’s been substantial progress in the lowering the leveling of violence in Iraq. Here’s what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETRAEUS: As a bottom line, up front, the military objectives of the surge are in large measure being met. In recent months in the face of tough enemies and the brutal summer heat of Iraq, coalition and Iraqi security forces have achieved progress in the security arena.
Though the improvements have been uneven across Iraq, the overall number of security incidents in Iraq has declined in eight of the past 12 weeks with the number of incidents in the last 2 weeks at the lowest level seen since June 2006.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCINTYRE: Now, no one is disputing those individual facts, but the government accountability office, among others, has pointed out that those statistics don’t always tell us what we think they do. In fact, here is what the GAO said in its report last week. It said, if you skip to the bottom of this text, you can see it says that, “It’s unclear whether sectarian violence in Iraq has decreased — the key security benchmark — because it’s difficult to measure the perpetrators’ intent.”
What that gets to is how you define and how you split up all these acts of violence. For instance, one of the things that General Petraeus mentioned is that when you look at Iraq, the security situation has been dramatically better in Anbar Province, to the west of Baghdad. He cited last year 1,350 monthly attacks in Anbar Province as opposed to just 200 in the month of August.
But what he also conceded as we continued to testify is that nobody anticipated that that would happen, and essentially it wasn’t part of the surge plan. They didn’t think that that was going to — the surge strategy of putting more troops in was going to result of that. In fact, that happened with the local sheikhs getting together and deciding to go after Al Qaeda. A positive trend but not necessarily something you can tie directly to the surge — Don.
He said, at least, on their part as well, no one anticipated Iran’s influence, as much influence as they would have as well, Jamie.
Also, if you can just talk about this a little bit. He said that Anbar Province is unique. It cannot be replicated, but it does show how extremism can be fought there.
MCINTYRE: That’s right. A lot of people have said the Anbar model could be taken around other parts of Iraq, but there’s some unique aspects to Anbar province where it is largely an area of homogeneous sheikhs, who have a common interest together. You can’t necessarily transplant that to say, Diyala Province, or some place nearby.
LEMON: All right. Jamie McIntyre at our Iraq Fact Desk for us today, on Fact Desk duty.
Thank you. We’ll check back with you throughout the day. Thank you, sir.

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CNN wins two IBC Innovation Awards

CNN has won two International Broadcasting Covnerence (IBC) awards
The International Broadcasting Conference (IBC), a leading global association guiding content delivery innovations within the broadcast industry, this weekend honored CNN’s digital newsgathering operations with two of its IBC Innovation awards, including a “Judges’ Prize” for the top innovation of the past year.
CNN’s digital newsgathering also won for “Content Creation,” an award that cited the network’s use of such an innovation for its coverage of the Israel-Hezbollah conflict in July 2006.
The IBC Innovation Awards were presented Sunday, Sept. 9, at an awards dinner at the IBC2007 Conference in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
“This is an amazing tribute to CNN’s often unsung heroes – our technical and satellite crews – whose ingenuity and tenacity in getting the job done shines through everyday at CNN,” said Tony Maddox, managing director for CNN International.

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Gloria Borger Joins CNN

CNN announced that Gloria Borger had joined CNN as a senior political analyst…
Gloria Borger, a leading political journalist and contributing editor with U.S. News & World Report, will join CNN as a senior political analyst, it was announced today by Jon Klein, president of CNN/U.S. As an expert on Washington politics, Borger will break news and provide insight surrounding the 2008 election cycle and other political news for Campbell Brown’s upcoming prime-time program and other regular CNN programming and special events. Based in the network’s Washington, D.C., bureau, Borger begins her political analysis for CNN the week of Sept. 17. “The ‘Best Political Team on Television’ just got even better,” Klein said. “Gloria’s got an unrivaled Rolodex among the people who make news – and make or break presidents – in Washington. She’s always a step ahead in knowing what’s about to happen and why, which will make CNN an even more interesting and essential destination for viewers who want the inside track on this election free-for-all.”

