Wolf Blitzer, Isha Sesay and Anderson Cooper, from Cairo, will anchor a 2 hour special on CNN Sunday evening from 9-11 PM ET.
A partial list of CNN boots on the ground in Egypt includes Cooper, Ivan Watson, Ben Wedeman, Nic Robertson, Arwa Damon and Frederik Pleitgen plus scores of producers, cameramen and stringers.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Egypt in Crisis
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29 comments:
Things should really get interesting in the wee
hours of the morning on Tuesday. There are
plans for a million man march in Cairo. Wolf
Blitzer has always been the guide for CNN
when it comes to their coverage of the big
stories. Why can't CNN go with the team they
have been using on the weekends ? The
special highlighted some excellent journalism.
Wolf, Isha,Anderson and Team CNN live from
Egypt is the first string team for CNN. Bring
in the best.
CNN needs to lead the way when it comes to
covering international news. Right now Reddit
is launching a campaign to get the cable &
satellite providers give us real 24/7 international
news channels. They want CNN International,BBC
& Al Jazeera to compete against FNC,MSNBC &
CNN domestic.In fact millions are watching Al
Jazeera online.CNN needs to have a 2 hr edition
of international news on a daily basis. Do we
really need all of those hours of the Newsroom
repeating the same things for 2 hours. Interest
in international news is growing, especially
when it come to young people. Now that
Isha Sesay is anchoring the news briefs for
360, why not have her do an international
news brief as well and yes each night have
a 360 dispatch segment.ZI am 100 % sure
that it costs CNN nothing to provide 2 hours
of world news, CNN I is in the same building
in Atlanta. People are tired of not being able
to get real news.
One angle CNN is missing is the influence of
young Americans who have created Facebook
& Twitter.In Asia, Africa and many regions
around the world mobile devices rule and
have high usage. Who would have ever thought
that the inventions of 20 & 30 something
Americans would cause a revolution like this.
People are organizing and the know all about
the MLK marches and movement and they are
copying that right now and it is enhanced by
social media. The genie is out of the bottle.
People power is topping military power.In
the words of JFK " the world is very different
now". I think CNN is covering the social media
angle superficially. Why are they not talking
to people at Facebook & Twitter about their
innovations that is changing the world. I don't
think anyone could have envisioned this.
Why am I getting the feeling that Isha Sesay
might be coming to TSR with Wolf Blitzer ? I
like her on 360 and she anchors on CNN I.
You have to admit that Isha & Wolf are a good
team and they have knowledge of the region
and what is going on in Egypt. Wolf Blitzer
& Isha Sesay are really really really good. Who
is the backup anchor for Anderson tonight in
the studio ? Just let Isha stay on 360. I think
CNN is doing some testing from Wolf Blitzer
& Isha Sesay to TJ Holmes & Kate Bouldaun.
CNN management lied to the public. They are
on record saying that Piers Morgan, Eliot Spitzer
and Kathleen Parker would not be handling
breaking news. They lied to the press and the
public when this question first arose. By the
way CNN we know that Entertainment Weekly
is owned by Time Warner. We take with a grain
of salt what the corporate parent tells EW to say.
A reality show judge doing breaking news is not
going to fly. CNN made the dumbest move by
locking it's future to Piers Morgan. The news is
the star and that means CNN journalists should
be anchoring the coverage out of Egypt.
Piers Morgan tweeted that he will be interviewing Christiane Amanpour from Egypt during his show tonight.
Obviously CNN doesn't get the significance of
the events taking place in Egypt. If they did,
CNN would not be going with amateurs. Viewers
are not stupid. Take a look at the ratings on Friday.
CNN finished 3rd behind MSNBC on a breaking
international news story, This has never happened.
The only people who don't understand that Piers
Morgan, Eliot Spitzer & Kathleen Parker should
never be a part of breaking news on CNN is the
management.I doubt MSNBC would let someone
from Biggest Loser anchor their live coverage.
No they have Brian Williams on their shows.
CNN is in self destruction mode.
Do you all have any news on CNN's coverage
for the million man march. Egypt is 7 hours
ahead of us. Around midnight our time things
should be getting underway. Will 360 be on
for the extended coverage or what ? I will be
tuning in for 360 to see Anderson's reporting
but I am skipping the first 2 hours of CNN in
prime time. I am hoping CNN will be live all
night long. The military is saying they will
not fire on peaceful protesters. That makes
the march even bigger. So will CNN be live
for the million man march ?
I am happy CNN is using CNN International a little more the last week. Instead of the 4th rerun of AC 360, someone finally got the hint to air a LIVE CNN international broadcast, even though it was around 1 a.m. PST, it was good to see. And this was BEFORE the Egypt outbreak. I'm American, but lived abroad for years and was use to seeing CNN International (although I lived in Japan and they actually show American CNN for some reason, but liked it!). I like the American side of it, especially TSR and AC 360 (which is both shown internationally most places), but I just dont understand why they dont take advantage of showing LIVE international coverage like 'your world today' even if its just downtime like after the primetime stuff is done, especially in Calif where the last live broadcast is 7 p.m. Kind of odd for a '24 hour' news network.
