CBS Local Station Claims Equipment Failure For Blackout During Karl Rove Story

Blogger Larisa Alexandrovna wrote about the blackouts that occured during a 60 Minutes story on how Karl Rove had helped to put Alabama's democratic Governor in jail. Alexandrovna pointed out that CBS in New York first claimed responsibility for the blackout. Now it appears the onus is back on the local Alabama station.

The New York Times reports today:

In an attempt to clear up questions about how an Alabama television station lost its signal at the start of Sunday's edition of "60 Minutes" on CBS, the management of the station, WHNT-TV, issued a statement Thursday citing equipment failure.

The station, in Huntsville, said that after a review, it had concluded that the blackout was related to a similar interruption during a basketball game the day before.

Comments

[samuraijack]

How about a good old fashioned ad boycott for these Gud Ole Boys? Let's get em where it hurts.

[BrickSykes]

Actually the "system" has insulated itself from any such boycotting. They have very "deep" pockets and could easily outlast a boycott. Like most press outlets, they can subsist with either subscribers support OR commercial support; They really don't need both. This is an indication of just how profitable that "industry" has become.

Brick

[Toonadude]

"Please, please don't let Jeff Gannon experience equipment failure"

-- Turd Blossom's prayer

[lwrd]

Can I ask why such a big deal is being made of this? Are people under the impression that there is only one television station in the state of Alabama? There are, in fact, many more stations and the episode aired in its entirety during its timeslot on the others. I know. I watched it – in Alabama.

My primary reaction was that it was a significantly under-researched piece. The point at which it became painfully obvious that most of the case was not being covered was when someone being interviewed in the 60 Minutes piece said that Richard Scrushy being on the C.O.N. board represented ‘no significant benefit.’ Excuse me. Every day I drive by the ‘significant benefit’ in the form of a 14-story glass and steel white elephant standing on Hwy 280 in Birmingham, Alabama.

Before even a renovation can be done to a hospital, the hospital must produce a Certificate of Need verifying (and justifying) the expansion or construction of a hospital. A C.O.N. is a prerequisite for building plans to be reviewed --much less approved-- by the state health department. Scrushy bypassed these requirements and began building his billion dollar white elephant . Shortly thereafter (after he sold off massive amounts of stock in his company, tanking the stock value and destroying his employees 401Ks in the process) it came out that he’d been cooking the books of his company for decades, leading to indictments of most of the top echelon executives in his company, laying-off thousands of workers (in his company and in other companies related to it) and leaving Birmingham with a billion dollar mess in the form of a half-finished hospital that has stood unfinished and unoccupied for years now. When other hospitals in town researched buying the empty hulk, they concluded that Scrushy’s exorbitant absurdity doesn’t meet hospital design requirements… because Scrushy bypassed the approval process… because he didn’t ‘need’ to go through the C.O.N. process… because he was on the C.O.N. board. This exercise in futility and waste, this catalyst for economic hardship for thousands of workers in state of Alabama was the ‘benefit’ Scrushy got out of his appointment to the C.O.N. board.

If 60 Minutes wanted to do an expose on Rove, they should certainly do so. But there’s no reason to pretend that Don Siegelman is a martyr to partisan politics. If there’s a conspiracy theory that makes sense it’s that the only way to bring down crooked CEO billionaire Richard Scrushy necessitated taking Siegalman down with him. Unfortunately for Siegalman, those who lay down with dogs sometimes get fleas. Siegalman got caught with fleas, and Alabamians who have to drive by a graffiti-tagged, unoccupied, unfinished and deteriorating skyscraper, or who lost their jobs and/or their 401ks due to Scruchy’s 2.7 billion dollar fraud are aware of this regardless of whether an episode of “60 Minutes” didn’t air in its entirety on one of many tv stations in the state.

