Posted on 02/15/2003 4:13:23 PM PST by 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.
Is it four? I saw earlier tonight that they had kicked out one. Jeesh!
I think it could be French, which is scary in itself.
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