nbc news: specials unit

Day #010

2005-03-17T12:33:00.000-05:00

- Russian plan crashes, caught fire, near Arctic pole.
- POTUS announces press conference. Rumour is the reason for the conference is because of his nomination of paul to world bank and he wanted people to ask about it.
- CBS was the first to go up followed by ABC
- POTUS starts off talking about soc-sec [camera concerns: age of technology]
- POTUS says Congress should talk to constituents regarding the soc-sec dilemma and ask them for solutions.
- "We're really not prepared for all this." – someone from Today
- Iraq: Transition National Assembly meeting was held today regarding the constitution.
- WNBC camera notably poor very faded.
- Al-Jazeera had POTUS conference up
- Coalition has dropped from 38 countries to 24.
- POTUS thanked EU for taking lead on Tehran issue.
- Wires come in as he makes notable comments.
- "He's had a lot of press conferences recently."
- POTUS said to journalist, "Be so bold to correct you I have no plan right now (re: soc-sec) [Mark: "can hear the furious back peddling there]
- NBC reporter, David, keeps asking follow up questions to the producers' delight.
- Making faces and joking around as POTUS speaks.
- Technological development/energy crisis/discussion with EU about it.
- "Our people and our friends, we'll protect them." – POTUS
- Reuters first printed that the world bank received the paul nomination. Before AP. Goes up in chyrons.
- Fox only station to scroll Bush quotes throughout the whole thing. Other networks pull up as relevant.- Judges more important or agenda? POTUS says both equally important.
- "Wash polls everything. People like private accounts." – POTUS- To make ratings count, you have to run one commercial every hour. Today show person very concerned about this.
- Government money is used to create government stories. Is that unethical? There is nothing unethical when they are only stating facts.
- "Idle time. You can go look up to see if I'm the first president to say all the options and lay em out."
- Short minute segment with NBC correspondent before returning to regularly scheduled programming.
- CNN jumps to wolfouitz and other stories then correspondents.
- Fox has analysts.
- MSBNC speaks to its correspondents
- missing children stories: b.cav. "national media shows little white girls. I care because it's a little girl but what about all the others"
- first wire story POTUS p.c. was iraq, troops, then energy, then full story transcript.
- Fox news goes to Peterson trial at noon when court begins for hearing.- Prediction: Peterson gets the death sentence.
- "It is now confirmed that congress legislates morality" – Joe
- Fox goes live as soon as wire hits; we wait a minute to double check. Has death stamped over peterson's face.
- Pope of the people fox news special hosted by newt gingrich

Day #009

2005-03-15T01:54:00.000-05:00

I missed the run-down on the morning report today but the Pope was being discussed when I came in (as usual).

Several people echoed the sentiment but Marian said it, "He [Pope] knows exactly what he's doing. He's a clever man" to Joe's remark about how the Pope thanked journalists all over the world for delivering his images and messages throughout his papacy.

Perhaps, I'm reading too much into it but it certainly seemed as if they were a bit vicious in regards to JP today, painting him in some sort of cunning, villainous light.

Didn't note any of the hardcore Catholics (the ashed ones: Beth, Phil, et. all) in there today so maybe that's why.

Must make progress on McChesney book.

update: researching on obits for bush the older and j.carter today and claire says oh yeah, we need a lot of stuff on him [h.w.bush] when i said, "oh he's going to have a lot of info"... now, is this because he truly did so much for/against the nation, was in the public eye for such a long period of time or is it because bush the second is our current president?

information below to be sorted through and commented upon later. hour long conversation with Claire regarding anchor notes and other topics to be discussed in eventual paper. she will see if she can get me the copy of an old anchor note... election night would be best.

George HW Bush's Presidential Pardons
Elliott Abrams Pardoned for any and all Iran-Contra crimes.
Aslam P. Adam Clemency for heroin trafficking.
Duane R. Clarridge Pardoned for any and all Iran-Contra crimes.
Edwin L. Cox Pardoned for bank fraud.
Alan Fiers Pardoned for any and all Iran-Contra crimes.
Clair George Pardoned for any and all Iran-Contra crimes.
Armand Hammer Pardoned for making illegal contributions to President Nixon's 1972 re-election campaign.
Robert C. McFarlane Pardoned for any and all Iran-Contra crimes.
Joseph Occhipinti Commuted sentence for violating the civil rights of accused criminals.
Caspar W. Weinberger Pardoned for any and all Iran-Contra crimes.

