Soledad O'Brien to Tony Snow: "I have people yelling in my ear..."

[Cooley Hurd]

"...that we're out of time, probably half of them are your people..."

Tony Snow: "Sorry 'bout that."

Um, why are WH people on Soledad's earpiece (presumably in the director's booth)? Operation Mockingbird, v 2.0?

I TiVo'd it to confirm what I heard - I'll try to post it later. That was a very REMARKABLE exchange! I have to give props to Soledad, at least she was pretty tough on Snow.

[annabanana]

1. ASTOUNDING!! Please, please post that!!

The very fact that there are "people" that she would identify as "his" is VERY major.

I wish I could personally nomintate this a few dozen times.

[Rhiannon12866]

55. He's going to post the video later today. See my reply #52.

He had to leave for work, but will post the video on this thread when he gets back.:-)

[Bluebear]

2. WHY are White House staff in CNN's director's booth?!?!?!?!!?

[spanone]

24. Because they have destroyed our once great democracy.

[blm]

35. BushInc has had people at CNN since TIME/Warner bought control and then AOL

deal gave them further control.

House of Saud and House of Bush.

[burythehatchet]

76. I'll never forgive Ted

:(

[blm]

89. I do. No way could he have anticipated the RW swing at that point - he was snookered

into it, I'm sure.

[shadowknows69]

43. KGB always in directors booth

Oh wait.

[tom_paine]

84. B-B-B-BINGOOOO!!!!

KGB ALWAYS in the directors booth, says Comrade Bushevik.

:grr: :puke:

[senseandsensibility]

3. I hope someone can shed some light on this.

It's a scandal, if true.

[Rhiannon12866]

40. See post #21. LibInTexas gave an excellent explanation. n/t

[SoCalDem]

4. a while back, someone from the WH called ... and interrupted Wolfie in MID-SENTENCE

He stopped and told the person he was interviewing that the WHITE HOUSE was "on the line" and was disputing their claim..

and yet CNN cannot even answer our emails with anything but a "robo-reply"..

[annabanana]

10. When was that, do you recall?

It would be interesting to find out who at CNN had put that caller right into Wolfie's ear while he was Live on the Air....

[SoCalDem]

12. It's been a few years now.. Maybe someone else can recall.

I know we discussed it at length when it happened :)

I'm old now, and my brain is a bit soggy :)

[Neecy]

14. it was Rush's old squeeze, Daryn Kagan....

And it was about the David Letterman video with the kid yawning at a Bush rally. The White House called to say the video was altered (it wasn't).

[SoCalDem]

18. Oops. You are right.. I thought it was Wolfie.. but I do remember the Daryn thing

maybe there were two instances..

[GreatCaesarsGhost]

15. i remember one instance - when cnn showed a video from letterman

showing a kid yawning at a bush speech and the white house called cnn and told them letterman had

doctored the video. daryn kagan and kyra phillips (i think it was her) were involved.

edit sp

[Rhiannon12866]

47. I do remember the Letterman controversy (and his broadcast) and have no doubt it was Kyra Phillips.

Both she and Tony Harris, who used to appear together, are big on White House talking points. She has argued with Jack Murtha when interviewing him! And I remember during the war in Lebanon, some poor American woman, hiding in a relatives' basement in Lebanon, managed to get through to CNN on a cell phone and told them what was really going on there, and Tony Harris actually argued with her, echoing White House talking points. I posted a thread on this, at the time, since I was so appalled, and I said that that this woman had the worst luck, managing to get through to tell what she was seeing, only to end up with the likes of Tony Harris and Kyra Phillips...:-(

[Carni]

5. I just nominated this thread also

I am not at all surprised by this! (gee why is that?)

Please post the video if you can!

[hootinholler]

7. Funny it went from 4 recs to 9

After I rec'd it :D

What exactly did she mean by that comment?

-Hoot

[Richard Steele]

6. Are we the Soviet Union yet? recommended

[geardaddy]

71. Nope, but we are Nazi Germany.

;)

[tom_paine]

85. Nazi-lite: The New Totalitarianism

n/t

[geardaddy]

88. Same great oppression...

with half the genocide. :o

Edited to add the :o

[Perky]

8. Cooley..this is not what you think......

Snow is making the rounds this morning. I suspect this is actually a feed from the White House Television office and they were needing to get to the next gig.


