All Blog Posts from Couric & Co.
Behind the Scenes at the Cayman Islands
(CBS)
I was picking up the baton (or the branch, really) from Dean Reynolds. Dean's piece left us at the Tortuga Rum Company in Grand Cayman. I looked into a number of different possibilities to show the ripple effects of the tough economy which extend outward from the bakery. It wasn't difficult to find several possible "branches" on our tree.
My first thought was to follow the cakes to a local restaurant (Casanova) which wasn't ordering as many of the cakes because they had fewer patrons. That branch led on to a produce distributor (Cayman Imports) which wasn't getting as many orders for produce from the restaurant, and that meant they weren't ordering as much fruit from farmers back in the US. I also looked into potential branches through a rum company Seven Fathoms and a local hotel. The point is--there are so many "ripples" that extend out from each economic "wave" (forgive me) that the options are endless.
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Katie Couric's Notebook: Twitter & Iran
Hi everyone. Katie's off. I'm Seth Doane.
You've seen the video: tens of thousands of protesters packing the streets and squares of Tehran One crowd claiming election fraud and demanding a new vote. Another insisting that last week's results were fair and accurate.
This battle is being waged, not just in Iran's capital, but in cyber space. Activists on both sides are getting out their messages by using Twitter, Facebook, and other sites.
Those who dissent risk prison. Iran's government has ordered bloggers to remove anything that would quote, "create tension." But with some Iranian reporters under arrest and foreign correspondents now banned from covering demonstrations in person, these citizen journalists are there to tell the world what they see.
They are passionate and often manage to get around government restrictions on cell phones and the internet by using the technological revolution to fight a political one.
I'm Seth Doane. CBS News.
You've seen the video: tens of thousands of protesters packing the streets and squares of Tehran One crowd claiming election fraud and demanding a new vote. Another insisting that last week's results were fair and accurate.
This battle is being waged, not just in Iran's capital, but in cyber space. Activists on both sides are getting out their messages by using Twitter, Facebook, and other sites.
Those who dissent risk prison. Iran's government has ordered bloggers to remove anything that would quote, "create tension." But with some Iranian reporters under arrest and foreign correspondents now banned from covering demonstrations in person, these citizen journalists are there to tell the world what they see.
They are passionate and often manage to get around government restrictions on cell phones and the internet by using the technological revolution to fight a political one.
I'm Seth Doane. CBS News.
The Personal Side Of Hunger In America
(CBS)
CBS News correspondent Seth Doane talks with 13-year-old Lewis Roman.
My favorite part of this job is getting the chance to sit down and chat with someone I'd never normally meet. The microphone can sometimes act as a little passport into a stranger's life …
You talk with a lot of people in the course of a week or month in this line of work and sometimes someone sticks out from the rest. On this story it was 13-year-old Lewis Roman, whom I met in a shelter in Philadelphia. Lewis sleeps in one room with his mother, brothers, and sister while he goes to school and tries to have a normal teenage life. We were there to talk with Lewis about hunger and he tells his story in tonight's latest "Children of the Recession" piece on the CBS Evening News piece.
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Children Of The Recession: Psychological Impact
(CBS)
We set out to profile one teenage girl, Kristen Beltran, who lives in Montclair, Calif. When we visited her school, Montclair High School, we saw how schools are becoming the first line of defense for many students when their parents are no longer able to provide as much at home. Our story started to shifted focus a bit to reflect some of the stories we heard at Montclair High.
CBS Evening News Producer Karen Raffensperger had identified Kristen as a person to profile after she came across her blog entries. Kristen vented her frustrations about the impact of the recession on her own life. Her dad (a welder) is not working as much these days and that has strained the family's finances. At 15 years old, she'd love to get a job to help her parents pay some of their bills, but her parents will not let her because they want her to focus on schoolwork.
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Katie Couric's Notebook: 100 Days
Change. It's a word we heard over and over again when President Obama took office 99 days ago.
Today, pundits are arguing whether changes so far have been helpful or harmful, but there is no doubt as Mr. Obama's First 100 Days come to a close ... they have been busy.
The list of policy initiatives is long ... from the stimulus package to lifting the ban on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research.
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Today, pundits are arguing whether changes so far have been helpful or harmful, but there is no doubt as Mr. Obama's First 100 Days come to a close ... they have been busy.
The list of policy initiatives is long ... from the stimulus package to lifting the ban on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research.
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Katie Couric's Notebook: Kennedy Knighthood
Katie Couric is on assignment.
Senator Ted Kennedy's close friend…Senator Chris Dodd recently joked that it's every Irishman's goal to witness his own eulogy.
If that's true, it's a proud day for the guy most Americans know of as Teddy.
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Senator Ted Kennedy's close friend…Senator Chris Dodd recently joked that it's every Irishman's goal to witness his own eulogy.
If that's true, it's a proud day for the guy most Americans know of as Teddy.
Continue »
Free Clinic Helps People Who Need It Most
Seth Doane is a CBS News correspondent based in New York.
I've wanted to do a story on free clinics for the uninsured since I visited one such clinic this winter in Greenville, Miss., along the Mississippi River Delta. There I found a nurse practitioner who was working as hard as she could to serve a population that had very limited access to medical care. In the few hours that I visited this clinic, we met folks who hadn't seen a doctor in years because they couldn't afford to.
