Fox, CNN gear up for the mother of all media wars

U.S. News- Washington Whispers ^ | 02/24/03 | Paul Bedard

[Pokey78]

There's one serious arms race going on in the Persian Gulf, and we're not talking about the military. This expensive buildup could determine the king of cable news: Fox or CNN. Both are flooding reporters outfitted with videophones, helmets, and other gear into five-star hotels near the front. Blank checks are being signed to cover 21st-century gadgets to wow audiences. Slumping CNN appears to be spending more. It's got a fleet of humvees. Fox has one but spruced it up with desert camo. Fox is spending on night-vision goggles and tiny "lipstick cameras" that provide lots of angles on the cheap. Network bigs say the expense is more than simply the cost of doing business. They say the 1991 Gulf War made CNN the top cable dog. CNN wants to repeat, but upstart Fox sees Iraq as its rainmaker. Spending, however, isn't always the trick. Consider: CNN flew a team to Qatar to cover a recent military exercise. It turned out to be a closed-door computer drill in Central Command HQ. For comparison: U.S. News has spent $26,000 on stuff like flak jackets and chem-bio suits.

[Paul Atreides]

Please Fox, please, stop flashing a Fox News Alert banner, and playing the dramatic music, for stuff that is trivial.

[MagnoliaMS]

I agree. I love Fox News, but that is my biggest gripe with them. Anything that does not affect the entire country, or at least a large portion of the population, should not require an "Alert." They should come up with something else for other news. Trapped coyotes and such. Some days there is a Fox News "Alert" at least every 15 minutes, most of them amounting to nothing.

[rs79bm]

They love to flash that breaking news alert. But who cares as long as Dari Alexander is on the other side.

[Capitalism2003]

how bout Kiren Chetry...mmmmm

[Paul Atreides]

That new one, Paige Hopkins, is a hottie.

[rs79bm]

This is a FOX NEWS ALERT!!! We've just received a report that dairy cows give milk.

[Paul Atreides]

They did it all during the Winona Ryder trial.

[Quick1]

Exactly. Fox puts on those news alerts far too ogten. It definitely hurts them, because critics can point to it as sensationalism.

[Paul Atreides]

FOX NEWS ALERT!: Imprisoned actor Robert Blake will be having the chicken instead of the roast beef.

[Pokey78]

I'm wishing for . . . .

***Bong!!****

This is a FOX NEWS ALERT! Laurie Dhue has just entered the building!

This has been a FOX NEWS ALERT.

[Clean_Sweep]

I think she's blowing me a kiss in the last frame!!

[rs79bm]

I think she's blowing me a kiss in the last frame!!

No, but she is in this frame!

[demnomo]

Is it just me or does this gal wear a tad too much make-up? (I'm sure you guys think it's great.) I wonder if she's a liberal? If she's a conservative, she's just setting herself up for crticism from the ugly liberal reporters who will crucify her for having too much lipstick and eye liner a la Kathleen Harris. ;)

[OldFriend]

FNC Alert......Peter Arnett is coming to a TV near you with a brand new bigger than ever sign that says..... BABY MILK FACTORY

[demnomo]

Don't tell me that Fox News has hired that idiot!!!

[CedarDave]

Iraq likes CNN -- they kicked out four Fox reporters.

[Samwise]

CNN: Where all dictators plant their views...er, uh...get their news.

[malia]

U.S. News has spent $26,000 on stuff like flak jackets and chem-bio suits.

Hope Ollie got a piece of that action.

[Xthe17th]

Thanks for the kiss. Reminds me of a hologram of a woman inside of a glass cylinder I saw at a science expo at least 25 years ago - she'd blow a kiss as you walked around it. IMHO, Lauri Dhue is better lookin'.