Gloria was on Anderson Cooper 360 on Sept. 13th as part of the political team covering the Presidents speech on possible troop withdrawals from Iraq.

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L.A. Block Renamed Larry King Square

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A city block that surrounds a CNN building in Hollywood has been named after the cable network's talk-show host Larry King.
The City Council voted Wednesday to rename the block "Larry King Square" in recognition of King's 50 years in broadcasting.

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Forbes Magazine Honors Christiane Amanpour

Forbes Magazine came out with its yearly list of the 100 Most Powerful Women issue and CNN’s own Christiane Amanpour made this list. Suzanne Hoppough of Forbes magazine wrote the following about Christiane

Forbes The 100 Most Powerful Women#74 Christiane Amanpour
Chief international correspondent, CNN U.S.
Praised the world over for delivering breaking news in the midst of crises like war-torn Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia and the Persian Gulf, Amanpour has captured worldwide respect for her relentless pursuit of scoops. There's a reason why she is one of the most honored TV journalists in the U.S. Amanpour has become an authoritative voice in the media on Islam, an authority that is backed by vast Middle East sources. Amanpour often gets access where other reporters are not welcome. That's why Amanpour routinely beats her competition. She landed the first and only interview with Iran president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has interviewed Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf and Syrian president Bashar el Assad on the UN investigation into Syria's involvement in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri. The daughter of an Iranian airline executive, Amanpour began her career as a graphic designer for a television station in Providence, R.I. Known for her integrity and humanity, Amanpour has won nine news and documentary Emmy awards and two George Polk awards. Amanpour was named by Queen Elizabeth II as a Commander of the Order of the British Empire, just one step shy of knighthood. Amanpour recently began working on documentaries, including "God's Warriors," a look at religious fundamentalism in Christianity, Islam and Judaism, as well as "The War Within," a look at the growing Islamic unrest in the U.K.

Anderson Cooper 360 Live In Iraq

This week Anderson Cooper 360 has being reporting live from Iraq. Anderson Cooper along with some of CNN’s top correspondents Michael Ware, Nic Robertson and Gary Tuchman have been down on the ground in Iraq, Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia. Along with the team on the ground we have had reports from Peter Bergen, John King and Tom Foreman on the US side of things. The following is the Press Release for the AC 360 trip to Iraq.


Anderson Cooper 360° Broadcasts Live from Iraq
‘Keeping Them Honest’ Examines Progress in Iraq, War on Terrorism in Days Preceding Petraeus Report

Amid the sixth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, and an impending progress report from Gen. David Petraeus about the war in Iraq, CNN’s Anderson Cooper and a team of CNN’s top correspondents travel to Afghanistan, Iraq and Saudi Arabia to take full stock of the war on terrorism. As part of the coverage, Cooper will be embedded with U.S. troops as he reports from the front line in an area near Baghdad known as the “Triangle of Death.”

Cooper, who returns to the region for his fourth time, will anchor Anderson Cooper 360° live from Iraq from Monday, Sept. 10, to Friday, Sept. 14, from 10 p.m. to midnight (ET).

During the week, Congress expects to hear testimony from Petraeus, the top military commander in Iraq, and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker about Iraq’s political and military situation. Petraeus’s final report on the status in Iraq is due to the White House at the end of the week. The program will check in with CNN’s Iraq Fact Desk to separate fact from political spin.

“In the days preceding the Petraeus report and testimony, we are going to Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East to evaluate what is working and not working in the war in Iraq and the war on terrorism,” said David Doss, senior executive producer of Anderson Cooper 360°. “In an ongoing effort to ‘Keeping them Honest,’ our team of reporters will provide viewers with the latest information from Iraq as the general and others are testifying on Capitol Hill.”

