Coverage of the shooting

Flipping through the cable news channels, it's interesting to see the various skill levels of anchors in dealing with breaking news -- thinking on their feet, handling unscripted material. Broadcasting careers can be made or broken at times like these.

The cutie-pies who have only that going for them are outted. Reminds me of that great scene in Broadcast News when Holly Hunter is feeding William Hurt the story bit by bit on his earphone. I'm always so pissed off at the Holly Hunter character for prefering Hurt to the Albert Brooks character. I'm sitting there inwardly yelling, "Pick the smart one, are you crazy? "

It's also interesting to notice the kinds of sources that can be grabbed up on short notice -- people, whether reporters or not, who can speak comprehensibly on the phone. Sources get better every 15 minutes. Phone interviews graduate to reporters on camera, and later analysts show up in the studio. I remember watching CNN quick haul in the Middle East experts immediately after the Oklahoma City bombing. They were as quickly whisked off the set without comment as it developed that the bombers were domestic.