Pundit Watch



April 14, 2001



BROOKE GLADSTONE: It's not surprising that the shout-fest would be flummoxed when it comes to diplomacy but what was surprising was how CNN covered the story! In its first major foreign, or in CNN parlance "international story" since its parent company merged with AOL, CNN reminded viewers why it's known as an international news-gathering force. CNN was the only place that had footage of the 24 crew members boarding a plane out of China. It got the footage by hooking a videophone up to a car battery!

BOB GARFIELD:Unfortunately the questions that CNN was asking were about as illuminating as the dome light on a Chevy Nova. Witness these four references that came within a 90 minute span on the day the spy plane's crew left China.

MAN: Who blinked first in this standoff? Tonight: who blinked?

MAN: There was nothing to apologize for.

MAN: Also did either country blink? The U.S. perspective and the Chinese viewpoint coming up in separate reports.

MAN: Well I'm not going to try to say who blinked first, but I do think you have focused on the right words.

BROOKE GLADSTONE: The right word, according to ex-secretary of state George Shultz, the last voice you heard there, wasn't "blink" but "apology."

BOB GARFIELD: So why this focus on blinking? Let's see if it stands up to the scrutiny of On the Media's Punditron 2000, a device that chews up and digests the expostulations of the pundits and tells us what it all means. [ROBOTIC PUNDITRON 2000 NOISES]

BROOKE GLADSTONE:According to the Punditron, what you're seeing is a consequence of CNN's bid to attract a bigger audience. Ratings have been declining and news shows like Wolf Blitzer Reports where we heard George Shultz were designed to go head to head with Fox and MSNBC -- simplified discussion and hype-filled promo's are part of the trend. That's where all the tough guy talk about blinking comes from.

BOB GARFIELD:I don't know, maybe the Punditron's a traditionalist, but he can't help thinking that Bernard Shaw wouldn't be asking who blinked. Oh, well, the videophone was pretty cool. Let's just hope that Christianne Amapour [sp?] has her own set of jumper cables.