Posted on 06/28/2005 1:14:41 PM PDT by nj26
Three of the four broadcast networks had yet to decide late Monday whether they would carry President Bush's speech on Iraq Tuesday in front of soldiers in Fort Bragg, N.C. By then, only ABC had said it would carry the address.
The White House formally requested an hour of primetime at 8 p.m. ET for Bush's speech at a time when public opinion polls show the tide turning against the war in Iraq. While there was no question that the cable news channels would cover the president's address, the broadcast networks were a tougher sell.
CBS, NBC and Fox all said they would decide sometime Tuesday whether to carry the speech. Concerns centered on the potential newsworthiness of the speech and the fact that it was being given not in the Oval Office but far from Washington.
"You want to be certain you are broadcasting something that is newsworthy and vitally important to the American people," said one network executive who asked not to be identified.
The networks, unconvinced in initial talks with the White House late last week that the speech would be newsworthy, asked for more information. Sources said a conference call was held at 12:30 p.m. ET with officials from the Bush administration and the networks' Washington bureau chiefs.
Good news.
FYI..this is all wrong info..all nets will carry the speech..
Is that right, Ken?
This is REUTERS after all.
Where'd you find that out? Inside info? Thus far, only MSNBC, Fox News, CNN, ABC, and CBS have announced coverage.
President Bush is marking the first anniversary of Iraq's sovereignty with an address from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, this evening and NBC is juggling its schedule in order to be able to carry it live.
The President plans to try to ease Americans' growing doubts about the Iraq mission. The White House says he will meet with the families of 33 troops. He'll then make his address before as many as 700 soldiers at Fort Bragg.
The speech will be carried live on WBIR and the NBC Network at 8:00 PM EDT. The premiere of the latest edition of Average Joe, originally scheduled for 8 will move to 10:00 PM following I Want To Be A Hilton.
Thanks.. they just changed it on their website. I guess they were shamed into it.
And if it were William the Impeached, or She Who Must Not Be Named, making the speech, they'd pre-empt "American Idol", "Survivor", or this week's exciting celebrity court drama to grant coverage.
It appears that Fox may only air on cable... not sure. But, they announce only 'FNC' coverage; maybe it's up to the locals to carry or not?
The only one left is Fox and I am surprised at Fox. Well Fox Cable will have it so that's good.
Excellent! Fox will run the board!
And no matter what President Bush says, they will all bitch and moan about how they wasted an hour of prime time for the speech (implying that the speech was such a bomb he may as well have not bothered to give it).
The local Fox outlet, KTTV, shows they will air "King of the Hill" at 5:00 p.m. PDST. Interesting coincidence, huh?
"And if it were William the Impeached, or She Who Must Not Be Named, making the speech, they'd pre-empt "American Idol", "Survivor", or this week's exciting celebrity court drama to grant coverage."
You can bet your last dollar that they'll find plenty of reasons to preempt programming to air pro-Hillary propaganda in 2007/2008. They'll be tripping over themselves to show Bill and Hillary kissing babies, vacationing in red-state America, and duck-hunting with their new NRA membership.
Heheh, "She Who Must Not Be Named"...That's good!
I think it is kind of silly for Fox or NBC to broadcast any speeches, as they have 24 hour news channels. Anyone who wants to see it can see it on ABC,CBS or one of the cable stations. Anyone who doesn't want to see it can go to any of the other 50+ stations on cable. Anyone who doesn't have basic cable by now needs to be checked for a pulse.
Sucker bet. You're quite right.
GAAAAAHHHHH!
FOX cable will be showing the President .. and Brit Hume has been talking about it since yesterday.
The "Fox" you're talking about is a LOCAL NETWORK STATION.
My local Fox station in San Diego usually carries speeches by the President .. probably because we're a military town.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.