RE: Scouted: CNN's Brown played golf through shuttle story
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] On Behalf Of John D. Giorgis Sent: Saturday, February 08, 2003 9:48 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: RE: Scouted: CNN's Brown played golf through shuttle story At 10:34 PM 2/5/2003 -0500 Jon Gabriel wrote: There are probably more examples. Why don't you think that all of this should be considered news? Because by 2pm it was all over and the need for continuous coverage was over.The story was not developing. a) There was continuous coverage for at least 2 days. The coverage didn't stop on cnn, msnbc or fox news at 2:pm. All major networks, including cnn covered the president's speech at 12:30pm and the nasa briefing at 4:00. Heck, days later we're still getting tons of coverage of the funerals and memorial services. b) There was no way to tell that the story was not developing at 9 or 10am Eastern when the event had just happened. When Mr. Brown made his decision, there was no conclusive evidence that the shuttle was truly gone (it wasn't confirmed by Nasa right away) and there was also no conclusive evidence that it wasn't sabotage or terrorism. None of that was confirmed until the President spoke to the nation. It was reconfirmed by Nasa at 4:00, during the continuous newschannel and network coverage. c) It's not Mr. Brown's call to tell his bosses what is or isn't important news. He's there to report it, not make the final decisions about what will and will not be covered. He's a Reporter, not an Executive Producer. There is a difference. d) Several items I mentioned were not uncovered until later, including negligence by NASA officials, budget problems, etc. Most news isn't, (and this story in particular wasn't) a matter of a static event. Like most news stories, this one developed over time. Plus, since Mr. Brown had a commitment to the organizers of the golf tournament, he could not return to CNN by a meaningful time in the development of the story, and given that CNN had a banner ratings day anyways - it seems to me that he made the right decision. The ends don't justify the means. It wasn't his call to make. It was inappropriate for him to decide that the story wasn't more newsworthy than a golf tournament. His obligations to that tournament were, quite frankly, trumped by his obligations to his job and employer. If you agreed to be in a basketball game for charity and a terrorist attacked a government flight somewhere over Texas, and you were called to the Pentagon, would you refuse? At 10am, there was no conclusive evidence that this hadn't happened on a slightly larger scale. As I said though, if Bush had announced at 9am that morning We begin bombing in five minutes :), that would be a different story. So... if we had gone to war this would have been newsworthy, but a possible act of war against us isn't? No one knew it wasn't when he made his decision. Jon ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Scouted: CNN's Brown played golf through shuttle story
At 12:09 PM 2/4/2003 -0600 Dan Minette wrote: Clearly, it wasn't in his contract. In the real world of business, John, there is an implicit contract as well as an explicit contract. Obviously, they differ in their opinons on the nature of the implicit contract.Personally, I'm shocked that in Brin-L of all places, everyone assumes that the big corporation and not the employee is right about the implicit details of the contract. Coverage of stories such as these can significantly affect long term viewership. IIRC, CNN made itself a multi-billion dollar company based on its coverage of the Gulf War. Again I am not saying that *noone* should have to work on weekends. Hell, I am not even saying that Mr Brown should never have to cancel a vacation to work on a weekend. As you point out, a *war*, in which there is actual *news* would be a good example of precisely such a situation. As it were, the earliest Brown could have made it back to Atlanta was what? 2pm? By then, most networks were going off the air because there was *no* news. The industrial media complex has a tendency to overhype minor news events into major stories - and Brown correctly saw through this that his return to CNN would not have done much for the company and would have imposed significant costs on himself. Indeed, as it was, from National Review: CNN WINS SHUTTLE RATINGS [Rod Dreher] CNN scored a rare victory over the Fox News Channel in Saturday's coverage of the shuttle disaster. No secret as to why: anchor Miles O'Brien. He's the regular CNN Saturday morning host, and, as luck (if that is the word) would have it, he also is their space correspondent. The man knows his beat, and was terrific in that crisis. I'll say it again: Kudos to Mr. Brown. JDG ___ John D. Giorgis - [EMAIL PROTECTED] The liberty we prize is not America's gift to the world, it is God's gift to humanity. - George W. Bush 1/29/03 ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Scouted: CNN's Brown played golf through shuttle story