[juangault]

Our president's brother did a $3.2 billion boo boo back in the early 90's. It was called Silverado Savings and Loan. My impression is that the overcrowding and horrid state of being in prison causes most to shy away from administering justice to the wave of white collar criminals. I think it started with Frank Lorenzo and his take down of Eastern Airlines. Enron was another example of it. Many people were hurt by that, but it pales next to what our president and his gang have done. My next door neighbor's nephew was blown up in Iraq, they didn't find anything bigger than a hand. They fly little flags in the front yard flower bed. He had two kids, 3 and 1. They paid big time. A lot of people have paid a lot for what these incredibly selfish devils have done. I'm hoping Obama will bring some of them to justice. Hope is about all we have right now.

[lwrd]

I'm hoping for Obama as well.

I'm also hoping for robber baron CEOs who steal billions and who leave their employees up a creek in addition to crooked politicians who facilitated and profited from these kinds of frauds to stay in jail for the exceedingly brief period of time with which they were sentenced.

I only wish the incarceration was longer and not nearly as cushy.

[blackwell98]

I wondered why Bush was so hot to appoint this idiot Pyror.

http://www.counterpunch.org/roberts03012008.html
"During the night the Republicans, with no Democratic voting officials present, "recounted" the ballots in Baldwin County. Six thousand Siegelman votes that had been reported disappeared in the recount. The next morning Republican Bob Riley declared himself the winner.

The theft was so hastily arranged that the thieves forgot to change any of the other vote outcomes on the ballots. All other races had the same totals as originally reported, a statistical impossibility had there actually been a computer glitch as the election thieves claimed.

The Republican attorney general Pryor refused a recount. The Bush Justice Department and Republican federal judges looked the other way, as did the Republican propaganda sheets that masquerade as news media in Alabama.

President Bush rewarded William Pryor for his service by making him a federal judge in a recess appointment as he could not be confirmed by the US Senate."

[MsLiz]

I am glad to hear another local opinion on Scrushy and Siegelman. Scrushy befriended Black preachers and started going to their churches to get them to influence the jury pool in Birmingham, and thus beat the real case against him. Then he and his wife started their own church, complete with a local TV show. What a crock. I was happy to see him convicted in the Siegelman trial, even though I think the case was weak. Someone has compiled a chart of Scrushy; it shows how he had 46 indictments, and the only conviction was forr the bribery of Siegelman. Look at all the other people at Healthsouth who were convicted for his crimes.

Siegelman had a previous corruption trial in front of Federal Judge UW Clemon, which Clemon dismissed. Clemon is a Democrat, and Alabama's first Black Federal Judge.
http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/specialreports/siegelman/

I used to watch 60 Minutes until they did a story on my former boss, AG Jimmy Evans. That convinced me that their reporting is superficial. They fawned all over him.

Karl Rove has a history in Alabama. He was consultant for all the Republicans who took over the Supreme Court of Alabama during the 1990s, in the most expensive judicial races in US history.

What Siegelman did for Scrushy is the good old fashioned spoils system. At least he didn't invade Iraq.

[mawrm]

As someone who actually lives in Huntsville, Alabama, I will say this - WHNT has had equipment problems in the past and I have been frustrated when they have had drop-outs on other programs. So I would give them the benefit of the doubt. I know a few folks who work at WHNT personally including one of their news anchors and I've never gotten the impression from them or while watching WHNT programming that WHNT is a "right-leaning" station. Yes, the time of the drop out sucked, but they did re-air the 60 Minutes segment at least twice and have it available on their website. Additionally, they'd had promoted this particular 60 Minutes episode in newscasts and covered the whole Siegelman episode to death so it would seem ridiculous to hype a story that you would then not air.

[andre]

unbelievable. here is a huffpo comment (and the first one for this article!) that is on topic, informative, and even-tempered. and now back to your regularly scheduled troll-fest (starting right on cue with "beekeeper"'s comment)

[JessWonderin]

Being too far to know the facts - I sincerly want to believe you - to believe otherwise is too scarey to accept . . . that we have actual corporate-political efforts to control what the people hear . . .

[mari2JJ]

Strange, I have contact with a relative of my first husband who also worked for that station long ago. Dousing the signal of shows that they blatantly disagree with is an old habit of this station. Turdblossom sucked it up to all those Alabama folks when he worked in those elections so I am sure the station was only too happy to blip out the show that revealed that Turdblossom was in on the fix, which is the actual malfeasance the show was uncovering. No surprise that the station manipulated the signal when the facts about the malfeasance of Rove was being revealed.