Timeline
12 Jun 1924 George Herbert Walker Bush born, Milton MA.
2 Sep 1944 During a raid on the Pacific island of ChiChi Jima, the bomber flown by Navy pilot George HW Bush is struck by antiaircraft fire. Bush ditches the plane in the Pacific and is the only person to survive the crash.
1948 Initiated into Skull and Bones.
1963 George Bush is unanimously elected chairman of the Harris County Republican Party.
1966 George Bush is elected Congressman from the 7th District (in Houston).
1971 George Bush is appointed Ambassador to the United Nations.
1973 George Bush is appointed Chairman of the Republican National Committee.
25 Oct 1974 George Bush is sent to China as Chief of the U.S. Liaison Office.
2 Nov 1975 President Gerald Ford fires CIA Director William Colby and replaces him with George HW Bush.
30 Jan 1976 George Bush begins a 12-month stint as Director of Central Intelligence. He later describes the situation in a 1999 ceremony at CIA headquarters: "I walked in here 24 years ago untutored in the arts of intelligence."
30 Jun 1981 Vice President George HW Bush tells Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos: "We love your adherence to democratic principle, and to the democratic processes."
9 Feb 1982 Vice President George HW Bush disclaims ever having used the term "voodoo economics" to refer to candidate Reagan's budget plan and defies "anybody to find it." Shortly thereafter, NBC News airs footage of candidate Bush saying exactly that at Carnegie-Mellon University on April 10, 1980.
4 Oct 1984 Vice President George HW Bush, on why he considers himself a Texan: "I'm legally and every other way -- emotionally -- entitled to be what I want to be; and that's what I want to be, and that's what I am."
11 Oct 1984 Vice President George HW Bush: "Almost every place you can point, contrary to Mr. Mondale's -- I gotta be careful here -- but contrary of how he goes around just saying everything bad, if somebody sees a silver lining he finds a big black cloud out there. I mean: right on, whine on, harvest moon!"
27 Oct 1984 Vice President George HW Bush: "Let me assure you of one thing: the United States under this administration will never -- never -- let terrorism or fear of terrorism determine its foreign policy."
2 Nov 1984 Vice President George HW Bush: "Under this President's strong and principled leadership, America is back with pride, patriotism, and prosperity. We're number one, and there's a lot of idiots who don't know that."
28 Jan 1987 Appearing on Good Morning America, Vice President George HW Bush justifies the clandestine weapons shipments to Iran: "On the surface, selling arms to a country that sponsors terrorism, of course, clearly, you'd have to argue it's wrong, but it's the exception sometimes that proves the rule."
1 Jun 1987 After being booed at an AIDS conference, Vice President George HW Bush wonders aloud in front of a live mic: "Who was that? Some gay group out there?"
28 Sep 1987 Vice President George HW Bush, during a tour of Auschwitz: "Boy, they were big on crematoriums, weren't they?"
25 Jan 1988 During a live television appearance, Vice President George HW Bush whines petulantly to CBS news anchor Dan Rather about his Iran-Contra questions: "It's not fair to judge my whole career by a rehash on Iran. How would you like it if I judged your career by those seven minutes when you walked off the set in New York? Would you like that?"
25 Apr 1988 Vice President George HW Bush: "High tech is potent, precise, and in the end, unbeatable. The truth is, it reminds a lot of people the way I pitch horseshoes. Would you believe some of the people? Would you believe our dog? Look, I want to give the high-five symbol to high tech."
5 May 1988 Vice President George HW Bush tells the students of East Los Angeles' Garfield High School: "You don't have to go to college to be a success [...] We need the people who run the offices, the people who do the hard physical work of our society." It was apparently unclear to Bush that 70% of the school's seniors go on to college. Garfield High calculus teacher Jaime Escalante was the subject of the hit Hollywood film Stand and Deliver, which had been in theaters for two months.
2 Aug 1988 George Bush: "I will never apologize for the United States, ever. I don't care what the facts are."
18 Aug 1988 During his acceptance speech at the Republican national convention, George HW Bush issues a prophecy: "The Congress will push me to raise taxes and I'll say no. And they'll push, and I'll say no, and they'll push again. And I'll say to them: 'Read my lips -- no new taxes.'" In the end, things don't quite work out that way.
27 Aug 1988 George Bush: "I don't know that atheists should be considered citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God."
7 Sep 1988 George Bush: "Today, you remember -- I wonder how many Americans remember -- today is Pearl Harbor Day. Forty-seven years ago to this very day we were hit and hit hard at Pearl Harbor. [...] Did I say September 7th? Sorry about that. December 7th."
