The Newsroom

Beirut Explosion

News Coverage (August 2020)

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MA
Meridian AM
No Quest after Amanpour, not that she covered this story at all really.... CNN US leading with Trump interview, it's a Trump planet we live on after all. Maybe we'll get more on Beirut in about 9 hours when CNNI overnight team takes over.


Weren’t some of their International shows like The Brief and YWT meant to be back this week according to their schedule? Or is it still as it was the last few months and it’s largely US simulcasts?

Sounds this coverage sums up CNN well - the actual international coverage when it is allowed on air is actually pretty good but it plays second fiddle to Domestic’s talking heads.


Vast majority of the time it's simulcasts.
Pathetic.
BK
bkman1990
Sky News bureau badly damaged.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfEkPenFmac


I wonder what the cost & timescale would be for Comcast/NBC News to now repair the damage now that they own Sky News. Is this bureau in Beirut worth long standing significance to Sky News. Have they had it in their possession for a long time?
Last edited by bkman1990 on 4 August 2020 10:20pm
DV
dvboy
It's probably used a fair bit for Sky News Arabia.
NE
Newsroom
Regarding CNNi’s despicable coverage after they were probably forced into simulcast with the US. This is unacceptable, and this is certainly not what their global audience want to watch.

Can you imagine being I the Middle East desperately wanting news and seeing Trump’s HBO interview? Disgusting!

I propose a petition to CNN about situations like this of which I’m more than happy to set up.
BF
BFGArmy
The thing is it’s nothing new on CNNI. I mean they naturally will focus more on American news - many watch CNN for the US perspective.
But there’s that and there’s often ignoring everything else going outside America which is what too much of the numerous simulcasts do.
BR
Brekkie
Other channels are available. Yes, CNNi should be doing their own thing but there are plenty of other viewing options, many probably better positioned to cover it.

To be fair to CNN US the Trump interview is one of the most extraordinary I've seen and perhaps for the US audience it is right it isn't buried by bad news. After all although not on this scale sadly explosions are not uncommon in the Middle East and rarely get the rolling news treatment.
VA
valley
Sky News bureau badly damaged.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfEkPenFmac


I wonder what the cost & timescale would be for Comcast/NBC News to now repair the damage now that they own Sky News. Is this bureau in Beirut worth long standing significance to Sky News. Have they had it in their possession for a long time?

AIUI it’s just an office and a kit room really (I’m not sure if there’s a live position there, there might be). It’s one of the primary Middle Eastern bases for Sky News although they obviously have access to other facilities through Sky News Arabia.
TZ
TimZ
CNNi all over the story after the international team took over at 4:00 GMT, with on the ground reports from Ben Wedeman, live updates from Istanbul, interviews with witnesses and analysis from explosives experts. Robyn Curnow fronted the first 2 hours of coverage from Atlanta, then Becky Anderson came on air very early at 6:00 GMT from Abu Dhabi.
The international team can do a really good job, as long as CNN gives them the chance.
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IS
Inspector Sands
Regarding CNNi’s despicable coverage after they were probably forced into simulcast with the US. This is unacceptable, and this is certainly not what their global audience want to watch.

Can you imagine being I the Middle East desperately wanting news and seeing Trump’s HBO interview? Disgusting!

I propose a petition to CNN about situations like this of which I’m more than happy to set up.

What a load of nonsense. They have no obligation to cover anything and no one is forced to watch it. It's a commercial entity, they do what they decide they should.

Why you think someone in the Middle East would rely on an American channel to get information on a story like that is beyond me. There are plenty of other channels to choose from there who will cover it much better.

I wouldn't watch CNN for a breaking story in the Middle East in the same way that I wouldn't watch Al Jazeera for a breaking story in the US.
Cando, Rkolsen and Brekkie gave kudos
IS
Inspector Sands

To be fair to CNN US the Trump interview is one of the most extraordinary I've seen and perhaps for the US audience it is right it isn't buried by bad news. After all although not on this scale sadly explosions are not uncommon in the Middle East and rarely get the rolling news treatment.

As I said last night, interest in the story would have waned somewhat when it turned out to be an accident rather than a political act. Not only is it less of a story but it doesn't really fit the western narrative.


Yes the Trump interview is quite something though. What really makes it different is not so much what he says (we're used to his BS after all this time) but the way the conversation takes place and the style it was filmed in. It's straight out of Veep or The Thick Of It - it's an improv session between two comic actors
JW
JamesWorldNews
Becky Anderson is a brilliant presenter and has handled this morning's coverage extremely well from Abu Dhabi.

The clips doing the rounds are incredible. For perspective, the mother of a former colleague lives 23kms from the scene of the blast. The windows in her entire block were all blown out. 23kms away!!!

That's a helluva blast, whatever the cause.

I moved between Sky News and Al Jazeera English last night (the only English language outlets available to me at that specific time). Both did a very good job, IMO. Especially Zeina Khodr on the ground in Beirut and amidst some recurring comms issues. She handled it very well.

But back to Becky Anderson. I could watch her all day every day. Excellent anchor.
MA
Markymark
And while we're on the subject of neglected stockpiles of high explosives, don't forgot about the SS Montgomery


https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Richard_Montgomery

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