Media Stars Will Accompany Obama Overseas

[kskiska]

Source: NYT

WASHINGTON — Senator John McCain’s trip to Iraq last March was a low-key affair: With a small retinue of reporters chasing him abroad, the NBC News anchor Brian Williams reported on Mr. McCain’s visit there from New York, including it in the “in other political news” portion of his newscast.

But when Senator Barack Obama heads for Iraq and other places overseas this summer, Mr. Williams is planning to catch up with him in person, as are the other two network evening news anchors, Charles Gibson of ABC and Katie Couric of CBS, who, like Mr. Williams, are far along in discussions to interview Mr. Obama on successive nights.

And while the anchors are jockeying for interviews with Mr. Obama at stops along his route, the regulars on the Obama campaign plane will have new seatmates: star political reporters from the major newspapers and magazines who are flocking to catch Mr. Obama’s first overseas trip since becoming the presumptive Democratic nominee. A “Meet the Press” interview is also being planned.

The extraordinary coverage planned for Mr. Obama’s trip, though in part solicited by aides, reflects how the candidate remains an object of fascination in the news media, a built-in feature of being the first black presidential nominee for a major political party and a relative newcomer to the national stage.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/17/us/politics/17anchors.html?ref=politics

[MercutioATC]

1. Did you SEE how McCain misrepresented conditions when he visited Iraq?

If I was the Democratic candidate, I'd be taking somebody to record what's really happening there, too.

[az chela]

7. I am killing that damn bug!!!!

It drives me crazy,lol,I actually tried to smash it the other night

[truthisfreedom]

11. It's a lot less real when there's lots of them at once.

[bemildred]

2. "You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows." nt

[spag68]

4. The pump don't work cause the vandals stole the handle

At least in the top five of my favorite songs.

[bemildred]

8. Out of all of his stuff, I still keep going back to those three albums ...nt

[kskiska]

3. McLame should be careful what he wishes for

Mr. Friedman said Mr. McCain and the Republicans had helped make the visit a bigger story because they had repeatedly questioned Mr. Obama’s credentials, keeping a running count of the number of days that have passed since Mr. Obama last visited Iraq, in 2006.

[Jefferson23]

5. Ha ha McCain. This oughta be good folks. Go Obama!

[Tutonic]

6. The New York Times is Dead.

When they have the temerity to print this: "The extraordinary coverage planned for Mr. Obama’s trip, though in part solicited by aides, reflects how the candidate remains an object of fascination in the news media, a built-in feature of being the first black presidential nominee for a major political party and a relative newcomer to the national stage" you know that Reverend Moon's mission here on earth is complete. He has succeeded in merging legitimate news with bastardized yellow print journalism. How the Times could conclude that Brian Williams is following Obama to Iraq because he is black and a a relative newcomer is way beyond my realm of thinking. Maybe he is following him because it is a newsworthy event that will engender public interest. Maybe he is following him to Iraq because he believes that Obama has the ability to sort out the mess in Iraq and change the course of history. Or maybe he is following him to Iraq because it just makes sense to cover the candidates during a campaign. But to conclude that someone is following him to Iraq because he is black or relatively new to politics is a subtle racist statement coming from a Dead print media.

P.S. I know that Moon is owner of Washington Times.

[DCKit]

10. It could just as easily be pointed out that they didn't bother to follow McCain...

Because he's an angry old white man who doesn't have a chance in Hell of becoming POTUS.

But yeah, how many of their readers didn't even know Obama has African heritage? I'll bet a few people are going to lose their teeth in their cereal bowls over this shocking revelation.

[Iwillnevergiveup]

9. Godspeed, Senator Obama

I hope we see lots of footage of him talking to soldiers, unlike with McCain. But I don't want to see much footage with any of those so-called press people. They're all terrible.:nuke:

[raebrek]

12. I'm afraid that if all of that press

goes with Senator Obama on this trip that he will be too busy talking to them to see what is going on in Iraq.

Raebrek!!!

[TNOE]

15. I'm sure that's an impossibility

[brindis_desala]

13. I got a chuckle out of the NYTimes calling the news anchors

"media stars" ... I suppose the Times deludes itself that unlike T.V. it still has real reporters.

[kay1864]

14. Major error in the NYTimes article though....

They've got "news" and "Katie Couric" in the same sentence. :P

[Mz Pip]

16. Angelina is going with him?

I never really thought of Charles Gibson as a "media star." :eyes:

[Kolesar]

17. yeah, no kidding

Must have been the dead Russert festival that got them all googlie for themselves.