Posted on 10/14/2005 4:50:52 AM PDT by governsleastgovernsbest
by Mark Finkelstein
October 14, 2005 - 07:10.
In a deliciously ironic twist of fate, shortly before airing a segment aimed at embarrassing the Bush administration by suggesting that it had staged a video conversation between the president and soldiers in Iraq, the Today show was caught in staging . . . a video stunt.
In the Bush/Iraq segment, Today screened footage indicating that prior to engaging in a video conversation with President Bush, soldiers on the ground in Iraq were given tips by a Department of Defense official.
But the only advice that the official was shown as giving was a suggestion to one solider to "take a little breath" before speaking to the president so he would actually be speaking to him. It was also stated that some of the soldiers practiced their comments so as to appear as articulate as possible. But there was no indication, or even allegation, that the soldiers were coached as to the substance of their comments or in any way instructed what to say.
Today's timing couldn't have been worse. A preceding segment focused on the incessant rains and ensuing flooding in the northeast. For days now, beautiful, blonde - and one senses highly ambitious - young reporter Michelle Kosinski has been on the scene for Today in New Jersey, working the story. In an apparent effort to draw attention to herself, in yesterday's segment she turned up in hip waders, standing thigh-deep in the flood waters.
Taking her act one step further, this morning she appeared on a suburban street . . . paddling a canoe. There was one small problem. Just as the segment came on the air, two men waded in front of Kosinki . . . and the water barely covered their shoe tops! That's right, Kosinski's canoe was in no more than 4-6 inches of water!
An embarrassed Kosinski claimed the water was deeper down the street but that her producers didn't want to let her go there for fear she'd drift away. But Katie and Matt, perhaps peeved by her attempted scene-stealing, couldn't resist ribbing her.
Matt: "Are these holy men, perhaps walking on top of the water?"
"Gee, is your oar hitting ground, Michelle?" inquired Katie, as she and Matt dissolved into laughter.
Moral of the story: people in canoes in four inches of water shouldn't throw video-stunt stones.
Finkelstein has degrees from Cornell University and Harvard Law School.He lives in Ithaca, NY where he hosts "Right Angle," a local political talk show. Finkelstein specializes in exposing liberal bias at NBC's Today Show.
Hilarious!
I hope someone snags a screen capture.
Geraldo's long lost daughter???
All news is staged. Their fake teeth. Their fake breast. Their fake hair. Their fake eye color. Their fake tans. Etc. All fake, all staged.
Yeah . . . maybe . . . but to compare her to the other yack-yackers go here. She's just one of many who count on their looks to get them by . . . when their total neurons can oftentimes be counted on one hand.
Our conservative gals are much prettier, beaufitul even, and they've got enough sense to not try such theatrics. Image and reputation mean a lot to us conservatives. Libbers think a reputation is like a sweater . . . you can change daily and the audience is expected to forget what you wore the previous day.
Even if they are not, maybe they should be nominated as honorary?
By coincidence, I just emailed NewsBusters asking them to include a screen capture in my original article there.
Very good point.
Too funny.
As an avid canoer, it's like finger nails on the chalk board when people say OAR instead of PADDLE. You paddle a canoe, you row a boat.
"The greatest disappointment is how Fox News is joining the MSM."
Can you give me some examples of this? I've been out of the loop as a Hurricane Rita evacuee for three weeks now. Whassup with Fox News?
It must have been during the 1st hour, as Rokker was making fun of it during the :30 weather.
[I am Central time. Maybe someone Mountain or Pacific could capture it. I missed capped it. Local usually runs the NY 7 am as our (central) 7 am, so we are actually delayed a hour.]
Speaking of Rokker, I saw him on FoxNews one morning a couple of years ago. He made it should as if he was going to be the new weather person on FoxNews. A couple of days later he was back on Today, so I guess they renewed the contract talks and bumped up his salary. This morning was the first time I'd seen him in a while; he has managed to lose allot of weight and keep it off. Good for him.
We may have felt somewhat encouraged by the demise of Dan Rather, but this bunch has not given up, so neither can we.
Whoops. Sorry for the lack of formatting. Here's a link to the story about Al Roker's stomach surgery.
http://www.usatoday.com/life/columnist/mediamix/2002-11-03-media-mix_x.htm
More TV soap opera news. What do you expect.
People watch news for entertainment, who believes anything these clowns say anymore? Real news you get elsewhere, not from the TV.
Red6
The Anchor "Matt" something on BloombergTV just joked about his weather woman reporter that she "looks like you're walking on water there", while she was in front of the blue screen.
Imitation the sincerest form of flatter?
You wonder how many are watching the big 3 and think they are getting the news. Infotainment only.
I have rarely seen the Today show and know it's a dumb ass show. But there's no denying this Couric-Lauer mess influences opinion in the United States. They try their best to move it to the left. Half of it is done unconsciously, it just comes naturally.
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