[Scan-DC] Can you believe this?

[2gigch2 at comcast.net]

For the record, I work for a local TV station here in DC. As we speak I am sitting in a microwave truck preparing to go live at 6pm along the Potomac. 



And, by default (as expressed by my presence here) I am an avid scanner listener. 



PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISTS KNOW that what you hear on a scanner does not equal reality, s canner traffic and the listening of it constitutes a TIP and not CONTENT. From a TIP you are to construe possibilities and then pursue FACTS. You pursue facts by calling sources of notable reliability, and you go to the scene and look at it. 



Honestly I have litened to scanners for over 20 years and you really can tell the difference between an exercise and the real thing almost all the time. 



My industry has been shedding expensive journalists (aka: experienced) for young, cheap journalists (aka: college grads) for some time now. 



Today you got to see what that'll get ya. 



On a personal note, as I laughingly related the sequence of events to my fiancee over the phone, she noted that an exercise on 9/11 where the Coast Guard runs around showing off the guns while ceremonies were taking place might act as a pretty good deterrent, and was certainly more productive than standing around in a drizzle ringing bells. 






----- Original Message ----- 
From: cohenner at gmail.com 
To: newsmandan at yahoo.com, scan-dc-bounces at mailman.qth.net, Scan-DC at mailman.qth.net 
Sent: Friday, September 11, 2009 2:38:07 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern 
Subject: Re: [Scan-DC] Can you believe this? 

CNN Takes Heat For Coast Guard Report; Gets Slammed By White House 

CNN had some explaining to do on the air Friday morning, following its earlier report that the Coast Guard "tried to prevent a boat from entering a security zone on the Potomac River," and that shots were fired not far from where President Obama commemorated the attacks on Sept. 11. 

The network caused a stir on Twitter with the following: "BREAKING NEWS: Suspicious boat in river near Obama in DC. Police scanner reports of shots fired. Circumstances unclear." 

It turns out the Coast Guard was involved in a training exercise. 

Jeanne Meserve, CNN's homeland security correspondent, went on the air after to explain why the network reported on shots being fired. 

"We saw things happening on the water," she said. "We could see boats racing around. And we were listening to Coast Guard radio traffic." 

Meserve said she heard on the Coast Guard radio that 10 rounds had been fired. 

CNN had based its initial story on reports from police scanners that shots had been fired, but had no independent confirmation. 

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told POLITICO that CNN should attend the Coast Guard's noon press conference where they'll explain the exercise on the Potomac. 

"My only caution would be that before we report things like this, checking would be good," Gibbs said. 

Later, Gibbs and CNN's Elaine Quijano had a heated exchanged during a gaggle with reporters, where the press secretary said it was "a little hard to divorce the media coverage" from her questions. Gibbs said his criticism wasn't of her, "just write large at CNN." 

"Look, if anybody was unnecessarily alarmed based on erroneous reporting that denoted that shots had been fired, I think everybody is apologetic of that," Gibbs said. 

CBS News Radio White House correspondent Mark Knoller, on Twitter, said that "some networks have a lot of explaining to do--misinterpreting police scanner messages as shots firect [sp?] by the coast guard. He added: "As Walter Cronkite used to say, get it first, but first, get it right." 

Matt Drudge singled out the network, with a blaring headline: "CNN PANIC IN DC ON 911 ANNI." 

A CNN spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Following the incident, ABC News' Lisa Stark reported: The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed to ABC News that flights departing from the Washington D.C. Ronald Reagan National Airport were stopped for 20 minutes as a precautionary measure after media reports of shots fired by the Coast Guard on the Potomac River. 

FAA officials say 17 outbound flights were affected but arrivals were not impacted. Departures stopped at around 10:08 a.m. and resumed at 10:29 a.m. 

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