The White House has a television office for news feeds for press coferences and oval office speeches. Mostly becuse the Press briefing room is small and can not support cameras from all the media outlets.

[Liberal In Texas]

21. I think you are close to what happened.

My guess is (after 34 years on broadcast TV) that this was a WH feed (probably a satellite feed).

At the WH there will be a feed coordinator who has a list of stations and times they're supposed to hit each station.

That coordinator calls station A and lets them know they are ready. The WH coordinator talks to Station A coordinator who is sitting in the control room, or an adjacent room to the control room. While Station A is on the air with the WH feed (Snow, in this case) they WH coordinator is talking to Station B about their hit time and probably even Station C and D. If Station A starts to run long, the WH coordinator will get back on the line with Station A coordinator and tell them to wrap it up. If they start to let Station A slide longer than they're supposed to go, it starts messing up the schedule for subsequent stations causing havoc with their show rundowns.

Anchors have been known to ignore wrap-up cues and sometimes somebody has to get in their ear (which they hate) and tell them to wrap it up. It would be an almost impossible situation where the WH coordinator would be able to talk directly to the anchor. I think in this case the anchor said something about the WH cutting her off, when she was only hearing what her coordinator was saying, but assuming that it was instructions being relayed from the WH coordinator. Which it may very well have been.

I hope this explaination is clear. It's a very complicated dance, this live TV thing, and sometimes things go wrong.

[annabanana]

28. Thank you for clarifying the nuts & bolts of it. .

(I love DU. . . SO much useful info)

[TreasonousBastard]

31. That sounds entirely reasonable, and...

probably what happened. Most of us don't know just how delicate the balance is to get all the technology working-- it works so well most of the time that we don't know it's there. That's the point, I suppose.

Unfortunately, the tinfoil contingent atill prefers to see dark conspiracy where only a little glitch exists.

[Liberal In Texas]

34. There is MUCH wrong with the MSM (liberal, my ass) but to see things

that aren't actually there with little or no evidence muddies the water to what the real problems are.

And the biggest problem is ownership consolidation. Not as sexy as draconian direct WH control, but none the less, the main reason the broadcast/cable media has turned to crap.

[TreasonousBastard]

39. I'd add another problem...

particularly with local news, that the news is now seen as a profit center, and ratings rule. 'Twas once a time news was a required public service, and the bean counters kept their noses elsewhere.

Since you've been inside, I'm sure you've been in "discussions" about investigative and in-depth reporting focused on not whether the story is worthwhile, but how it affects viewership. And what it's gonna cost.

FWIW, it seems the ink-stained wretches are feeling the pinches even more, with circulation and ad revenue dropping and consolidation for survival being the rule. Newsrooms are being cut everywhere.

[rasputin1952]

49. You can also add that "Journalism" as we once understood it

is on life support.

There are no more Edward R. Murrow's, no more Huntley's or Brinkley's, and certainly no more Walter Cronkite's. Murrow would stand on London rooftops during the Battle of Britain, and describe the bombing of the city. Wolf Blitzer hid under a table in GWI saying he was scared.

Cronkite probably has the most respect and credibility in Journalism, but he hasn't been heard from in quite some time, (I think he's still alive...?). When he announced that Kennedy had died, he earned his credibility...it was only enhanced during the Nam years...he was known for telling the truth. If he said there were UFO's over Omaha, people would have gone out in droves for a glimpse of one of them, and maybe ask for a ride...:)

Murrow lost his job because he refused to be bullied by the McCarthyites. His insistence that McCarthy prove his allegations helped to bring McCarthy down and put an end to the "Communist Witch Hunt".

Could anyone imagine that happening now?

It is all about $ and the ability to control what is "news". The world is in meltdown, and people look at Anna Nicole Smith's body being taken off a plane...:wtf:

We're damn near bankrupt as a nation, and eternal war in the ME is on the horizon, but people see some crap about Britney Spears sans underwear or shaving her head...

Tis not a Brave New World we've entered, but rather an echochamber...

[OwnedByFerrets]

65. In my mind, Daniel Shore comes as close to the

shadow of Murrow as we have now. OF course, KO speaks truth, but unfortunately has to intersperse his hour with trivial matters to make it palatable to the masses.