- Original Message - From: John D. Giorgis [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, February 05, 2003 3:20 PM Subject: Re: Scouted: CNN's Brown played golf through shuttle story At 12:09 PM 2/4/2003 -0600 Dan Minette wrote: Clearly, it wasn't in his contract. In the real world of business, John, there is an implicit contract as well as an explicit contract. Obviously, they differ in their opinons on the nature of the implicit contract.Personally, I'm shocked that in Brin-L of all places, everyone assumes that the big corporation and not the employee is right about the implicit details of the contract. But, this is a no brainer for anyone in the corporate world. If Gautam and I know the rules, I'm sure he did too. No hard feelings, but even hard working government bureaucrats have different rules than those who live in the corporate world. Coverage of stories such as these can significantly affect long term viewership. IIRC, CNN made itself a multi-billion dollar company based on its coverage of the Gulf War. The industrial media complex has a tendency to overhype minor news events into major stories - and Brown correctly saw through this that his return to CNN would not have done much for the company and would have imposed significant costs on himself. Then he isn't worth what they pay him. I certainly expect a sound business decision will be to recognize the bad decision they made in hiring him. Indeed, as it was, from National Review: CNN WINS SHUTTLE RATINGS [Rod Dreher] CNN scored a rare victory over the Fox News Channel in Saturday's coverage of the shuttle disaster. No secret as to why: anchor Miles O'Brien. He's the regular CNN Saturday morning host, and, as luck (if that is the word) would have it, he also is their space correspondent. The man knows his beat, and was terrific in that crisis. I'll say it again: Kudos to Mr. Brown. Well, if he doesn't help CNN get ratings, why pay him millions? He may have done a good job showing he isn't worth the money, if other folks do his job better than he does. Dan M. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Scouted: CNN's Brown played golf through shuttle story
- Original Message - From: Kevin Tarr [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, February 05, 2003 6:29 PM Subject: Re: Scouted: CNN's Brown played golf through shuttle story Do you people really think so highly of yourselves that you can't be replaced? No, but I know I'm the best there is at what I do, and I do ask for more money than the average Joe makes becasuse of it. Still I don't make a fraction of what Mr. Brown makes. Yes, I can be replaced, but my replacement wouldn't be cost effective, even if they get less. That's why I'm still in business. Even so, if my customer really needs me, it would take a family emergancy for me to tell them sorry. One thing I've learned from service companies: there are two types of nitches. You can be a commodity company, or you can be a company that commands a premium. Mr. Brown commands a tremendous premium, so he has to have an understanding of service that is better than mine, IMHO. I think Mr. Brown proved himself to be 20 times smarter than his bosses and the bobbleheads on the other networks who dropped everything just to get their face time. I can get a bobblehead for $3.95. If that's all they are, why pay more than minimum wage? Dan M. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Scouted: CNN's Brown played golf through shuttle story
At 04:10 PM 2/5/2003 -0600 Dan Minette wrote: snip Ok - allow me to reiterate my most salient point on this topic, which somehow got snipped in your reply The Gulf War was *news*, the shuttle story at 2pm on Saturday, when Brown would have arrived, was *not*. Brown is paid to report *news* not a shuttle accident. JDG ___ John D. Giorgis - [EMAIL PROTECTED] The liberty we prize is not America's gift to the world, it is God's gift to humanity. - George W. Bush 1/29/03 ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Scouted: CNN's Brown played golf through shuttle story
Do you people really think so highly of yourselves that you can't be replaced? No, but I know I'm the best there is at what I do, and I do ask for more money than the average Joe makes becasuse of it. Still I don't make a fraction of what Mr. Brown makes. Yes, I can be replaced, but my replacement wouldn't be cost effective, even if they get less. That's why I'm still in business. Even so, if my customer really needs me, it would take a family emergancy for me to tell them sorry. One thing I've learned from service companies: there are two types of nitches. You can be a commodity company, or you can be a company that commands a premium. Mr. Brown commands a tremendous premium, so he has to have an understanding of service that is better than mine, IMHO. I think Mr. Brown proved himself to be 20 times smarter than his bosses and the bobbleheads on the other networks who dropped everything just to get their face time. I can get a bobblehead for $3.95. If that's all they are, why pay more than minimum wage? Dan M. crackle We need an ego clean up on aisle 3 /crackle This isn't about you. You and G need to stop projecting. This is one well paid guy who had a cool head about a situation none of us will ever be in. I will not post anymore. If he is fired before his contract is up, or even if it is reported that he had to pay some kind of fine, either monetary or some other tangible price, then you win. If this never happens, then I'll drink a beer and not care. Kevin T. I'll drink a beer and not care anyway. Joking about the ego. Trying to be funny We don't need emotes do we? But this was fun. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Scouted: CNN's Brown played golf through shuttle story
Jon Gabriel wrote: Priorities priorities. rest snipped People have been debating the merits of commitment to a job. What about the commitment to the tournament organizers? I wouldn't argue on Brown's behalf if he had just been goofing around on his own, but there may be a case to be made that he was honoring a commitment that his bosses had in theory agreed to his commiting (by letting him have vacation time right then). Just to toss that out there. Julia ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: Scouted: CNN's Brown played golf through shuttle story
-Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] On Behalf Of John D. Giorgis Sent: Wednesday, February 05, 2003 8:06 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: Scouted: CNN's Brown played golf through shuttle story At 04:10 PM 2/5/2003 -0600 Dan Minette wrote: snip Ok - allow me to reiterate my most salient point on this topic, which somehow got snipped in your reply The Gulf War was *news*, the shuttle story at 2pm on Saturday, when Brown would have arrived, was *not*. Brown is paid to report *news* not a shuttle accident. I must heartily disagree. The shuttle accident was clearly news. Let's review (forgive me for stating the obvious): * United States Space Shuttle burns up in atmosphere 15 minutes before landing. Within 15 minutes of the accident, most major networks are showing footage of the shuttle disintegrating on its fall to Earth. * Shuttle is fully owned and operated by a US Federal Agency. * Without exception, all shuttle launches and landings are normally covered as a news event by at least one major news agency. * Seven astronauts are incinerated, including an Israeli soldier and an American citizen born in India, both of whom were hailed as heroes in their respective countries. (My wife was in Israel during the launch. The media there was totally flooded with stories about Ilon Ramon. I have a friend who was in New Delhi during the launch. She said the media covered it pretty thoroughly.) Accident therefore has international interest and affects the populations of at least two other countries. * Possibly toxic debris is scattered across most of central Texas. * Thousands are warned by road signs, electronic and print media and breaking news reports to avoid contact with and report sightings to local authorities * Accident highlights possibly severe problems within a Federal Agency relating to possible budget mismanagement, mild and severe safety issues and policies. Accident also highlights reports that NASA execs may have ignored reports that pointed out flaws in shuttle design and NASA policy which may have predicted the incident. * Accident sheds international and domestic doubt on our ability as a nation to participate in International Space Station project. * Accident causes sonic booms at least as far away as Amarillo, Texas. (I have family there... they said they heard the boom and felt their windows rattle.) * President Bush gives a live speech to the nation regarding the accident, giving what is arguably one of the top two most moving speeches of his entire career. * President Bush reiterates on national television (a speech that was probably broadcast globally, btw) that US policy will not change with regard to space travel. There are probably more examples. Why don't you think that all of this should be considered news? Jon ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Scouted: CNN's Brown played golf through shuttle story
Priorities priorities. Jon GSV A Hole in One? Nope, Just a Hole http://www.calendarlive.com/cl-et-jensen4feb04,0,1075611.story Excerpt from LA Times (no registration needed): CNN's Brown plays through shuttle story * Anchor decides to stay on the links during disaster follow-up, a decision which infuriates executives. By Elizabeth Jensen, Times Staff Writer NEW YORK -- Tom Brokaw was snorkeling off the Virgin Islands Saturday morning when he saw the boat's captain, 40 feet away, frantically waving. Two planes and less than nine hours later, just before 3 p.m. PST, he was on the air anchoring NBC's Columbia space shuttle coverage from Cape Canaveral, Fla. The lead anchors for ABC and CBS made it on the air too, but not CNN's Aaron Brown, whose absence until Sunday night was the source of much speculation. Brown, it turns out, was playing golf in the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic at La Quinta in Palm Desert, which was televised on CBS midday Saturday after the network ended several hours of shuttle coverage. CNN sources said Brown, who was promoted as the network's lead anchor when he was hired away from ABC two years ago, told the network he wasn't available to come to work. The decision infuriated some executives as well as some on his staff, the CNN sources said. _ The new MSN 8: smart spam protection and 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Scouted: CNN's Brown played golf through shuttle story
CNN sources said Brown, who was promoted as the network's lead anchor when he was hired away from ABC two years ago, told the network he wasn't available to come to work. The decision infuriated some executives as well as some on his staff, the CNN sources said. Good for Mr. Brown. He should be applauded. JDG ___ John D. Giorgis - [EMAIL PROTECTED] The liberty we prize is not America's gift to the world, it is God's gift to humanity. - George W. Bush 1/29/03 ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Scouted: CNN's Brown played golf through shuttle story
- Original Message - From: John D. Giorgis [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, February 04, 2003 11:29 AM Subject: Re: Scouted: CNN's Brown played golf through shuttle story CNN sources said Brown, who was promoted as the network's lead anchor when he was hired away from ABC two years ago, told the network he wasn't available to come to work. The decision infuriated some executives as well as some on his staff, the CNN sources said. Good for Mr. Brown. He should be applauded. Why? One of the assumptions about high paying jobs like that is that vacations are subject to immediate cancellation when a critical need arises. If he is important enough to lure away from ABC, he is important enough to need to cancel a golf game. Dan M. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Scouted: CNN's Brown played golf through shuttle story