In Iraq, correspondent Michael Ware examines new power secured by the former ruling minority Sunni’s and if that power will plunge the country further into civil war. Ware also provides a report on the growing number of unclaimed dead bodies in Iraq. Correspondent Arwa Damon provides reports from an embed assignment in Iraq. Correspondent Gary Tuchman embeds with the U.S. Air Force to offer a series of reports on current military strikes and military training of Iraqi cops and a profile of the busiest trauma center in Iraq.

In Saudi Arabia, senior international correspondent Nic Robertson reports on the Saudi’s biggest bust of Al Qaeda this year, which involved the arrest of more than 90 suspects and the seizure of more than $5 million in cash and a secret arms dump. His reports include a rehabilitation program designed to convert Al Qaeda recruits and the growing conflicts among Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Iran.

Robertson will also embed with U.S. Army troops in Afghanistan to provide the latest on the fight with both the Taliban and Al Qaeda, as well as the continued hunt for Osama bin Laden. The program also reports on developments in Pakistan, where President Gen. Pervez Musharraf faces re-election and the threat of having to share control of this nation.

Here are some screen caps from Monday and Tuesday night shows. Thanks to Book Asylum for the great screen caps.

On Monday as General David Petreaus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker testified before Congress back in the States, Anderson made the rounds on all the CNN shows.

We have also gotten blogs from Anderson as well as Gary talking about stories they are covering and experiences they have had on this trip.

Anderson Cooper 360 will be live from Iraq for the next two days so if you have not had a chance to check them out you should defiantly check it out as it is a real eye opener in regards to what is happening not only in Iraq but the surrounding region. It also goes in depth in the progress that has been taking place between the US forces and the Iraqi Sunni Tribal leaders .

All Things CNN would like to acknowledge our readers who observe the Rosh Hashanah. L'Shanah Tovah! We would also like to send our warmest greetings to those who are observing Ramadan. Best wishes to all!

Cafferty Files & A Missed Birthday

Do you like Jack Cafferty? Enjoy seeing the Cafferty File on the Situation Room each afternoon? Jack Cafferty's first book was released on Monday- It's Getting Ugly Out There: The Frauds, Bunglers, Liars, and Losers Who Are Hurting America. I picked my copy of up yesterday & will let you know what I think of it later this week.

Next week, all of you Cafferty File fans are in for a treat! Jack will be doing an hour long Cafferty File on Wednesday, September 19th at 8pm ET.

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Earlier this year, MyUrbanReport talked with TJ Holmes about his career prior to CNN, the differences in working at the national news level, and diversity in the newsroom. When asked about his style, he says he's "bringing sexy back." Oh, and don't ask him what "TJ" stands for.

credit:MyUrbanReport

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This clip came to my attention the other day & I realized that we had missed an important birthday. August 19, 2007 was TJ Holmes' 30th birthday. Below is a clip from Newsroom:

Happy Belated Birthday TJ!

Are you wondering how the trip went? Well, he shared a few photographs from the experience when he got back to the newsroom.

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Our Mystery Journalist this week was: CNN's Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr

Willie Nelson talks Farm Aid on Newsroom

On the Sunday edition of CNN Newsroom, CNN anchor Fredricka Whitfield interviewed musician Willie Nelson about Farm Aid 2007, a benefit concert to save America’s family farms. Thank you to CNN for the transcript and screencaps.

From CNN NEWSROOM

September 9, 2007 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Familiar faith and sound he's been at it for decades and shows no signs of letting up. Singer Willie Nelson is fighting for the little guy, trying to save America's family farms and he's at it again this year with Farm Aid 2007. The benefit concert is shaping up to be as informal and star packed as ever. But the venue is not America's heartland this year. Big time, it's the big apple.Earlier I had a chance to talk with Willie Nelson. Despite all his hard work he says family farms are still being squeezed financially. That's why he is still at it. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIE NELSON: We've been doing Farm Aid many years, and our hope was we would only have to do one and then the powers that be, so to speak, would pass a good farm bill where a farmer could take 200 acres and make a living like they used to. That hasn't happened, and that's why we're still having Farm Aids these 20-something years later. It's not a good sign when we have to do this.The government is supposed to come in and take care of our small family farmers, our small businessmen. I've always felt that agriculture was the bottom rung on our economic ladder. When it falls in, everything falls in on top of it. That's where we are. And that's how important I think it is to help the farmers and now, people in New York, are the best way I know of, to get the word out about how to find good food. Find a good farmer. And you've got good food. The folks here, the mayor and governor, have been very nice, making us welcome. So it's been great day.

