I watched Nightline’s on-air reading of the Iraq war dead last night, and I agree with the commenter referenced here by InstaPundit: “Watched it. Thought it was sad, moving, tasteful.”
The fallen soldiers’ names and faces were not presented in alphabetical order — I’m not sure how they were sorted — and for me, this had the peculiar effect of making the list seem really long. Without the familiar sequencing of alphabetization, a viewer couldn’t get a handle on how “far along” we were in the list. This is in contrast to Sept. 11 last year, when they read the names of the 9/11 victims in alphabetical order, and you could say to yourself, “Oh, they’re on the ‘C’s now” or “They’re almost to ‘F’,” and somehow this made the list seem less interminable. But last night’s reading of names just seemed to go on and on, because there was no built-in way to “keep time.”
Not a criticism or a compliment, just an observation.
At the end, as he defended the broadcast and argued that it wasn’t politically motivated, Ted Koppel stated flatly that he is not opposed to the war. I believe his exact words were, “Some of you don’t believe that. You are convinced I am opposed to the war. I am not.” I thought that was interesting.
UPDATE: Drudge reports: ‘NIGHTLINE’ WINS TIMESLOT WITH READING OF IRAQ WAR CASUALTIES… 9 SHARE IN NYC [OVER 7 SHARE LENO, LETTERMAN]; 14 SHARE IN L.A.; 11 SHARE CHICAGO…
UPDATE TO THE UPDATE: Er, now Drudge’s spin on the ratings news has done a 180… apparently the ratings were bad: ‘NIGHTLINE’ RATINGS DOWN IN MAJOR CITIES WITH DEATH LIST; LOSES AUDIENCE FROM PREVIOUS FRIDAY WITH READING OF IRAQ WAR CASUALTIES… ABCNEWS SPECIAL HITS 9 SHARE IN NYC [FLAT FROM PREVIOUS WEEK]; 14 SHARE IN L.A.; 11 SHARE CHICAGO [DOWN FROM 15 SHARE PREVIOUS FRIDAY ]; 8 SHARE IN PHILLY [OFF FROM 11 SHARE]…
|
Categories: News: Terrorism & War
|
May 2nd, 2004 at 10:45:41 am
I find it odd that Nightline asked for extra time (10 minutes) when their graphics transitioning between commercial breaks took forever (that red line just moved so slow). Wouldve been better to go without commercials.
May 2nd, 2004 at 3:55:24 pm
Leanna & I watched it and also found it very moving. I say it was utterly nonpartisan & nonpropagandistic in Effect, if not in motivation — although I choose to believe Koppel in that regard too. Honoring the wartime fallen does not mean Supporting the war; nor does bringing home to people the reality of the human cost mean Opposing the war. Opponents & proponents alike should respect both the individual soldier & the institutional Soldiery, mourn the patriot dead, and understand the awful sacrifice.
(B, you’ll be happy to learn that Mom had previously phoned Sinclair Broadcast Group, via its Channel 40 in Massachusetts, to convey to them her characteristically-gentle Demurrer from their censorship of Koppel. Their eardrums may have partially healed by now… :)
May 2nd, 2004 at 9:13:14 pm
Well, I find it hard to disagree with Mark Steyn’s review. I guess the question is, can honoring the dead be a bad thing if it’s done in a way that has the potential to undermine the just cause for which they died?
May 3rd, 2004 at 8:49:24 am
I just posted this as an UPDATE, but since people might miss it there (since the post has scrolled off the homepage) but would be more likely to see it on the 25-most-recent-comments page…
Drudge reports: ‘NIGHTLINE’ WINS TIMESLOT WITH READING OF IRAQ WAR CASUALTIES… 9 SHARE IN NYC [OVER 7 SHARE LENO, LETTERMAN]; 14 SHARE IN L.A.; 11 SHARE CHICAGO…
May 3rd, 2004 at 9:08:16 am
Wait a minute, now it says this:
‘NIGHTLINE’ RATINGS DOWN IN MAJOR CITIES WITH DEATH LIST; LOSES AUDIENCE FROM PREVIOUS FRIDAY WITH READING OF IRAQ WAR CASUALTIES… DEVELOPING… ABCNEWS SPECIAL HITS 9 SHARE IN NYC [FLAT FROM PREVIOUS WEEK]; 14 SHARE IN L.A.; 11 SHARE CHICAGO [DOWN FROM 15 SHARE PREVIOUS FRIDAY ]; 8 SHARE IN PHILLY [OFF FROM 11 SHARE]…