[beekeeper]

Why does this prick continue to get a forum. Karl is a murderer. Karl is an oxygen pirate and needs to be put to sleep before he spews more toxic spew on this country. Ship this dude out to Iran.

[NoFactsJustTruth]

IF it really WAS technical problems, the Alabama affiliate should have NO PROBLEM re-airing the show IMMEDIATLY. It's a highly controversial prosecution that WAS likely fabricated or it would NOT be subject to these cover-ups as it has. The PEOPLE of Alabama deserve to hear this NOW, and ONLY threats by CRIMINALS and cowboys gone 'off the ranch' could be producing these CENSORED results of this blatant abuse of power that's politically motivated.

IF it EVER comes that Dems are finally growing a pair and they go after the neoCON republiscums in the same manner that this occurred, for perhaps the first time in my life, I'd have say to myself that 'paybacks are a bitch', and just look the other way. They've treid to DESTROY OUR country, the 'Rule of Law', and they deserve whatever's heaped upon them.

Unfortunately, lobbyists have bought plenty on BOTH sides of the isle and ANYTHING the Dems of CONgress currently attempt to accomplish is only made to LOOK close, because behind-closed-door deals have ALREADY been made and the vote is for 'SHOW' ...just to 'play' the American voters.

[beekeeper]

Alabama has the brains to watch this? Please ...you people are pathetic and ARE part of the problem in this country.

The simple fact that you are homophobs and tax frauds has put this country in dire straights. You people should be held accountable for the damage you have caused this country.

Idiots....

[bumpersticker]

Your writing is so poor I can only assume it is a bigoted slime against something you really know little about. The story is about Huntsville, which at one time had the highest per-capita income in the nation, and currently has the 2nd-largest Research Park in the nation, and will soon have one of the largest biological research centers. You're just a surpremacist of a different stripe.

[JessWonderin]

hmmm . . "beekeeper" . . . a fine example of a child's left behind.

[mari2JJ]

Talk about reasonable comments. But I note the show has not been re-aired. Nuff said about the criminal behavior of this station using airways that belong to the people of the United States!!!!!

[hardlyhikin]

Well if it was an equipment failure, why don't they just re-air it? Many "60 Minutes" episodes are reruns. Oh, I forgot, that would be the honorable thing to do.

[pizzmoe]

Of course the non-airing of the segment was deliberate. Is there really any doubt?

[ReasonIsMyReligion]

Let's not lose sight of what really matters here:

3 different judges threw out 100 assorted charges before Gov. Siegelman was convicted.

Republican motto: If at first you don't succeed, try him, try him again.

[TequilaMockingbird]

Republican motto.. If the first 100 lies don't succeed.. lie, lie again..

[rchwel]

If you throw enough crap at the wall some is bound to stick, the repigcons did the same to Bill Clinton spending 50 million tax dollars and all the tax payer got was a blue dress !

[loki]

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article12998.htm

We are controlled owned and operated by corporations. So CBS can do whatever the hell they want.

[wadenelson1]

They've created more controversy and interest than if they'd just let it air.

That says to me it was a technical problem, not a planned coverup. Many people are that stupid, but certainly not Karl Rove and the other strategists of the GOP.

[syllepsis]

The genius, if you want to call it that, of Karl Rove is that he damn well TRIES to attract attention to his misdeeds, as a means of preempting the opposition, as well as projecting an image of unlimited strength.
What use is a criminal act to him if done in secret? Wisely, he leaves that to the ordinary politicians.

[shades3]

Throughout Karl Rove's association with the Bush Administration he has felt no need to pretend to be anything but what he is. He is scum whose only talent is vindictiveness and petulance, enabled by an administration which has for some reason granted him total immunity.
Karl Rove's man-crush of several years on George W Bush, along with his very special talent of being able to inflinct fatal wounds on Bush's enemies has made him virtually bullet-proof.
Blocking the broadcast of a discussion of just one of his underhanded machinations against a prominent Democrat was done out in the open, with no fear of retaliation.
Those who voted for the Bush Administration, especially the second time, have given Karl Rove to do this and worse, with no fear of any punishment.
The system took eight years to become almost totally broken. They laugh at attempts by those who look on, helplessly, whose only hope is that November comes soon.

