NY Observer > CNN

Aaron Brown's Summer Job

Felix Gillette — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 09:36:35 -0400

“The good TV and the bad TV were often in conflict,” said Aaron Brown.

It was a recent Wednesday afternoon and the longtime television anchor and correspondent was sitting at a table in Harry’s of Hartsdale, a nearly deserted steakhouse, a few short blocks from his home in Westchester County. He was reflecting on his career.

Mr. Brown was dressed casually, in a short-sleeved black cotton polo, a bit of white stubble standing out on his well tanned chin. He leaned back in his chair and, by way of demonstration, tapped his right shoulder and then tapped his left. The angel speaking into one earpiece, the devil whispering into the other. read more »

General Petraeus and the 'Information War'

Felix Gillette — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 08:34:15 -0400

Jamie Tarabay, the former Baghdad Bureau Chief for NPR, was stationed in Iraq in the early months of 2007 when General David Petraeus arrived to take over command of the U.S. forces there.

In the weeks and months to come, like many of her professional colleagues in the war zone, she eventually accompanied Mr. Petraeus on a number of walk-along interviews as he strolled through the streets of the occupied city. read more »

60 Months in the Red Zone

Felix Gillette, Matt Haber and John Koblin — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 20:10:48 -0400

“It’s the oft-stated phrase that truth is the first casualty of war,” said Michael Ware, CNN’s Baghdad correspondent, on the telephone from Iraq. “In this war, as in every other conflict, everybody lies to you. Your government is lying to you. The Iraqi government is lying. The insurgents are lying. The militias are lying. The U.S. military is lying. Even the civilians lie. Or in the best case, there’s confusion and exaggeration. The truth is the most elusive thing in war, particularly in an insurgency.”

Sixty-two months into the war, this is the language of the American journalist in Iraq. It’s not the only language; there are others: Cyclical, monotonous, brutal, strategic, hopeful. But slowly, as Iraq slips from the front pages and Web pages, today’s news starts to sound like yesterday’s; violence explodes; a spectacular military success, or failure. Casualty lists grow until they become incomprehensible, and then unreadable, unquantifiable. Against that metronomic numbness, 90 American journalists (according to a November 2007 study by the Project for Excellence in Journalism) continue to work a dangerous war that becomes a harder and harder story to sell to Americans. As the American press corps gets older, wearier—and simultaneously younger and more untested as the veterans leave—there are truths that some of the reporters of Baghdad have learned about the war in Iraq. read more »

CNN Racks up Big Numbers on Final Night of Primary Contests

Felix Gillette — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 12:35:07 -0400

On Tuesday night, the last night of contests during this marathon primary season, CNN scored a big win over its cable news rivals, according to a story in today's Washington Post.

From the Post:

CNN clocked more than 3.5 million viewers in prime time. That's a 34 percent lead over MSNBC's more than 2.5 million viewers. It's also a 47 percent advantage over Fox News Channel's prime-time crowd of 2.4 million viewers. read more »

Times Asks if Howie Kurtz Was Unethical

John Koblin — Thu, 29 May 2008 13:58:24 -0400

Jacques Steinberg at The Times poses a question: Did Howie Kurtz do anything wrong when he brought a client of his wife's onto his show? Kurtz's wife, Sheri Annis, did PR work for Kimberly Dozier's memoir, Breathing the Fire, which was the centerpiece of an interview Dozier had with Kurtz on his CNN show, Reliable Sources. Kurtz made a brief disclosure at the end of the show, but even so, is it kosher? read more »

The Pundit as Careerist: The Art of Sounding Smart

Jonathan Liu — Mon, 12 May 2008 09:43:46 -0400

The Post-American World, by Fareed Zakaria. W. W. Norton, 292 pages, $25.95.

Fareed Zakaria’s The Post-American World is one of those peculiar volumes public thinkers of a certain disposition, upon reaching a certain popular standing, seem compelled to write: an omnibus summation of the recent trajectory of their thinking—and, by extension, the state of the world. read more »

CNN Purchases Second 'Magic Wall'

Felix Gillette — Thu, 01 May 2008 12:12:50 -0400

Jimmy Carter on Clinton's 'Uncomfortable' Path to the Nomination

Katharine Jose — Thu, 01 May 2008 10:32:39 -0400

Jimmy Carter is still on his book tour, and still hinting at support for Barack Obama without saying it directly.

In an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer taped for The Situation Room, Carter said that if superdelegates overturn what is nearly certain to be a majority of pledged delegates at the Democratic National Convention in Denver (the only way Hillary Clinton can win at this point), it would be "uncomfortable." Carter, while admitting to having a favorite, still refuses to say who he voted for in the primary, or who he plans to support at the convention.

Carter is one of the Democratic Party elders, along with Al Gore, who could conceivably play a role in tipping the nominating process towards one candidate by weighing in at some point. In Carter's case, at least, that candidate would probably be Obama. (Carter previously told a Nigerian newspaper, "My children and their spouses are pro-Obama. My grandchildren are also pro-Obama.")

Here's the transcript of the exchange, sent over by the CNN: read more »

Report: Larry King Extends Contract with CNN, But Not Guaranteed 9 P.M. Show

Felix Gillette — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 09:26:55 -0400

On Tuesday April, 22, Steve Krakauer of TV Newser was the first to report that CNN's suspender-wearing newsman Larry King had re-upped with the cable news network through June 2011.

Tony Snow Joins CNN as Political Commentator

Felix Gillette — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 16:19:28 -0400

Tony Snow, the former White House press secretary, is joining CNN as a conservative political commentator, starting today.

From the Press Release:

A well-known and respected observer of politics with a longstanding news background, Snow will contribute to CNN as the network continues to broadcast winning political coverage. read more »