--- John D. Giorgis [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: CNN sources said Brown, who was promoted as the network's lead anchor when he was hired away from ABC two years ago, told the network he wasn't available to come to work. The decision infuriated some executives as well as some on his staff, the CNN sources said. Good for Mr. Brown. He should be applauded. JDG Good lord, why, John? When my boss called me at 1:00 pm on Sunday afternoon I was in the office by 2:00pm - with no advance warning. I sure don't get paid as much as Aaron Brown does, but that's part of the deal. If what they're saying is true, he should be fired by CNN. Gautam __ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now. http://mailplus.yahoo.com ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Scouted: CNN's Brown played golf through shuttle story
At 11:43 AM 2/4/2003 -0600 Dan Minette wrote: Why? One of the assumptions about high paying jobs like that is that vacations are subject to immediate cancellation when a critical need arises. If he is important enough to lure away from ABC, he is important enough to need to cancel a golf game. Clearly, it wasn't in his contract. And for a non-developing news event, he hardly was essential enough for him to need to cancel his vacation, all so that he could read news to a telephone camera hours after the news was over. JDG ___ John D. Giorgis - [EMAIL PROTECTED] The liberty we prize is not America's gift to the world, it is God's gift to humanity. - George W. Bush 1/29/03 ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Scouted: CNN's Brown played golf through shuttle story
- Original Message - From: John D. Giorgis [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, February 04, 2003 11:48 AM Subject: Re: Scouted: CNN's Brown played golf through shuttle story At 11:43 AM 2/4/2003 -0600 Dan Minette wrote: Why? One of the assumptions about high paying jobs like that is that vacations are subject to immediate cancellation when a critical need arises. If he is important enough to lure away from ABC, he is important enough to need to cancel a golf game. Clearly, it wasn't in his contract. In the real world of business, John, there is an implicit contract as well as an explicit contract. And for a non-developing news event, he hardly was essential enough for him to need to cancel his vacation, all so that he could read news to a telephone camera hours after the news was over. Coverage of stories such as these can significantly affect long term viewership. IIRC, CNN made itself a multi-billion dollar company based on its coverage of the Gulf War. Team players are there when the company needs them. Non-team players are expendable. That is so fundamental to the culture of business that it goes without saying. Now, that's not true for hourly workers, and its not true for union workers. But, for engineers, if there was an even, the handling of which would significantly affected the profitability of a company, they would be expected to put in long hours to address the event. Key players would be expected to cancel vacations. The company would reimburse the key player, of course, but (s)he would be expected to be there. Anyone who answered by pointing out that leaving vacation to cover a shuttle disaster was not specifically mentioned in the contract would be considered a shipboard lawyer. Dan M. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Scouted: CNN's Brown played golf through shuttle story
From: Gautam Mukunda [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: Scouted: CNN's Brown played golf through shuttle story Date: Tue, 4 Feb 2003 09:50:10 -0800 (PST) --- John D. Giorgis [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: CNN sources said Brown, who was promoted as the network's lead anchor when he was hired away from ABC two years ago, told the network he wasn't available to come to work. The decision infuriated some executives as well as some on his staff, the CNN sources said. Good for Mr. Brown. He should be applauded. JDG Good lord, why, John? When my boss called me at 1:00 pm on Sunday afternoon I was in the office by 2:00pm - with no advance warning. I sure don't get paid as much as Aaron Brown does, but that's part of the deal. If what they're saying is true, he should be fired by CNN. Gautam I would have to agree. He's their lead anchor -- the face of CNN. For the curious, numbers on the net sorta conflict, but here's what I was able to figure out: Brokaw: Between 8 and 9 million Jennings: Under 10 million King: 7 million Rather: 7 million - 8 million Brown: Between 3 and 6 million It's of course, all a matter of what his contract says... Jon _ The new MSN 8: smart spam protection and 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Scouted: CNN's Brown played golf through shuttle story