25 Sep 1988 During one of the Presidential debates, Vice President George HW Bush paints his opponent, Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis, as practically un-American: "He said, 'I am a card-carrying member of the ACLU.' That was what he said. He is out there, on out of the mainstream."
Mar 1989 The Los Angeles Times reports: "The delivery of Millie's first litter -- five females and a male -- brought a tear to the eyes of the First Lady and the President, Mrs. Bush said."
7 Mar 1989 George Bush: "I say the same thing I say to a person whose family was maimed by a pistol or an explosive charge or whatever else it might be: a fire -- this is bad."
13 Apr 1989 George Bush describing his wife: "I'm delighted that Barbara Bush is with me today, and I -- she got a good, clean bill of health yesterday from Walter Reed Hospital, I might add -- and then, but I'm taking another look at our doctor. He told her it's OK to kiss the dog -- I mean -- no -- it's OK to kiss your husband, but don't kiss the dog. So I don't know exactly what that means."
20 Apr 1989 Asked about the Iran-Contra scandal, George Bush admonishes the reporter: "Please don't ask me to do that which I've just said I'm not going to do, because you're burning up time. The meter is running through the sand on you, and I am now filibustering."
6 Jul 1989 Emphasizing that he has no interest in meddling in Hungarian internal affairs, President George HW Bush explains: "It would be inappropriate for the President of the United States to try to fine-tune for the people of Hungary how they ought to eat -- how the cow ought to eat the cabbage, as we say in the United States."
5 Sep 1989 During a televised speech from the Oval Office, President George HW Bush holds up a bag of crack cocaine purchased across the street at Lafayette Park. Three weeks later, a DEA official admits to The Washington Post that crack dealers don't actually hang out in Lafayette Park, so they purposely lured one to the spot. "We had to manipulate him to get him down there. It wasn't easy." Reportedly, the seller's first question was: "Where the fuck is the White House?"
9 Nov 1990 In the biggest mistake of his Presidency, George HW Bush reneges on his "Read my lips -- no new taxes" pledge as he signs into law House Resolution 5835, otherwise known as the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990. It is the single largest tax increase in history, including $137 billion in new income taxes.
4 Dec 1990 George Bush: "I know what I've told you I'm going to say, I'm going to say. And what else I say, well, I'll take some time to figure that all out."
12 May 1991 George Bush, exhibiting signs that he is in dire need of relaxation: "I've got to run now and relax. The doctor told me to relax. The doctor told me to relax. The doctor told me. He was the one. He said, 'Relax.'"
8 Jan 1992 President George HW Bush vomits in the lap of Japanese Prime Minister Miyazawa Kiichi, and then faints during a state function in Tokyo. The incident spawns the Japanese slang verb bushusuru (literally, "Bushing it") to refer to puking.
15 Jan 1992 George HW Bush doing his Evita Peron impression: "You cannot be President of the United States if you don't have faith. Remember Lincoln, going to his knees in time of trial and the Civil War and all that stuff. You can't be. So don't feel sorry for -- don't cry for me, Argentina."
4 Mar 1992 George HW Bush: "Somebody asked me, what's it take to win? I said to them, I can't remember, what does it take to win the Superbowl? Or maybe Steinbrenner, my friend George, will tell us what it takes for the Yanks to win... one run. But I went over to the Strawberry Festival this morning, and ate a piece of shortcake over there -- able to enjoy it right away, and once I completed it, it didn't have to be approved by Congress -- I just went ahead and ate it."
25 Oct 1992 During a speech at Texas Southern University, Jesse Jackson declares: "Bush knew in detail about Irangate and Iraqgate. He says he was not in the loop. Well, he's right. He was not in the loop, he's in the soup -- and we're going to turn up the heat."
24 Dec 1992 President George HW Bush pardons six Iran-Contra principals: Weinberger, Abrams, Clarridge, Fiers, George and McFarlane.
20 Dec 1993 Knighted by Queen Elizabeth II: Knight Grand Cross of the Most Honorable Order of the Bath.
31 Jul 1996 For a fee, former President George HW Bush delivers a speech at the Inaugural World Convention of the Family Federation for World Peace -- a group sponsored by Sun Myung Moon.
26 Apr 1999 Former President George HW Bush: "I have nothing but contempt and anger for those who betray the trust by exposing the names of our [intelligence] sources. They are, in my view, the most insidious of traitors."