WHITFIELD: How receptive is the New York audience as a whole outside of the government leaders? Because, you know, it's I guess pretty natural a lot of folks, even in this country as a whole, don't have an idea of how hard it is for the small family farm to keep going.

NELSON: Well, yeah. And it's mainly because the big corporate farms are getting all the subsidies; they are getting all the money. The little guy is not getting. I think it's a crime for anyone over $200,000 to get any kind of government farm subsidy. If you make more than that, you don't need it. Let the money go to the little guy.

WHITFIELD: John Mellencamp, Neil Young have been with you from the very start. How do you go about trying to recruit some of the performing artists now to make sure that the masses still have a clear understanding of what Farm Aid is all about?

NELSON: Well, of course, the artists, the guys who run up and down the highways out here, are the best people to ask about what's going on in the farm land, and they -- the first ones to tell you when it got bad and guys like John Mellencamp, Neil Young, Dave Mathews, these guys came on board because they now how bad it is out there.

WHITFIELD: What's your greatest worry right now or greatest concern that you feel is not being addressed as it pertains to the small family farm, besides, you know, the subsidies, government subsidies being made available to the more corporate farmers?

NELSON: Absolutely, the small family farmer is getting the shaft and the big corporate farmers are getting most all the money, and it should be the other way around. Hopefully some of our elected officials on both sides will realize how important it is to keep the family farmer and to keep good organic food available for all of us.

WHITFIELD: If not for you and Farm Aid, then who or what entity would be available out there to really be the advocate for the farmer to fight for the farmer when it comes down to legislation, like you've been describing?

NELSON: Well, it is a local situation and it can be solved locally. Wherever you live, check with the farmers in your area and by helping him, he can help you and you've solved a lot of problems. First of all, you've saved transportation bringing your food in from across east China or somewhere when the tomatoes could be grown for you out here by your own farmers that you know and your kids go to school with. I think that's where it should begin.

WHITFIELD: Willie Nelson thanks so much for your time and all the best on your continued efforts with Farm Aid and reaching out to all of America in agriculture.

NELSON: Thank you very much.(END VIDEO CLIP)

[END]

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We at All Things CNN would like to wish Barbara Starr a very Happy Birthday on Tuesday, September 11, 2007.

Narco State: The Poppy Jihad

What do you think of when you hear someone mentions poppies? A beautiful flower in bloom?

The Wizard of Oz? Charles Santore. Poppy Field, 1991. Watercolor. From The Wizard of Oz, Jelly Bean Press, Random House, 1991.

For me, its poppies in bloom right before Memorial Day. When I was growing up, that was always the first sign that summer was right around the corner.

CNN's Special Investigations Unit: Narco State: The Poppy Jihad looks at poppies in a completely different way. As reported by Anderson Cooper, it examines the relationship between poppies, the drug war, and the war on terrorism.

Poppies are a $3 billion industry in Afghanistan. That's almost half of its Gross National Product.(source) Afghanistan is the largest producer of Opium in the world. Most of that comes from the Helmand province in the southern part of the country.

Peter Bergen pointed out in an interview that 4 years ago the Taliban was ancient history and now they're back.

Where are the Taliban gaining strength? In the provinces that are producing poppies. The money from the production of opium and heroin funds the resurgence of the Taliban.

So why not go in and destroy all of the poppy fields? Evidently, its not that easy. CNN visited the Uruzgan Province where the governor lives in a compound that is surrounded by poppy fields.

