Tim Russert cuts interview short...

[Ronnie Raygun]

http://www.nydailynews.com/front/sto...p-168547c.html

Official respect for the First Amendment is apparently in steep decline.
The other day, an intrepid journalist and truth-seeker was grilling a powerful public figure. But before the interview was over, the powerful public figure's press aide abruptly broke in as tape rolled and stopped the interrogation.

Tim Russert interviewing Colin Powell?

Nope.

Try Brian Lehrer interviewing Tim Russert.

"We were given precisely 10 minutes with Russert to tape an interview about his new book from 8 a.m. to 8:10 a.m. for broadcast at 10 a.m. last Friday," the WNYC radio host told me yesterday.

"My impression was that he was very tightly scheduled, and had to do five or six interviews one after the other and his people were trying to keep him on schedule ... Eight minutes into the interview, a woman's voice cut in and barked, 'WNYC, you have eight seconds left!' And the interview came to a quick end."

Lehrer added that the glitch was deleted from what sounded, when it was broadcast, like a seamless conversation.

"It was no big deal," Lehrer said, noting that the interrupter was not an NBC News employee. "These things happen. It was just the usual bureaucratic stuff and getting an interview. So we edited it out."

But two days later, Secretary of State Powell's press aide, Emily Miller, was so desperate to keep her boss on schedule that she tried to end Russert's taped interview when it ran into overtime. The "Meet the Press" moderator went ballistic.

Not only did Russert castigate Powell's aide on his own NBC show, he gave righteously indignant interviews about "attempted news management gone berserk" to CNN and The Washington Post.

On Monday, Lehrer poked fun at Russert's tantrum by airing the rude interruption that he had earlier excised.

"If Colin Powell's people were guilty of attempted news management gone berserk," Lehrer told me yesterday, "then I can say only that Tim Russert's people succeeded at it."

Russert could not be interrupted for comment yesterday.

***************

[sspadowsky]

"It was no big deal," Lehrer said, noting that the interrupter was not an NBC News employee. "These things happen. It was just the usual bureaucratic stuff and getting an interview. So we edited it out."

Promoting a book and being on a tight schedule is far different than your press secretary trying to cut an interview short because she doesn't like the questions being posed, especially when those questions have to do with just how big a role you played in leading your country into war under false pretenses.

I wonder how you live in your own pathetic skin, Ronnie.

[Ronnie Raygun]

I don't know what you're talking about, Spad.

"But two days later, Secretary of State Powell's press aide, Emily Miller, was so desperate to keep her boss on schedule that she tried to end Russert's taped interview when it ran into overtime. The "Meet the Press" moderator went ballistic."

It's got nothing to do with the questions that were being asked and everything to do with time constraints. Can't you read?

[ziggytrix]

That is the most Republican-friendly version of the story, so I can understand why you take it as gospel.

A more rational human being would at least acknowledge the fact that aides are generally not as important as they think they are, and act like fuckheads when they feel like they have a shot at some power.

In the one case, it's someone being a prick cuz they can, in the other, being a prick out of a sense of patriotic duty.

That's my take on it, anyway.

[sspadowsky]

Emily Miller's interruption of the Powell interview had nothing to do with keeping a schedule. Read it and weep, jerky.

http://www.i-mockery.net/viewtopic.php?t=12064

[Ronnie Raygun]

I've already seen that. I look at drudgereport more than you do...

Unfortunatley, it doesn't prove your point.

[ziggytrix]

I missed the part where she said "time's up".

[Ronnie Raygun]

What difference does it make how you word it?

Time was up and Russert wasn't wrapping up the interview.....

Did you even see it? POWell was doing very well in the interview and has never had problems with tough questions.

[ScruU2wice]

No, I heard it, he was getting his ass kicked...

[mburbank]

If you don't see a difference in the impotance of interviewing a journalist about a book and interviewing the secretary of state about a war... well, I'm not surprised.

And it may well be that Emily was just trying to keep things to a schedule. Who knows. Colin Powell has done well in interviews lately. I liked where he said that the CIA had been deliberatley mislead. On the other hand, it's pretty hard to make a case for sinister motives cutting short a puff piece where you get to promote your book, and when you're secretary of state answering question about all the things that have gone wrong in the war your country is fighting, there's a tad more at stake. I'm sure that's just me.

I've seen the interview, and I think if that's 'balistic', that writer must have a coronary when his alarm goes off in the morning.

[KevinTheOmnivore]

Originally Posted by Ronnie Raygun

It's got nothing to do with the questions that were being asked and everything to do with time constraints. Can't you read?

Please tell me that you are on the GOP payroll, or at the very least some think tank with a a name like "Heritage is good for homes and family" is giving you a cut. No.....?

Powell was 45 minutes late for the interview, and he showed some professional courtesy by answering ONE extra question.

It had EVERYTHING to do with the question that was asked. Emily is quoted as saying that Russert wouldn't use that question, that it'd be edited out. Does that sound like punctuality to you, or obfuscation....? Go look at the thread I posted on this, you read it yourself off Drudge, I'm sure.

Originally Posted by Sspad

Promoting a book and being on a tight schedule is far different than your press secretary trying to cut an interview short because she doesn't like the questions being posed, especially when those questions have to do with just how big a role you played in leading your country into war under false pretenses.

Period.

[KevinTheOmnivore]

Heh, I just realized something-- this wasn't the first time Powell was confused by 45 minutes.