Day #008

2005-03-07T12:43:00.000-05:00

- Pope might be back at the Vatican for Holy Week (20 March)
- Bush will be meeting with the king and queen of Norway on the South Lawn. There will be no comments made by the royals meaning no news.
- Stewart is back at work "saw her wearing the yellow gloves/I have those yellow gloves" (identification with pop culture white collar criminal) there is a stakeout camera located at her probation office in Westchester because she hasn't showed up there yet. The camera will be live. There is another spin off besides the Apprentice that Martha is supposed to be involved in which is arm-wrestling with someone (Is this serious or were they joking?)
- Day 006 of the M.J. trial, sister of the accuser will be speaking.- Peterson will receive his official sentence shortly.- Why is the pope consistently the first subject to be talked about? Is it because all the producers are Catholic or is it because realistically, the pope is truly more important than Bush.
- Writer turns anchor for entertainment spot.
- AP wires say 31 killed during insurgency in Iraq today but the BBC is reporting 25.

Reuters reports that John Bolton, 56, a senior State Department official who
was nominated Monday by President Bush to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations has widely criticized the United Nations as being ineffective and has led a Bush administration effort to oust the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohammed ElBaradei.
Why is he the person being nominated as the ambassador to the United Nations if he believes that the entity itself is useless? I'm interested to see how this story will be picked up, if it gets picked up at all.

Day #007

2005-03-02T17:42:00.000-05:00

- Faucett flight in trouble… is missing fuel.
- Lebanon: pro-Syrian government new minister.
- Train bombers in Spain had detailed plans of GCT.- Car bomb in Iraq killed ten people.
- Pope could be in the hospital until Easter.- Bush job training convention at a community college.
- Bashir is back on the stand at the Jackson trial
- South Carolina: Ten Commandments case endorsement of religion or place in the creation of the judicial system.
- Favourite story: Newsweek cover picture of Martha is her face superimposed on a body, which is not hers. Much talk regarding this where as the others not a word.
- Maps and photographs of Faucett and video and stills of his take off.
- Relegence: relevant intelligence. Source for iNews and internet and everything else. Is it a news source or independent media (why? Which would he have preferred?)
- Oklahoma City: ten year anniversary. People are happy that NBC is working with them on the event commemoration. Ceremony inside the church across the street.
- To start working on books fro Henry Kissinger and Walter Cronkyte and Jerry Lewis.
- Martha: eligible to leave 0000-0100 on Friday morning. See her at West Virginia airport and Westchester airport. "Which blonde is running the show?" She is only allowed out for forty-eight hours.
- Return to flight: 1545-1555 on 15 May. The second try, time goes up by 23 minutes for each additional try. Landing set for Saturday, Memorial Day. 39B same as Discovery post Challenger. Issue saying hi-def feeds brought to you by Halliburton.
- According to Reuters, the BBC is to reform.
- "refers to print media as press pundits" B.Cav.- Israel television airs Oscars.
- B.Cav and Mel don't feel like they learned anything in college. Mel went to Tufts.

Day #003

2005-02-16T17:45:00.000-05:00

Explosion in Iran: a fuel tank nuclear facility. Government quick to say no military action has been taking. Tehran reports everything from accidental explosion to nothing happened. (Why is there no active media investigation on this?)

Speculation on nuclear test.

Syria and Iran are said to join forces against the bad guys – the United States.

Bush is in New Hampshire today to discuss Social Security

Greenspan reports

Return to flight: 15 May. The window closes 03 June.

Pope funeral will occur within four to six days of the pontificate's death.

Father Thomas Williams will be the NBC resident authority alongside Weigel. Williams costs a lot of money to get.

Day #002

2005-02-02T17:40:00.000-05:00

State of the Union:

- Barbara Boxer turned down Larry King
Live
- Hillary might be on NBC, exclusive! This is
meant to prove that she is as fit as a fiddle.
- The speech will start on domestic issues and
move towards foreign. (Is this Bush's way of implying that he is going to focus
on domestic issues much more during this term and perhaps to hide from all the
bad press the administration has gotten due to Abu Gharib scandals,
etc?)
- Rice says U.S. may help train Palestinian
forces (Conspiracy theories that could rise out of this include training
Palestinian forces so that they can wage better war against Israelis which will
turn into all out war-fare.)

Rome states that the Pope is alright "but you can't trust those bastards in Rome and I can say that because I'm Catholic"

Day #001

2005-01-31T17:39:00.000-05:00

Courttv.com/news/jackson01405_transcripts_ad.html – Jackson's indictment charges

Martin Basher produced the 2003 television documentary. Basher is now an ABC news correspondent.

Jackson was arraigned on 09 January. The story first broke on 03 November. It would be interesting to compare how much coverage this break got in relation to the outcome of the 2004 presidential elections.

Courttv.com/people/2003/1119/jacsonpresser_ctv.html – Arrest warrant issued

Newspress.com/mjacksonupdate/012505rules.html – Trial proceedings that affect the media

Thesmokinggun.com/archive/010605jackson.html – Account of the persecution's case

Sbsherrif.org/mj – Arrest warrant issued for Michael Jackson 19.11.2003

1317: Hillary Clinton collapses during speech at the Saturn Club in Buffalo, New York. IFB correspondents dial in.

State of the Union pre-game: Bush is currently on his thirteenth draft of his state of the union address, which is supposed to last approximately forty-five minutes. He plans to discuss Iraq, social security reform, medicare, space sacrifices, and budget cuts. He submitted his plans a couple of weeks ago.

During the address and post show: a comparative analysis of where we stand now and four years ago on various issues.

Truth Squad: Is there a social security crisis or not? Speak to Newt and T. Kennedy?
Administration said that Rove is not allowed to speak to NBC and they probably will not let Condi go live post-address or Rumsfeld.