I found many of the same stories in Flint, Mich., at the Genesee County Free Medical Clinic. The clinic treats only the uninsured and is funded entirely through fundraising and the support of several local hospitals. More than 60 nurses and 60 doctors volunteer their time to help.
I learned about the clinic after reading a couple of local stories about a volunteer there, Dr. Samuel Dismond, who recently won a community service award for his work. Dismond is a thoughtful, gentle man who told me that it's "rejuvenating" to volunteer at the clinic. Though he also said that "it can be a frustration to me, as a healer, [to see] so many people we're not able to help and not help adequately." You can read my full story here.
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(CBS)
I found many of the same stories in Flint, Mich., at the Genesee County Free Medical Clinic. The clinic treats only the uninsured and is funded entirely through fundraising and the support of several local hospitals. More than 60 nurses and 60 doctors volunteer their time to help.
I learned about the clinic after reading a couple of local stories about a volunteer there, Dr. Samuel Dismond, who recently won a community service award for his work. Dismond is a thoughtful, gentle man who told me that it's "rejuvenating" to volunteer at the clinic. Though he also said that "it can be a frustration to me, as a healer, [to see] so many people we're not able to help and not help adequately." You can read my full story here.
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Healthcare And The Hickory House
Seth Doane is a CBS News correspondent based in New York.
It's a great luxury to be given six minutes in a network newscast to really delve into an issue. I was assigned to look into the issue of healthcare. But, even with six minutes – we're just hinting at some of the highlights of these very complex health insurance proposals. We take the plans at face-value and look at both of them as they're set-out by the presidential candidates.
My producers Kevin Finnegan and Heather Tesoriero found The Hickory House in Reynoldsburg, Ohio, and some of its employees, as subjects for our piece. The folks at the Hickory House were fantastic to work with and, incidentally, the food is quite good too. I think, the people we were talking with – Candy, Lisa and Randy – were compelling and have stories of the healthcare predicaments so many Americans find themselves in.
Randy, who has worked at the restaurant for roughly two decades, really wishes that providing healthcare plans was easier for them. As insurance premiums have skyrocketed over recent years, the Hickory House has had to raise deductibles and rates and fewer employees are able to afford it.
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(CBS)
My producers Kevin Finnegan and Heather Tesoriero found The Hickory House in Reynoldsburg, Ohio, and some of its employees, as subjects for our piece. The folks at the Hickory House were fantastic to work with and, incidentally, the food is quite good too. I think, the people we were talking with – Candy, Lisa and Randy – were compelling and have stories of the healthcare predicaments so many Americans find themselves in.
Randy, who has worked at the restaurant for roughly two decades, really wishes that providing healthcare plans was easier for them. As insurance premiums have skyrocketed over recent years, the Hickory House has had to raise deductibles and rates and fewer employees are able to afford it.
Continue »
The Notebook: Executive Orders
Katie's on assignment. I'm Seth Doane.
It's the latest sign that there's a new sheriff in town. With the stroke of a pen, President Obama has turned back two more Bush Administration policies. One order makes the EPA reconsider whether states may implement tougher auto emissions standards. Environmental groups cheer the move. Automakers, though already skidding on economic black ice, worry how to pay for it.
Last week, Mr. Obama reversed policies on interrogation procedures, Guantanamo Bay, and funding for international groups that provide abortions.
The new president is moving fast on his campaign promises, but it comes with a price. His approval rating is now 68 percent. That's still high, but it's down from 74 percent before the inauguration.
As he makes these tough decisions, Mr. Obama won't please everyone. The honeymoon isn't over, but after all that talk of national unity just last week, the romance might be cooling just a bit.
It's the latest sign that there's a new sheriff in town. With the stroke of a pen, President Obama has turned back two more Bush Administration policies. One order makes the EPA reconsider whether states may implement tougher auto emissions standards. Environmental groups cheer the move. Automakers, though already skidding on economic black ice, worry how to pay for it.
Last week, Mr. Obama reversed policies on interrogation procedures, Guantanamo Bay, and funding for international groups that provide abortions.
The new president is moving fast on his campaign promises, but it comes with a price. His approval rating is now 68 percent. That's still high, but it's down from 74 percent before the inauguration.
As he makes these tough decisions, Mr. Obama won't please everyone. The honeymoon isn't over, but after all that talk of national unity just last week, the romance might be cooling just a bit.
Returning To The Dakota
Seth Doane is a CBS News correspondent based in New York.
Even as an outsider, it was not an easy meeting to witness. In late October we were given a glimpse of the struggling Dakota Restaurant, including full-access to a meeting in which the boss told his staff they may soon have to close the restaurant. He gave them a timeline. If business did not improve in 30 days, they'd all be out of work.
Thirty days have come and gone and the restaurant is still open. But business has not gotten any better. It appears that the end of the restaurant – barring a miracle – is very near.
The Meert family, who own Dakota, have tried everything possible to stay open and are still contemplating making more changes. But with unemployment in the city of Elkhart at 12.2 percent, many of Dakota's former customers have lost their jobs and, without them, the ability to afford to eat out.
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(CBS)
Thirty days have come and gone and the restaurant is still open. But business has not gotten any better. It appears that the end of the restaurant – barring a miracle – is very near.
The Meert family, who own Dakota, have tried everything possible to stay open and are still contemplating making more changes. But with unemployment in the city of Elkhart at 12.2 percent, many of Dakota's former customers have lost their jobs and, without them, the ability to afford to eat out.
Continue »