[rasputin1952]

68. KO is a real Journalist, he has no problem taking on the bigger

stories that generally get underreported on MSM. Strange but true, I have neighbors that are ardent R's, yet they got satellite to watch KO...go figure...He told me they needed something w/o all of the "fluff", some real news, even if interspersed w/banal junk. They also became C-SPAN WJ fans as they get up early anyway....:)

Today, if you're a cute, perky female w/a basic knowledge of the language, you can get on the news as a "Talking Head", guys have to be "squeaky clean" hair all done and that stuff...LOL...I'd never make it, but then again, I'd tell the truth too, so that alone would kill me off...in no time at all, I'd look like this:

But there is hope, print, although it is bleeding cash is still a force to be reckoned with. The NYT's is still the paper of record, and there are the usual websites where some truth can be gained after the usual bloodbath of argumentation.

One thing though, people demand truth, but they run from it at the same time. People don't like "bad" news, especially when it is close to home, but the fascination of a tornado or a train-wreck, still draws it's share of viewers....silently thanking whatever they believe in that they weren't in that situation.

If there were one station that stayed away from "entertainment" and told the truth, it would either prosper, or die w/in a week.

[Olney Blue]

75. Yes, Daniel Shore and KO are the closest we have....

Hi OBFerrets- :hi:

[Liberal In Texas]

51. Spot on.

When news became a profit center it attracted people who like profit. Newsrooms are now run more by bean-counters than journalists.

Ratings are EVERYTHING. Believe me, I know.

There may be some political influence (Roger Ailes and Fox, for one), but the greatest influence on what we get on the air now is pure greed.

[Patriought]

83. Consider this...

- In the early eighties, "profits ruled" the American auto industry- the bean counters overruled the engineers. The result was nearly the death of GM and Ford. (have faith-Ultimately, doing the right thing, is profitable)

Point two: Ashleigh Banfield. Remember her? (Post 9/11-Murrow with breasts)

P.S. Y'all will never know how close I came to wearing out my "backspace" key to get this post to the (questionable) coherence You see. (I'm so drunk)

[Cooley Hurd]

86. Thanks, Lib! That makes sense...

:hi:

[Robbien]

9. Why did she bother calling them your people

the RNC directs most of what goes on CNN most of the time anyway.

And I do expect it is the RNC when she called them your people, but it could have been the WH. No one can tell the difference these days.

[Jacklyn75]

11. OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!! n/t

[Captain Hilts]

13. Yeah, that's weird. nt

[rman]

27. "weird" is a tell-tale sign

of a "glitch in the matrix"; it means reality is different from what we think it is (metaphorically, of course, but quite significant nonetheless).

It's obvious the executive branch is directly directing the media, which is not what is supposed to happen in a free democratic society.
We're not supposed to know that, it's not supposed to be that obvious. I bet you the WH didn't intend O'Brien to say that.

But they'll get away with this if the MSM don't pay attention to it, which they probably won't.

[goclark]

69. Hope Soladad keeps her job

She has really starting seriously interviewing people of late.

[The Count]

16. Clark told Judy Woof Woof about Cheney calling when he was on. Judy herself

talked about her having lunch with Dick the day he had heart problems. It's a well known fact that "subversive" CNN is closely managed by the WH

[americanstranger]

17. A tried and true Fox Noise tactic.

I know every time someone is handing the moron Hannity his head, the clock magically races ahead to the next break and saves him.

Just sayin'

- as

[berni_mccoy]

19. Doesn't Surprise me AT ALL. They probably allow WH staff access to the graphics

That's why all the Republic politicians who do and say bad things are labelled with (D).

[AndyA]

20. My message to CNN:

I saw Soledad O'Brien's comment to Tony Snow about "his people yelling in her ear that we're out of time." When did CNN become a government propaganda vehicle? I've questioned the reports of some of your people for a long time, specifically Wolf Blitzer and Candy Crowley, but it would seem the tilt to the right has gone much further than them. In fact, you now have government people in your control room dictating how things are to be done!

I support the return of the Fairness Doctrine, which prevents agencies like yours from reporting stories in a manner that is inaccurate, incomplete, or flat out wrong without allowing similar time to report the other side of the story. And there is often another side to the story, especially during the Bush II years. And your viewers often don't hear that side, because you and your cronies aren't reporting it.

Consider this next time you get ratings reports in. When you wonder why CNN is losing market, ad rates are down, and you don't seem to garner the respect you once had. You only have yourselves to blame.

I used to be a devoted CNN viewer. Now, not so much any more. In fact, I'm one of the millions who have turned to the Internet for my news. I can read all sides of the story, and make up my mind for myself. How's that for a concept? Just report it, and let the public decide for themselves.

