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Politics : Did Slick Boink Monica? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: DMaA who wrote (17796)	7/29/1998 3:39:00 PM
From: DMaA	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 20981

Clinton News Network embarrasses themselves again: CNN was fooled by an obvious prankster, prompting Bernard Shaw to lash out at the "idiot," but maybe the real idiots were those who put him on the air. Every time there's major breaking news event involving a tragedy or live action video, from the OJ chase to the Diana car crash to the TWA crash, a fan of syndicated radio host Howard Stern always manages to get onto CNN and/or MSNBC (onto ABC in the OJ chase) with a fake phone call. They make it onto the air since the cable networks never bother with any basics of call screening. It happened again last Friday during CNN's live coverage of the Capitol shooting. As recounted on the "Captain Janks" Web page, the Stern fan reported: "I called CNN's assignment desk in Washington, DC and told a producer that I was the spokesperson for 'Washington Memorial hospital,' the place where the gunman had been rushed in critical condition, and that I was authorized to report that he had died of multiple gunshot wounds. The producer asked me if I would be willing to go on the air with Bernard Shaw and report it live. 'Of course.' I replied, trying not to sound too excited." "After a screening process by the producers that included the phone number of the 'hospital', (which I had gotten earlier), the correct spelling of my name (Michael Bowen), and the wording of my report, I was transferred to Atlanta, GA where the on-air phone line is sent through. Within seconds, I on the air with Bernard, and plugged in to the world." As any resident of the Washington area knows, there is no such thing as Washington Memorial Hospital. But that didn't deter CNN. So, at 5:29pm ET on July 24 CNN viewers heard a live report from the fake caller, rehabilitated to be from GW Hospital though the on-screen graphic read "Washington Hospital Center." Bernard Shaw: "Michael Bowen is a spokesman for George Washington University Hospital. He is live on the telephone now. Mr. Bowen, what can you tell us?" "Bowen": "The gunman, whose name will be withheld, has died of multiple gunshot wounds to the chest at 4:52 p.m. Reports said that he was angry that his radio was broken. He couldn't listen to Howard Stern." Shaw: "Oh my goodness. We were just victims of a hoax. My sincerest apology to you our viewers. Sometimes during live coverage, we have idiots who penetrate telephone systems and our system was just penetrated. That was not a spokesman from George Washington University Hospital...That was a hoax. All I can do is put my palms up and apologize to you. If there was a way to prevent it, believe me, you would not experience what we just experienced. Well, that was awful, and I hope that person -- well, I shouldn't say that, that wouldn't be polite, would it?" It's a lot funnier when you actually see Shaw's "oh my goodness" followed by his overheated pontificating. To hear the call via RealAudio, go to captainjanks.com "Idiots who penetrate telephone systems?" Quite a skill to "penetrate" the CNN phone system. He placed a call. Who is the real idiot, the caller or the CNN producers who put it through without any effort at verification of a guy claiming to be from a hospital that doesn't exist? A suggestion for CNN: This happens every time there is live coverage of a tragedy. Be aware of its likelihood and prepare some verification questions. Or at least check caller ID (In this instance the call came from Pennsylvania). They could have asked for the address of the hospital, the name of the nearest Metro stop or the name of the college President. Incorrect answers should be obvious to a DC resident, like a CNN Washington bureau producer or assignment editor. Then CNN staffers won't look like the idiots.

To: DMaA who wrote (17796)	7/29/1998 3:40:00 PM
From: DMaA	Respond to of 20981

From the July 28 Late Show with David Letterman, the "Top Ten Questions Ken Starr Plans to Ask Monica Lewinsky." Copyright 1998 by Worldwide Pants, Inc. 10. "Can I try on that absolutely darling little beret?" 9. "Is it all right if my son Ringo asks a few questions?" 8. "In a past life, did you sleep with President Kennedy?" 7. "Was your security clearance at level 36C -- uh, I mean, level C?" 6. "Is that hair gel?" 5. "Could you have a talk with my intern?" 4. "In the course of your encounters, did the President ever yell, 'Yee Hah!'?" 3. "Are you mad at me for ruining your entire adult life?" 2. "Is it true he asked you if you would like to 'go down in history'?" 1. "Did you inhale?" And from the cbs.com Web page, my favorites of the Top Ten Extras, "the extra jokes that didn't quite make it into the Top Ten" as aired on the show: -- "So what other world leaders have you nailed?" -- "If they were alive, who would you rather nail: Calvin Coolidge or Martin Van Buren?" -- "Would you describe his thighs as 'pasty-white' or 'fish-belly white'?" -- "Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth as long as it helps nail Clinton's ass?" -- "Could your hair be any bigger?" -- "Someday a woman will be President. Will that change your lifestyle choice?" -- "At any time, did the President have improper relations with your beret?" -- "Could you demonstrate exactly what you did to the President?" -- "Are you familiar with the expression, 'You haven't done it until you've done it with a Special Prosecutor'?"