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CNN: 'IT WAS A COMPUTER BUG'
Drudge Report ^ | 11/22/05 | Matt Drudge

Posted on 11/22/2005 9:43:43 AM PST by conservative in nyc

XXXXX DRUDGE REPORT XXXXX TUE NOV 22, 2005 11:54:02 ET XXXXX

CNN: 'IT WAS A COMPUTER BUG'

'IT IS NOT SOMETHING WE CAN RE-CREATE TO SHOW YOU HOW IT HAPPENED'

CNN on Tuesday morning hoped to explain how and why a black 'X' flashed over Vice President Dick Cheney's face during a live speech.

The startling 'X' flashes over Cheney's face were first revealed by the DRUDGE REPORT. One top White House source expressed concern about what was aired:

"Is someone in Atlanta trying to tell us something?"

CNN transcript:

CNN anchor/reporter Daryn Kagan: "I have come back into the control room because we want to explain something to you that happened on this newscast yesterday. During our live coverage of a speech by Vice President Dick Cheney there was a technical malfunction, you'll see it here.

It involved a switcher, something we call a switcher. It's a machine that we use to switch between visual elements.

Now, that glitch resulted in that 'X' that you saw being flashed briefly across the screen as the vice president was speaking.

The story has made it on to the internet and various blogs in there.

In response, CNN has issued this statement.

'Upon seeing this unfortunate but very brief graphic, CNN senior management immediately investigated. We concluded this was a technical malfunction not an issue of operator error.'

Joining me to explain what happened Steve our CNN director of technical operations.

We're putting you on the hot seat here.

People at home are watching Vice President Dick Cheney.

What happened?

What were we trying to create behind the scenes?

At the end of the speech the plan was to do, to have a CNN logo up on the screen and use that as the way of getting back from the speech back to you on camera and one of the many graphics we use here at CNN.

MORE

A majority of graphics we use on the air, we use as a big x to identify at what point should the tape be cued up.

This is the x you see in the control room but it is never meant to be seen on the air.

It's being used.

The controlroom will use that kbrx to cue up the CNN logo to get it ready for air and as you see there, getting it ready.

We're doing this now, live. We're showing what you're trying to do exactly.

That is what was being prepared during the speech and due to the technical glitch that happened with the switcher, it accidentally got on the air because of the switch.

And it's the sort of thing that just like your computer will glitch and will suddenly lock up and do something weird, our equipment does the same thing on occasions.

ot something we can re-create to show you what happened.
Which is a really important point.

First of all, a switcher is a machine, not a person.

Correct.

When we were talking about doing the segment and said, let's do it again. You can't make it happen on purpose.

That's correct.

For all the conspiracy theories out there and we want to have someone who is trying to make a statement about the nature of vice president cheney's speech, it's a computer bug. Ours was in front of millions of people.

That is absolutely correct. As it goes. So, we're getting it fixed, i hope?

Yes, much like you have to reboot your computer from time to time, we're going to reboot our computer from time to time to make sure it doesn't happen again.

END


TOPICS: Extended News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: cheney; cheneyx; chenyx; cnn; communistnewsnetwork; cxn; cxx; drudge; lyingliarsatcnn; ritax; x
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To: ClearCase_guy

"Yes it was a computer bug, and it was put there by my wife, Morgan Fairchild..."

81 posted on 11/22/2005 10:12:14 AM PST by dfwgator
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To: conservative in nyc
Ok, CNN... I'm sure that someone over there is monitoring how this explanation is going over, so let me explain it to you.

The edit bay computer can only go live over the air if the control room pulls the wrong feed. Those 'x's didn't randomly jump over to the live feed, someone screwed up, either by accident or on purpose.

Yes, someone was likely pulling snippets of the speech for later broadcast - duh, you're a news outlet, you do that. They were edit marks - again, fine, not a problem. But to claim it is a non-recreatable computer error? Bullpucky. The computer doesn't jump feeds, operators control that.

Standards and practices is something the networks live and breathe, something that CNN desperately needs to adopt. Pull the wrong feed for a story segment and the anchor chuckles and you either try it again or go onto another story. Pull the wrong feed during a single shot speech? The operator gets fired and the network makes public it's regrets because there is no reasonable excuse.

That you guys didn't fire the employee (doesn't really matter whom, actually, since we're not in your control room) and are hiding behind a 'bug' that supposedly 'comes up when you don't reboot' isn't going to fly. One more stick for the conspiracy theory people to whap you with, and well deserved for using such a flimsy excuse. Stupidity. There goes another few thousand viewers over to Fox.
82 posted on 11/22/2005 10:12:39 AM PST by kingu (I'm a liberal's worst nightmare - a conservative that votes.)
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To: All
Even if what they say is true, their long record of agenda driven, irresponsible and erroneous 'reporting' works against them.