At 09:50 AM 2/4/2003 -0800, you wrote: --- John D. Giorgis [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: CNN sources said Brown, who was promoted as the network's lead anchor when he was hired away from ABC two years ago, told the network he wasn't available to come to work. The decision infuriated some executives as well as some on his staff, the CNN sources said. Good for Mr. Brown. He should be applauded. JDG Good lord, why, John? When my boss called me at 1:00 pm on Sunday afternoon I was in the office by 2:00pm - with no advance warning. I sure don't get paid as much as Aaron Brown does, but that's part of the deal. If what they're saying is true, he should be fired by CNN. Gautam I'll side with John on this one. Isn't 'Sharpen the Knife' the seventh tenet of The Seven Habits of Successful People? There was nothing that he could do that would enhance the story. In fact I heard that Dan Rather made a very poor image for the first hour he was on camera before he was cleaned up. I can't think of any story that is important enough to get on a plane and fly to a TV station, at least five hours before he would be on TV. Now if he was in his house 45 minutes away, then I can see the point of rushing in. Not that we need to know why you were called in on a Sunday Gautam, but can you see no situation where you'd have to say no to your boss? I'm thinking more if the boss was unreasonable FEX if you were at the apex of a day long sailing trip and he expected you to wave down a speedboat to get you in quickly, or on a ski lift and expected you to rush to your car without changing, leaving clothes and companions behind. Some people do have jobs that require that level of commitment. A journalist, or worse a bobblehead, is never that important. Kevin T. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Scouted: CNN's Brown played golf through shuttle story
At 03:23 PM 2/4/2003 -0800, you wrote: --- Kevin Tarr [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Not that we need to know why you were called in on a Sunday Gautam, but can you see no situation where you'd have to say no to your boss? I'm thinking more if the boss was unreasonable FEX if you were at the apex of a day long sailing trip and he expected you to wave down a speedboat to get you in quickly, or on a ski lift and expected you to rush to your car without changing, leaving clothes and companions behind. Some people do have jobs that require that level of commitment. A journalist, or worse a bobblehead, is never that important. Kevin T. If I were in the midst of a family emergency I might say no, I can't come in. But other than that? No, not really. That's part of the job. If you want to work here, then you have to be willing to do that. When I was at home over Winter Break, I told the office that I could take the shuttle up and be at work within four hours of being called, and that was pretty much expected of me. If he were just a journalist, then fine. But he's the most public face of CNN, at a moment when CNN's viewership is likely to be at a peak. What are they paying him for, if not for moments like that? Gautam I know, and that's why I was conceding the 'unreasonable boss' idea. He couldn't have been there in anything less than four hours, at least. Golf course to private jet from Arizona to Atlanta to helicopter to CNN. Even if he was on TV by 2pm EST, his face would not have added anything. I'm not saying the network can't be mad, like I care if they are, but he saved them money by saying no. Okay, the called him in. Maybe they knew all the logistics and money and were willing to accept them. But knowing the broadcast industry, I'd bet dollars to donuts that they were just reacting without thinking (as if network people can think). Maybe I see this as the reporter being more important than the story which of course they never are. At the best CNN is the fifth network. I didn't even know they had a head anchor. TV is more fluid now. I think it'd be better to have a bobblehead who can at least think on his feet then have the network's face appear flustered. Why in the world was Dan Rather taking live phone calls from eyewitnesses? Not other reporters, just Joe Blow from the street calling in. I know about having an important job, being on call and all that. In this particular situation I think Mr Brown made the right call, both for himself and his employer. Kevin T. Oh well ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Scouted: CNN's Brown played golf through shuttle story
On 4 Feb 2003 at 15:23, Gautam Mukunda wrote: Not that we need to know why you were called in on a Sunday Gautam, but can you see no situation where you'd have to say no to your boss? I'm thinking more if the boss was unreasonable FEX if you were at the apex of a day long sailing trip and he expected you to wave down a speedboat to get you in quickly, or on a ski lift and expected you to rush to your car without changing, leaving clothes and companions behind. Some people do have jobs that require that level of commitment. A journalist, or worse a bobblehead, is never that important. Kevin T. If I were in the midst of a family emergency I might say no, I can't come in. But other than that? No, not really. That's part of the job. If you want to work here, then you have to be willing to do that. When I was at home over Winter Break, I told the office that I could take the shuttle up and be at work within four hours of being called, and that was pretty much expected of me. If he were just a journalist, then fine. But he's the most public face of CNN, at a moment when CNN's viewership is likely to be at a peak. What are they paying him for, if not for moments like that? I agree. Of course, I once chased across most of Europe to help someone who wasn't at the time an all-that-good friend because I was one of the only people she COULD contact, so... It's a matter of responsibility, as I see it. Andy Dawn Falcon ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
