All Blog Posts from Public Eye

Pre-coverage (or pre-pre coverage as the case may be of an event two years from now) of the 2008 presidential election has included its fair share of Hillary-Clinton-will-she-or-won't-she-and-what-might-that-be-like stories. Not to mention the running (and ever-changing) lists of potential White House hopefuls.

Which brings us to the latest incisive barometer of politics: documentation of those non-politicians who probably aren't running for office. Apparently, George Clooney is not interested in such a career. But as far as the Associated Press is concerned, he “sure sounded like a politician” when he “shrugged off suggestions Monday that he might run for political office.” Clooney’s appearance at “an event where Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed legislation aimed at helping stop genocidal violence in the Darfur region of Sudan,” was apparently enough to set of alarms that Clooney was considering a run for office. And the fact that Clooney thinks his name on a ballot is “a bad idea,” was enough to generate a news story. One that’s getting moved on news sites all over the Web. No news, it seems, is good news.

Read full post…

Given the sudden amount of media attention directed at Darfur – due in some large part to George Clooney's star-powered push to distribute news about the long war-torn region, including an appearance at a protest yesterday on the National Mall – we decided it was as good a time as any to reprise a story from a few months ago that seems appropriate.

Back in October, I took a look at the overall amount of coverage that the African region gets among the major networks, which was, somewhat predictably, quite small. Andrew Tyndall reported at the time that from January through September of last year, sub-Saharan Africa received a total of 67 minutes of coverage on the evening newscasts, which represents 2% of overall foreign coverage among all three programs. And the catalyst for in depth coverage is typically the result of a celebrity-driven campaign or a visit by a major U.S. official:

Looking at network news in general, much of the coverage of the region and its conflicts is often prompted only when a major U.S. administration official visits the region or, more often, when a celebrity calls attention to it. For example, all three networks covered Condoleezza Rice’s July trip to the Sudan, although much of the content focused on a fracas in which reporters were roughed up by Sudanese officials. Don Cheadle’s film, “Hotel Rwanda,” which dealt with the genocide in that country, called attention to conflicts in the region on all three networks for several weeks. ABC’s “Good Morning America” anchor Diane Sawyer’s interview with Brad Pitt in Africa, the content of which focused primarily on Pitt’s concerns about poverty there, was the subject of a “Primetime Live” full hour and two days of coverage on “Good Morning America.”

You can check out the full post here.

Read full post…

In October, Public Eye talked to George Clooney and Grant Heslov about their film "Good Night, And Good Luck" and the state of CBS News and the modern media. With the Oscars coming up on Sunday – and "Good Night, And Good Luck" nominated for Best Picture, among other awards – we thought we'd repost the interview, which we conducted along with CJR Daily's Brian Keefer, who posted the transcript.

"This [film] isn't an indictment of how things are done," Clooney tells us. "The truth is, it would be nice when specific people in the media don't take a pass on tough questions. And that happens every once in a while. Usually it's wrapped around into fear of being called unpatriotic, and I think it's always important to have those discussions. There's no right or wrong, just the fact that, let's have the debate, because the debate's the important part."









To watch the interview, just click the box above.

Read full post…

In the life of a television news producer, I assume there is a recurring nightmare that goes something like this: You spend a good deal of time trying to land an interview with a subject who is generally regarded as famous. You actually land said interview, it goes swimmingly and when you sit down to watch the tape, congratulating yourself on a job well done, you realize that something is notably absent from the interview – sound. Well, welcome to our weekend here at Public Eye.



So, due to technical difficulties, (this is a blog, not “60 Minutes,” people) we haven’t been able to share the video of our interview with George Clooney and Grant Heslov.



Until now!!



Thanks to Bryan Keefer of CJRDaily and the tireless efforts of our video experts at CBSNews.com, we’re able to bring you the video of this interview, albeit with less-than-perfect sound quality (running time of just over six minutes).

Read full post…

At a time when broadcast journalism continues to be criticized as a medium for news that is overwhelmed by the influence of entertainment, it seems ironic that the most prolific promotion of old-school journalism comes from one of the most high-profile entertainers in Hollywood – George Clooney. Clooney's new film, "Good Night, and Good Luck," examines the period in the 1950s when CBS's Edward R. Murrow took on Sen. Joseph McCarthy during a series of programs on Murrow's broadcast, "See It Now." The film takes on all kinds of themes applicable to today’s media, not least of all the growing influence of entertainment news and the restrictions that the interests of business place on journalism.


Clooney, and Grant Heslov, a co-writer, producer and actor in the film, participated in a panel Friday evening with ABC's "Primetime Live" anchor Cynthia McFadden and Victor Navasky, publisher of The Nation, following a screening of the film at Columbia University School of Journalism. Brian Montopoli and I, along with CJR Daily's Bryan Keefer – who offers a full transcript of the interview -- got a chance to speak with Clooney and Heslov following the panel to find out what they intended the film to say about journalism, what Clooney thinks about his friend Les Moonves' "tough spot," and who he's currently dating. Just kidding about the dating part.

Read full post…

George Clooney is all over the media -- and not in an “Access Hollywood” kind of way. Unless you get your celebrity news from PBS’ NewsHour, which aired an interview with Clooney Thursday night about his new film, “Good Night, And Good Luck.” Clooney co-wrote, directed and starred in the film, which deals with CBS News’ Edward R. Murrow and his public standoff with Sen. Joseph McCarthy during the 1950s.



Since the film’s subject matter fits quite nicely into Public Eye’s purview, we’ll certainly be seeing it, but here’s a look at a few of the reviews that are already in. It looks like these critics either loved it … or hated it:

Read full post…