I wondered about that the instant Lehrer started off by so emphatically saying only he knew the questions! These news anchors use teleprompters, and SOMEONE has to load the text into those gizmos.
Perhaps some FReeper who is familiar with network television production can explain the steps involved in getting text loaded into a teleprompter, I would question how secret the questions would be at that point. Does the reporter load it himself, or does a production tech do it? What is the process? How do they control the speed of the rolling text, is someone reading along from hard copy and adjusting as they go? I just found Lehrer's claim that NOBODY else knew the questions somewhat curious.
A debater wouldn't necessarily need a week's advance notice to practice answering -- just getting a look at the questions five minutes ahead of time would still be a huge advantage.
Understand, I'm NOT saying this IS what happened, at this point it is just a concern we should learn more about, NOT an accusation!! I just would sure like to know more about how teleprompters work and how many hands (or how many computers!) text passes through before it shows up on that prompter screen.
I listened to the debate on the car radio, and haven't had the chance to watch the video yet (recorded it on dvd). If Lehrer was looking up (or seemingly directly at the candidates) while asking his known-only-to-him questions, he was reading it off a teleprompter. If he was looking down and reading them primarily off his paper notes, then perhaps my teleprompter concerns are all wet and the questions really were secure.
MississippiMan, I recorded the C-Span version of the debate on my stand-alone dvd recorder, but it's only at LP/4-hour speed. If you think a copy would be useful for you to analyze, FReepmail me. (I have to leave for a few hours but will be back online late tonight.)
I've done enough TV to know how it works: I submit my script or I approve a script written by a producer. Then that is handed to the teleprompter tech ... a person who types it in and then sets the speed on the prompter ... and it takes more than one person here. The entire crew has access ... I see absolutely no way to keep it confidential from at least a half dozen or so people. And that's on an HGTV type show ... just imagine what the crew entailed on the debate.
Believe me, there is no way that the moderator was the only one to have ever seen those questions ... UNLESS it was not on a prompter and he read them from the paper in his hand (Jim's hand).
Kerry might be a great debater but to my knowledge he is not as skilled at mind reading.
Somehow he had access. And given that new video clip that shows him reaching into his pocket he may have had the questions only minutes ahead, thus the need for crib sheet.