[surfcitysteven]

They need to be investigated, I'm not joking. Remember, these airwaves do not belong to them, they belong to us. If they do not wish to broadcast because of bias on the story and they choose not to,fine. But if they choose to lie about why they blacked out the story to the very public that OWNS the airwaves they spew on, that is another matter.

[TequilaMockingbird]

except they don't use our airwaves anymore.. People were making to much of a fuss about the Media not using our airwaves in the public interest ... so.. Now you can get a free Govt. Digital/Analog converter box if you want to watch any TV at all.. Most Media especially rural local affiliates now is not subject to Public Interest laws anymore.. TADA.. nifty huh...

[pigsatthetrough]

I don't see anywhere, that a rebroadcast has been scheduled. Maybe no on cares. Maybe it is too difficult to plan two coincidental blackouts?

[guajiro]

That's a good point. Is there going to be a re-broadcast, or is this story part of the plan to pressure the station into re-airing the segment? My suggestion to the DNC would be to have a certain number of stations pre-paid to air the segment a month before the election to remind the voters what has been happening to their government.

[MsLiz]

http://www.al.com/huntsvilletimes/stories/index.ssf?/base/news/120410731565850.xml&coll=1

According to the Huntsville newpaper, WHNT has rebroadcast the segment twice. They have also put it on their website, and there is plenty of internet in Huntsville. Settle down, folks.

[syllepsis]

It's only fascism, American style.
Nothing to worry about. Old as the hills.

[bikerdude]

Its censorship, plain and simple. Fortunately there are enough intelligent folks in Huntsville to raise a stink. If it happened in some of the smaller markets, no one would have said a thing. If you think of Alabama as a big swamp, Huntsville is a high, dry island. Some great bass fishing in the area too.

[jackassa]

As somebody mentioned earlier, there's a history of selective censorship at AL stations. But, being a privately owned broadcaster, their self-censorship is protected by free speech. Only govenment censorship is illegal. As for conspiracy, the Bass brother who owned this particular station was a Kerry supporter who gave much more money to Dems than Repugs. Some issues are purely local.

What I would like to know is WHY any TV station would leave the control room unmanned without an active backup during the prime time showing of a heavily promoted program during sweeps period? That kind of negligence at a major station should have pink slips flying all over the place. BUT we now know that it WAS manned AND had two working backup recievers, according to the engineers emails. Also, someone had punched up a screen crawl across the bottom of the black screen blaming CBS for the interruption during the blackout. Why didn't that person switch to one of the backup recievers instead of waiting 8 minutes for the CHIEF engineer to amble over and flip that switch? This is a problem that could have been resolved remotely in seconds, if that.

Also, why would ANY responsible journalist worth their degree and reputation immediately jump to the conclusion that this was an "act of god", a freak accident, when the possibility of tampering was by NO MEANS RULED OUT? That's not journalism, that's being a corporate spokesperson obediantly towing the company line. Or wishful thinking.

We've had a pile of excuses, such as linking this instance to previous occurrances of Power failure and CBS switching the feed during a game. There is NO connection between the two. Declaring the station was unmanned is not true either, and. "Technical glitch" doesn't really explain why reciever 1 selectively lost video and why reciever 3 was "looking at" the wrong channel. Give us a technical answer!! C'mon reporters, dust off yer danglers and lets have a scoop!! The News Director at WHNT has staked her journalism degree on the fact that this was all an innocent comedy of errors!!

[richsmith]

This may indeed have been a FUBAR, but if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it probably was a duck. The station may be private, but the segment of the radio spectrum it flys on is not, and the cable carriers are also beholding to the public, because only finite number of them can run over, on, or under our common territory.

By the way, what is your opinion on cable neutrality? Now there's a meaty subject.