But this week, its been a nice mixture of the International and American journalists mixing it up. Its fun to see Michael Holmes with Brooke Baldwin or Finnoula Sweeney with Don Limon :). MORE international shows CNN America from people like me who doesnt just want to hear about the rest of the world when an earthquake happens, a military strife or President Obama lands in a country.
"The news is the star," not according to the new CNN president.
Jauntz is quoted directly as saying just the opposite.
Isha Sesay should be on at noon with CNNi and should be given her own show. She does not need mentoring. She's ready, willing, and quite able to hold her own.
Good to see AC back in the field, where he belongs.
Not on Broadway or doing daytime TV.
CNN needs at least one domentic person who is capable of just leaving and running to the area.
Wolf does well in the studio.
Anderson does better in the field.
Memo to CNN : quit letting Piers Morgan
anchor news about Egypt. The man is a
lousy interviewer and news is not his
business and it clear the people want
Wolf Blitzer, John King, Anderson Copper
and real journalists doing the news. Just
look at the ratings from Friday. CNN was
once a prestigious network like CNN I.
They need to get back to that and get
back to the CNN brand.CNN turned it's
back on news. CNN is so obsessed with
political blogs and the chattering class
that it is missing the big news stories.
I agree CNN should be using more of
the resources from CNN International.
I am wondering what the ratings will
be for the weekend. They got it right
by having talent from both networks.
All weekend long when people turned
to CNN they only saw PMT promos and
no news promos. That makes no sense.
CNN should never have messed with 360
and put the annoying panels on the show.
That caused the ratings to dip. We all
knew that was not the 360 we knew and
loved watching each night. Now that AC
is in Egypt and bringing us a look
inside the protests as only he can with
his brand of journalism CNN can get
back into the game.CNN was 3rd because
people have to respect the anchor and
we all know that Eliot Spitzer, Kathleen
Parker & Piers Morgan are not news
anchors.It matters who you put in
the chair and people need to trust
the talent to bring them the news.
Okay CNN this is spreading. The king in
Jordan has just dismissed the government.
CNN blew it. The network should have gone
with hard news, which there is a market for
by the way. Now BBC & Al Jazeera are the
choice for people with Fios and online.
The big question is : will CNN wake up ?
People are screaming for hard news and
you can't tell me that CNN can make a
ton of money doing just this. There would
be no shortage of advertisers. Give us real
news, focus on the content and reporting.
Can someone explain why Piers Morgan
is in the Egypt coverage promo. He mug
has no business in the promo.
If the uprising in Egypt is not a wake up
call for CNN , nothing will ever be. Real
news/real 24 news channel. People don't
have to settle for CNN 's bad programming.
I agree about Isha Sesay . It is safe to say
that her stock in rising.
CNN management has the power to do whatever
they want. There is no reason for them not going
with Wolf Blitzer, Anderson Cooper & Isha Sesay
in prime time for the remainder of the crisis in
Egypt.CNN management is just like Mubarak.
They can't see the changing winds and are in
denial and can't accept that they need to change
course from the current programs for the time
being. What is going on in the Middle East is
likely to be the biggest story of the year. The
management of CNN is calling the shots about
who in on the channel in prime time. Tonight
CNN seems to be going to tape at 9 and
MSNBC will blow them out of the water, How
can you not be live for all 3 hrs of prime time
on a story like this.
You commenters on how Piers Morgan is so not a journalist and how political savvy Isha Sesay has proven to be, hit the ball right out of the park.
Christanne Amanpour was rolling her eyes yesterday, when Piers "no nothing about international news," compared the Egyptian uprising to Iran. She was tongue tied and speechless for a moment and had to gather her thoughts. She must have thought to herself, "Im speaking to an idiot. Why am I wasting my time."
For some Morgan may seem suited, but those who are well read globally can tell he's a whole bunch of "talking points," and very shallow.
Isha, on the other hand has been around the block, and knows foreign affairs from working on international news.
She and TJ may make an interesting pairing, but don't limit her experience to just reading the 360 bulletin CNN and spending her time with banal bantering with Anderson.
@3:23PM - I just watched the interview he did with Amanpour, and she didn't roll her eyes and didn't need to "gather her thoughts". There is a two second live feed delay. She knew exactly how to answer the question. I'm not defending Piers Morgan at all but most of you all need to relax. Yes, he isn't the best and CNN needs to get rid of him and Parker/Spitzer, but to exagerate the truth in a comment isn't right.
@4:37PM Exaggerate the truth???
Really?
You mean CNN can't do better than Piers Morgan?
Please be reminded that Christanne once worked for CNN herself and wasn't appreciated. She KNOWS international relations and who doesn't and who ISN'T on her level.
She traded up and CNN traded down in the hire of Piers Morgan.
CNN is at a crossroads. Someone has to decide
the right direction for CNN.360 was the only
CNN prime time show to top MSNBC and was
the top demo for CNN for the evening. Perhaps
with someone like Mark Whitaker coming on
board later this month CNN can get it's act
together. The Mubarak analogy is interesting.
