So You Think You Can Cover A Violent Protest?

CNN’s Don Lemon (L) and Chris Cuomo (R) deal with uninvited guests (center) in their Ferguson, MO live shot. Vine screen grab courtesy Tim Burke. 11-24-14.

Don Lemon of CNN’s such a douchebag. He’s so douchey he’s trending on Atlanta Twitter, and not in a good way. Mostly he’s trending for being too white-ish and jabbering on-air about smelling weed burning in Ferguson, MO last night, 11-24-14, as the non-indictment of Officer Darren Wilson news broke. Everyone loves to hate on Don Lemon. Me too!

That said about Lemon’s douchiness, as an aspiring cub news producer I once got caught-up in the midst of a downtown Atlanta protest that turned violent. Blacks were angry (Maria Saporta reminded me of what sparked the outburst) and were massing, yelling, marching, and breaking windows along Peachtree Street, and assaulting, brutally, innocent people who just happened to be near the protest and thus convenient targets.

When it became crystal clear there was no one around to protect me (I don’t think I ever saw a single cop in the mix), and after having had someone I thought was a friend scream ugly things in my face (she was part of the protesting crowd; I was news media covering the event; that’s what unnerved me the most), and my crew concentrating solely on getting the shot and not giving a rat’s ass if I was attacked, I immediately dropped my assignment like a scalding hot potato, ran to the edge of the protest, hailed a cab, and beat a swifty retreat back to the newsroom.

Never again would I put my own life in danger just to “get the shot.” I clearly got culled from any future potential war correspondent herd that day. Whew!

In other words, a violent protest in America is a very scary place to be in the middle of. Kudos to anyone in news who lasted through the night in Ferguson. (Including His Douchiness, Don Lemon.) They’re a hell of a lot braver than I’ll ever be.

The Hypocrisy of CNN. Seriously.

Oh this is classic! CNN mocks all-things Occupy Wall Street, as a movement. But with its other hand doesn’t hesitate to solicit the movement’s media – without paying for it! Via iReport.

I hope no one’s stupid enough to give away their media to a corporate hater. At least charge ’em for it. Jeez.

Note the insertion of the iReport ads soliciting free media stuck in here.

Practice safe media, kiddies!

CNN’s iReport – All About It

Here’s a feature that aired on CNN-International about CNN’s citizen journalism platform, iReport. It includes bons video motes from me, SpaceyG. More about reporting on iReport here.

If It’s Opinion You’re Wanting…

Not only has “regular” CNN outpaced Fox News in primetime numbers for the first time in six years lately, little sis Headline News is bopping to the top too. From Cox Plantation News Service’s David Ho:

In February 2005, Jautz, CNN Worldwide’s executive vice president, began overhauling CNN’s sister network (Headline News), injecting prime time with loud opinion shows. First came legal talker Nancy Grace and then conservative radio host Glenn Beck.

Three years later, the network is celebrating its makeover anniversary with bigger audiences, even as its hosts continue to rile critics and stir questions about the boundaries between opinion and news.

“It was a huge experiment and it was hugely successful,” Jautz said in an interview. He said Headline News has 81 percent more viewers between 7 p.m. and midnight than it did before the format change, which also includes “Showbiz Tonight.”

Full story here.

Touch My Screen, John King Baby

Doing what we iPhone users do all day long, CNN’s John King wowed his “Best Political Team In The Universe” viewership last night with his deft hand on the push-pull touch screen during nail-biting primary returns. Whoever sold CNN that lovely piece of gear trained King well on it.

UPDATE: Turns out the “Magic Wall” creator himself, Jeff Han, was present last night at CNN headquarters for personal tips ‘n tricks. From TVNewswer:

On the far end of the studio, Abbi Tatton was running through her script for her segment, and the accompanying work she’d have to do with CNN’s newest sensation, the “Magic Wall.” Standing a few feet away, was the Wall’s creator Jeff Han. Not its technical name, we learned what it’s actually called and what the Magic Wall can do.

Han is the founder and CEO of Perceptive Pixel, which manufactures the technology for the Multi-touch Collaboration Wall. It is more prominently used in other areas, like defense, finance and health care.

“Everybody knows about the wall now,” Han says. “People are scrambling to come up with something similar.”

He also credits John King, the master of the Wall, as a great demonstrator of his product. Han was on hand for primary coverage in case there were any problems. Before King’s segment about the Texas counties in play, he works with Han to see how closely the map can zoom in, and how quickly it can zoom back out.

Now everyone’s gonna have to have one of those babies!

iReport Just Rocks

CNN’s new iReport is a news new media multimedia-ist’s dream come true. Watch out YouTube.

Advice For Indie Media Hunter-Gatherers

The Oversized Mouth Of Chez Pazienza

And boy don’t we love it! Young Chez Pazienza will not shut-up with the pooping on the heads of CNN bigshots. My kinda guy. If I was hiring, I’d snap Loudmouth Chez up in a second… if CNN hired him back. Which they’re not likely to ever do. From the scene of the blogging crime, The Huffington Post:

My only hope is that Ed Litvak’s departure from American Morning will somehow be good for the show, although I’m inclined to think that until someone puts an arm around Jon Klein, writes something nice about him, then pushes him out the door, nothing’s going to change. It’ll just be more of the same nonsense.

(FYI, Jon Klein is the Pres. of CNN. I love how Chez just by-passes all the little people and goes straight to the top.)

Screw ’em, hon… you were born to the blogosphere. Now go take your rightful place in one of the many mansions to be found here.

UPDATE: Well, he already has. Should have known. Chez’s delightfully titled blog is here. Which of course makes me want to now, instead of going to the gym where I should be, commence digging around for an old, dusty photo of this editor as a teen in that the same Parisian place Chez’s blog is double-ententred for.

That’s Our Tom! On CNN Tonight

Atlanta’s main PR-man-about-town, Tom Houck, was featured on CNN in a video package available here, remembering his days with MLK, Jr. and the Civil Rights movement. Text story here.

Houck’s still out and about in the ATL, making all the right scenes and outpacing younger PR guns who seem cluelessly, ahem, somewhere else. In other words, in the fake, processed world most contemporary PR operates in, I wouldn’t look for any of them to get arrested at the front lines of fighting for something they believe in… as did Houck when he was the young gun. Unless of course it would get their client on GMA the next morning, but I diverge…

Tom will be live at 6pm tonight on CNN to take your email questions too.