Re: JFK Missing -- Coverage

[Dib9@aol.com]

I first want to previse my remarks by saying that is a terrible tragedy and 
my prayers are with the families.

Am I the only one surprised that the networks went with continuing coverage 
all day with JFK Jr. coverage?  They don't even do that anymore when we go to 
war or when the Congress is considering impeachment of the President.  There 
was little to add during most of the day and the continuing live coverage led 
mainly to speculation and  loads of errors.  (i.e. it was originally reported 
that there was a fourth person on the plane.)

It just shows that CELEBRITY is king in our culture and in the news media 
today.  The whole thing is certainly a tragedy and my prayers are with the 
families, but the coverage is overkill.  If Amy Carter or Ronald Reagan Jr. 
were missing would we get this kind of coverage?

Of the coverage I have watched here are my thoughts:  I was impressed that 
Dan Rather was on when I first tuned in at 10 AM.  I'm not a Rather fan, but 
he showed that he is an old pro and handled the whole thing with class and 
professionalism.  Brain Williams on NBC also did the solid job that you can 
expect from him in these circumstances.  CNN was also strong.  I think they 
are smart not to count on one anchor to handle the coverage by themselves 
hour after hour.  Their team coverage is a better way to do.  Fox News looks 
small market in comparison to CNN and the networks.

Did anyone see the ABC coverage this morning?  I tuned in between 11 and Noon 
and the women they had anchoring was HORRIBLE.  I didn't catch her name but 
she shouldn't be allowed to anchor live coverage of anything again.  She 
seemed emotionally involved in the whole thing and was consistently 
interrupting anyone that spoke of JFK Jr. in the past tense and correcting 
them.  Not ready for prime time.  I also found it interesting that ABC had 
Barbara Walters on the phone and seemed to be focusing on the celebrity 
aspects of the story while the other networks were focusing on the facts of 
the story, the search, etc.  I'm sure things improved when Jennings showed up 
but it was amateur hour on ABC this morning.

Dan Billings
Bowdoinham, Maine

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