When US and Afghanistan officials talk with the leaders of the province, there is a debate on which farmers will be subjected to having their poppy crops destroyed. In the end, while attempting to destroy a poppy crop, the agents are attached and are not able to continue.

The program outlines the complexity of the issues. On one hand, NATO won't support the eradication of poppy crops. Eradicating a cash crop will cause unrest, violence, and destabilize the area. Some farmers tried raising alternative crops, but were unable to find buyers for them. Land owners force sharecroppers to grow poppies. The farmers get loaned money to support their families in return for growing and harvesting the crop.

The other side of the argument is that the poppies are funding the Taliban & terrorism. The Taliban uses the money to buy weapons. They are already trying to destabilize the Afghanistan government.

Drug enforcement doesn't stop at the poppy fields. DEA agents work with local authorities to train them to seek out and arrest those who are trafficking the drugs.

This is the raw opium that farmers harvest in the spring. The collection is done by hand and the process hasn't change in over a century.

Anderson Cooper interviewed the attorney general Abdul Jabar Sabed. Sabed is attempting to fight the government corruption that allows the drug trade to flourish.

Sabed's willingness to sign warrants for the arrest of corrupt government officials has made him a target. He's been shot at, beat up, and almost kidnapped.

This program painfully points out that although our attention has primarily been focused on Iraq over the last few years, there is still a war being fought in Afghanistan. A fight that in some areas the Taliban is winning.

CNN spent two and a half months working on this story. I was struck by the picture below where a camera man is helping an injured officer after the attack on the poppy eradication team in Uruzgan province.

If you didn't get the chance to see this excellent program, you'll probably be able to catch the repeat of it next weekend. Its well worth your time.

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Mystery Journalist

OK, my Mystery Journalist picture Friday was cropped way too much. So, let me try this again.

Is this a better clue? I'll post the answer in Tuesday night's post.

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Have you ever wondered what's going on behind the scenes during the airing of a live program like The Situation Room? Well, one day last week, Wolf Blitzer wasn't taking phone calls...

The Ellen & Wolf saga continues...

If you want to see the original clip from the Situation Room, its posted here.

CNN Early Prep for Elections

According to a press release from CNN they will be setting up "mini" bureaus to aid them with their election coverage for the 2008 Campaign.

Release Date: 9/7/2007
CNN Announces Creation of ‘Mini’ Bureaus for Key Early Election States

CNN strengthens its political coverage with the establishment of three campaign “mini” bureaus in key 2008 early election states—Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina. This commitment of resources adds to CNN’s unparalleled access into each state’s political happenings and insights into the candidates’ relationships with voters there.

The mini bureaus, already operational, are staffed by CNN producers and will increase their resources as the primaries and caucuses approach. They will be located at three CNN Newsource affiliate stations: Hearst-Argyle Television’s KCCI-TV in Des Moines, Iowa, and WMUR-TV in Manchester, N.H.; and Raycom’s WIS-TV in Columbia, S.C. All CNN material produced in these mini bureaus will be available to each of the more than 800 CNN Newsource affiliates, augmenting the comprehensive content available to them each day.

“Our daily presence through these mini bureaus offers a local perspective to a national story that you cannot get from reporting only within the Beltway or following individual campaigns,” said CNN political director Sam Feist. “Thanks to the strong relationships with all of our CNN Newsource affiliates, we are able to extend the resources of the best political team on television even further, offering the best coverage anywhere of the 2008 presidential election.”
Equipped with state-of-the-art production capabilities and high-definition cameras, the mini bureaus will be staffed full time until after each state’s election day.

CNN Worldwide, a division of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner Company, is the most trusted source for news and information. Its reach extends to nine cable and satellite television networks; one private place-based network; two radio networks; wireless devices around the world; CNN Digital Network, the No. 1 network of news Web sites in the United States; CNN Newsource, the world’s most extensively syndicated news service; and strategic international partnerships within both television and the digital media.

**If you missed Anderson Cooper's SIU:Narco State: The Poppy Jihad on Saturday you can catch it Sunday night at 8pm.**