It would be good to see CNN hiring journalists
once again. I really miss the late Peter Jennings
on a story of this complexity.CNN should go
with their seasoned journalists on this. Heck
I am in favor of a special at 8 summarizing
today's events with the reporters who are
actually in Egypt.
@5:48 - you need to go back and read @4:37's comment. You aren't understanding.
Honestly. I never thought I would ever say
this : CNN needs to give the 8pm hour to
Eliot Spitzer alone. I have actually watched
him solo for the last 2 days and he seems
better suited to challenge The Last Word.
An ideological battle is a big loser for CNN.
I am not aware of how the show usually
works but I would imagine it is nothing
like it is with him being the solo host.
Tell me I'm dreaming who is the idiot at CNN
who approved a promo that puts Anderson
Cooper & Piers Morgan on the same level.
That is an insult. Piers Morgan is a lame
tabloid journalist CNN. Anderson Cooper
and Piers Morgan are not even in the same
league.
If Anderson does a real news show he
will easily beat Ed.360 has an opportunity
against a show that will be the weakest
link for MSNBC.TRMS will handily beat
PMT night after night.I am a 360 fan and
i would never watch PMT.
@5:48: I'm understanding that Piers Morgan is IN OVER HIS HEAD
and Amanpour may have shown respect on camera, but she knows an idiot when she sees one.
"I did not exaggerate the truth." He's not a credible journalist and it is demeaning for anyone like Christanne to have to lower herself to speak to him.
Iran and Egypt have not one thing in common with this movement and Piers should have known better than to compare the two.
CNN needs to use up all of their best and brightest anchors and reporters. I wish the CNN weekday schedule would look more like this:
6AM-9AM - American Morning with Robin Meade & TJ Holmes.
9AM-12PM - CNN Newsroom with Kyra Phillips & Alina Cho
12PM-3PM - CNN Newsroom with Carol Costello & Hala Gorani
3PM-6PM - CNN Newsroom with Ali Velshi & Brooke Baldwin
6PM-9PM - The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer featuring John King and Suzanne Malveux.
9PM-MIDNIGHT - CNN360° with Anderson Cooper featurng Isha Sesay and Soledad O'Brien.
MIDNIGHT-6AM - CNN International.
And on weekends, keep the awesome Don Lemon at nights, have Candy Crowley continue State of the Union on Sundays, Keep Fareed Zakaria, Your $$$$$, etc. For the Newsroom weekend blocks, have Kiran Chetry, Fredricka Whitfield, Gary Tuchman, and Randi Kaye.
CNN needs to stick to hard news and good reporting and not worry about having Spitzer or Morgan have their own hour in weekday primetime. Morgan seems he would be better at HLN. Not sure why CNN felt they had to keep the interviewing style of Larry King. And finally, if CNN feels the need to keep Parker/Spitzer, then get rid of Kathleen Parker. She is too boring.
In wake of what is going down in Egypt this
morning and what is happening to Anderson
& this crew and the CNN crews in the middle
of it all CNN needs to remove Piers Morgan
out of the Egyptian crisis promos. Those CNN
employees who are on the front lines should
be the focus of those promos. There is no
comparison. Anderson and his colleagues
were under siege and Piers Morgan has zero
to do with this. I really hope that all of the
CNN people stay safe.
Kudos to those brave CNN people bringing us
the news out of Egypt. Anderson, Hola, Ivan,
Ben and all of those brave photojournalists are
doing some really amazing journalism. CNN has
been broadcasting video you can't see anywhere
else.It is clear who is more valuable to CNN.
Anderson and all of their people who are actually
on the ground in Egypt. It was like we are
witnessing the events in real time. Maybe it is
a matter of being in the right place at the right
time but CNN is clearly is ahead of the pac
with their Egypt coverage today.I am guessing
at some point we will see the video that they
have all captured. The world needs to see this.
This the award winning journalism that made
me a CNN fan. It is sad that we don't see this
more often on CNN.I don't know what it is
about Anderson Cooper but the man always
makes CNN look good and I am not sure
the network appreciates that given their
recent decisions.
@8:37PM: I have been saying right along that Eliot Spitzer could easily hold his own.
I've pointed out many times in previous posts, he WAS the governor of NY State and he was removed because he had an affair.
So what.
He know politics and knows government and he has the ability to lead a discussion without looking at cards or notes like Piers, or Parker and he's interesting. He could use a little brushing up a bit.
He comes from a very wealthy family, but often appears in a suit that looks as though it had seen better days.
He does not need this job. He needs to get his credibility back, and we need him to govern.
And I do agree that Anderson makes CNN look good, but it is a waste of time and talent for him to have a daytime talk show.
We need HIM in the field.
Daytime is for those who can do nothing more than talk....and talk is cheap.
I'm not liking Piers Morgan's using AC on his show.
I get the feeling he thinks that by interviewing him, his ratings will increase. Morgan's not interested in foreign events. His main purpose is networking.
As one commenter said, "They are not in the same league."
Morgan isn't even in the same league as Lettermen.
Dave was always interested in politics and foreign affairs and was always high minded.
Would Larry have AC as a guest? He might for about 15 minutes or so, but Larry wouldn't use him.
I just don't trust Morgan. He has no endearing qualities, none.
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