As long as CNN continues to trot out "personalities" like the O'Brien Twins, news will become more fluff and less substance. I'm tired of Anna Nicole. I'm tired of the missing blonde on the island. I'm tired of all the non-news that you promote as "Breaking News" when it really isn't.

How many more former viewers like me can CNN afford to lose? It's much harder to gain new viewers than it is to retain current ones. As for me, I'll be watching Keith Olbermann and spending time on the Internet. Remember me when you are negotiating lower ad prices in the future, and wondering what is happening to your ratings.

It's a sad day in America when the entities that are supposed to report the news to us in an honest, factual manner allows White House operatives into their control rooms to dictate how the news is presented. Especially THIS White House. Have we ever had a less competent group of people running this country? Hey, there's an idea for a new story! Why not cover all the flubs of the Bush Administration? You could fill in months and months of slow news days with that!

[Norquist Nemesis]

26. Great job!!!

Mine was short and sweet:

Dear CNN:

When did the practice of Journalism change to directives from WH operatives and handlers that suddenly are paraded out as "Breaking News"?

It really gives new meaning to Wolfe's repeated 'best political team there is'.

[hootinholler]

33. To answer your first question...

Shortly after Ted sold out.

-Hoot

Edit to say nice letter.

[rman]

22. They really like the hands-on approach,

with anything from war operations to propaganda.

[Blackhatjack]

23. Remember Jack Cafferty said this place looks more like North Korea every week. n/t

[Blackhatjack]

25. It reminds me of the Colon Powell interview ....

... where a staffer stepped in and said Powell was not going to answer a question, and Powell vocally overruled that staffer and answered the question anyway.

These folks behind the curtains tend to hold all the puppet strings...

[DemReadingDU]

29. I saw that - it was on Meet the Press

Tim Russert talking to Powell. It was, um, an awkward moment.

[grasswire]

56. see my tag line

It was one of the best moments in live news, ever.

[myrna minx]

30. That staffer actually pushed the camera away

when Powell was being interviewed on Meet the Press. That was surreal to watch.

[yardwork]

36. I saw that, too. One of the last times I watched TV

Powell said something like, "One of your people just tried to interfere in this interview. I don't think that's appropriate, Tim."

Russert responded sheepishly. It all happened on-air.

[Roland99]

41. That wasn't an NBC staffer...it was Powell's own handler!

[leftchick]

62. I remember Powell calling her Anita

that was one surreal moment.

[yardwork]

72. You're right! My memory was wrong.

Here's a link to a story about it with quotes. Emily had been on Tom DeLay's staff previous to her gig at the State Dept.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A31989-2004May16.html

[Bosso 63]

73. Enron

If memory serves, the same Emily was engaged to someone at Enron, who betrayed her, and she spilled the beans to the prosecuter.

[yardwork]

87. No kidding! Tom DeLay plus Enron plus pulling the plug on a Powell interview

Emily gets around.

[MsMagnificent]

45. One of Russert's people?

or a White House staffer?

[goclark]

70. That was the Palm Trees interview with "Emily" in charge

That was a real goodie!

Wish I knew the complete story about that one.

[sutz12]

32. That was actually kind of an interesting interview...

I was surprised, because Soledad was actually pressing a bit, and trying to keep Snowjob on message. He was making the usual talking points, but she was actually repeating questions that she thought he hadn't answered adequately, which was pretty much all of them.

Nice to see a little spine there.

Anybody notice that Tony's hair is getting grayer and grayer, almost white. That's what having to lie repeatedly and keep it all straight will do to you.

[goclark]

77. Have you noticed that he puts his head down when he lies?

That way you don't see his eyes blink.

[Wednesdays]

37. Are you still able to give us that video clip?

Or for that matter, can we see video clips of all the other incidents mentioned in this thread?

[Rhiannon12866]

53. See my reply #52. He'll post the video later today, when he returns from work.

Stay tuned...:-)

[progressoid]

38. Tony probably had to get over to Fox for their daily reach around

[EVDebs]

42. With Bushco everything will have a 'national security' defense nt

[Swede]

44. She handles earphone promps much better than Bush does.

IMHO.

[Kelly Rupert]

46. Non-conspiracy explanation:

As you've admitted, she's been tough on Snow, so it makes it rather unlikely this is some sort of conspiracy. Now, Tony Snow is a rather important person, who presumably has a busy day. He has handlers and support staff that goes with him on all his media appearances, as does every other politico.