In other words, they have no credibility.

83 posted on 11/22/2005 10:12:43 AM PST by NewLand (Posting against liberalism since the 20th century!)
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To: ksen
That's not a bug, that means it is working just fine.

Or as we say, "That's not a bug, that's a feature."

84 posted on 11/22/2005 10:13:05 AM PST by dfwgator
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To: conservative in nyc
What they really mean is that they can reproduce it without having someone there deliberately doing it (as it originally happened).
85 posted on 11/22/2005 10:14:02 AM PST by Grig
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To: conservative in nyc

Can't you all see somehow this is Bush's fault?


CXN (formerly CNN): "If Bush would have never won the election, Cheney wouldn't have been Vice President. Hence, if he were not Vice President, he'd never be broadcast during this time slot. We'd probably had a commercial running during this time frame so that "X" would have flashed up during this time slot. So, yes. It really is Bush's fault..."


86 posted on 11/22/2005 10:14:23 AM PST by WKUHilltopper
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To: Rippin

My educated guess is that the software package used by CNN communisty news network has a feature to x out deleted material. My guess, is some control room operation is getting funny and got caught.

Or someone in the control center has a real hatrid for the Adminstration and on purpose X the VP as a consise decision to muddy the VP on national public TV.


87 posted on 11/22/2005 10:14:50 AM PST by CHICAGOFARMER (Right to Carry (RTC))
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To: conservative in nyc
I don't trust CNN any further than I can throw Ted Kennedy, but it is possible.

I was recording an episode of "Smallville" and noticed in one scene there was a black "X" across the screen for about 10 seconds. It was thinner than the one over Cheney tho.

88 posted on 11/22/2005 10:15:52 AM PST by yarddog
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To: conservative in nyc
First of all, a switcher is a machine, not a person.

Garbage in, garbage out.

89 posted on 11/22/2005 10:16:41 AM PST by tsmith130
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To: mainepatsfan

Fox and Friends did a black X over Brian Kilmeade this a.m. and then moved it over to Steve.


90 posted on 11/22/2005 10:17:37 AM PST by eyespysomething (This ashtray, the paddlegame, the remote control, the lamp and the chair. That's all I need!)
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To: conservative in nyc

Clearly CNN does not have complete control of its equipment. It has fallen behind in its training and it has shown no plan for ensuring that the control room staff can stand on their own.

CNN should get out of the cable news business immediately, since it obviously went in with bad intelligence.


91 posted on 11/22/2005 10:17:41 AM PST by SlowBoat407 (The best stuff happens just before the thread snaps.)
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Daryn Kagan.....is Rush still hitting that?


92 posted on 11/22/2005 10:20:07 AM PST by clintonh8r (I hope I'm at home when the GOP Senate Campaign Committee calls for some money.)
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To: conservative in nyc

I don't attach any credibility to CNN's reporting so why should I believe their BS excuse.


93 posted on 11/22/2005 10:20:46 AM PST by SeaBiscuit (God Bless all who defend America and Friends, the rest can go to hell.)
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To: txflake

He has one in South Carolina??


94 posted on 11/22/2005 10:20:52 AM PST by Howlin ("Victory is not a strategy. " ``Jack Murtha 11/18/05)
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To: conservative in nyc

CNN....only a DUmbass would take those people seriously.


95 posted on 11/22/2005 10:21:41 AM PST by clintonh8r (I hope I'm at home when the GOP Senate Campaign Committee calls for some money.)
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To: conservative in nyc
The story has made it on to the internet and various blogs in there.

CNN is really with it when it comes to the internet.

Yup, that there story done gone on to the in-ter-net, and onto them blog-thingees like what they got there.

96 posted on 11/22/2005 10:21:47 AM PST by Plutarch
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To: conservative in nyc
Hmmmmmmm—does anybody know what Spike Lee is doing these days? ;-)
97 posted on 11/22/2005 10:23:16 AM PST by cartan
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CXN! or XNN! or CNX!

Works for me. ;-D


98 posted on 11/22/2005 10:25:23 AM PST by Judith Anne (Thank you St. Jude for favors granted.)
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To: CHICAGOFARMER

I agree. The 'position' of the X right smack on Cheney and the words covering up Cheney's words was no mistake.. some creep at CNN couldn't resist being an axxhole.


99 posted on 11/22/2005 10:27:12 AM PST by SeaBiscuit (God Bless all who defend America and Friends, the rest can go to hell.)
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To: Rippin

Wasn't that what Bill Clinton got in trouble for: playing with someone else's equipment??


100 posted on 11/22/2005 10:29:44 AM PST by singfreedom ("Victory at all costs,.......for without victory there is no survival."--Churchill--that's "Winston")
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