Tony Snow had budgeted X minutes for CNN in the day. Tony Snow had been on CNN for X+1 minutes. Soledad's people were telling her to cut off the segment. Tony Snow's staffers, irritated that the segment was going on longer than they had planned, take the connection and tell Soledad that she's had their guy long enough, and they need him back.

It's really nothing special.

[BuyingThyme]

48. Sounds like a conspiracy explanation to me.

Might even be a federal crime.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

50. Tony Snow's staffers "take the connection"?

I don't understand. How do they do that with an independent news service?

[Liberal In Texas]

54. They don't. Some people on this thread watch too many movies.

See post #21 if you want a likely explanation.

[Rhiannon12866]

57. Excellent explanation. Thank you.

I also referred your post #21 to another reply on this thread. :-)

[Liberal In Texas]

58. Thank you. I wish more people would apply Occam's Razor to things they don't quite

understand.

[Rhiannon12866]

59. Good point, but you really can't blame anybody here for believing as they do.

The Bush* administration has constructed such a labyrinth of lies and deceptions that nobody, not even those of us here, who try to follow this closely, can possibly follow it. Nothing is ever simple and straightforward with them...:crazy: But your knowledgeable explanation is much appreciated.:hi:

[Liberal In Texas]

63. No, don't blame anyone for being suspicious. Not with this gang of thugs currently

running things.

[Rhiannon12866]

67. I don't either. These are frightening times.

I got an e-mail from a friend of mine a couple of days ago, forwarding me a letter that she'd written to Dennis Kucinich, encouraging him to call for the Articles of Impeachment. She's one of us, is actually registered with DU, but doesn't follow things all that closely because she is very busy working. And she asked me if it was possible that she was being "watched" for sending such things. I told her that we'd discussed such things on DU and decided that there were way too many of us now to keep track of us all... *fingers crossed*

[NYCGirl]

74. Exactly what I thought when I read the OP. NT

[Rhiannon12866]

52. Cooley Hurd apologizes that he hasn't posted this video yet. He will post it later.

He said he recorded it and posted this thread, then had to run out of the door for work. But he promises that he'll post the video on this thread later today. He was held up at work and just called me, asking me to post his apologies and the promise that he will post the video that he recorded. I told him about the number of recommendations on his thread, since he left for work just after he posted it, and he was amazed and impressed. :-)

[file83]

60. There has to be someone else here who Tivo'd that...

...cough up the video people!
Meanwhile, Cooley Hurd's house is getting raided by the Department of Homeland Security...:scared:

[Rhiannon12866]

61. Yikes! I never thought of that!

He thought that someone else might have the video, but he never counted on Homeland Security paying him a visit. He might not be home, but he does have a very large dog, and they haven't counted on him, LOL! I'm willing to bet on the dog!:D

[ChiciB1]

64. Wonder How SNOW Is Liking All This HOT WATER Lately????

I never watch him at the briefings, but see clips on K.O. and seems to me he looks a bit more "frazzled" these days!

Snow getting SNOWED! Love it!

[Supersedeas]

66. CNN has become a laughing stock b/c of this Administration

[Cooley Hurd]

78. ****Video link**** (Sorry for posting this so late)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBld8hDadz0

Several have explained what likely took place - makes sense.:hi: The "...your people" comment is at the very end, around 5:55.

But, you HAVE to hand it to Soledad! She was loaded for bear!!!:thumbsup:

[Jack Rabbit]

79. Tony bobbed and weaved, but she kept him on the ropes

That's the second argumentative inteview of Snow I've seen today on the same subject.

The last thing in the world I'm conserned about is whether some senator or another grandstands. The testimony should be public and there is nothing to discuss about that.

[sutz12]

80. I like how he falls back on that "quality candid advice" meme...

As if the advice Bush has ben getting has been worth the air it took to speak it. Does bad advice need to be secret?

Whenever he gets good advice he ignores it.

[Rhiannon12866]

90. A kick to ensure that everyone sees the video!

Thanks for capturing this!:hi:

[Kurovski]

81. Isn't Ms. O'Brien from New Orleans?

I'll wager she has a few personal feelings about this administration.

K&R.

[yurbud]

82. like the time Bush answered a question before it was asked and apologized to the reporter who had

that line in the script.