Whether on the BBC, ITV, CNN International, or The London Times the Iraqi war was the lead, with fallout from the Abu Ghraib prison still trickling down, and the story about the "wedding" bombing still fresh.
Editorial cartoons in the Times featured much ado about Bush almost every morning. One particularly stinging satire depicted Bush and his generals sitting around a table with heads in hands. The president's gag line? "Maybe we should tell them it's a gay wedding!" And Prime Minister Tony Blair is raw meat for his allegiance to the US in Parliament and every day on the news. If you listen to the media there, his days in office are numbered.
So as we took in the sights and the $6-a-gallon gas, and marveled at $8 for a pack of cigarettes, the uneasy feeling we got is that outside our serial self-involvement in this country, we're perceived as reckless "cowboys" in the only country that's actually supported us and sent 8,000 of its troops to Iraq. Cheers, indeed.
AS THE DOOR REVOLVES Summertime is coming and going time in Medialand. Arriving in the QC to start her morning and noon anchor job at Channel 9 is Erica Bryant Fields, sliding up all those market notches from Charleston. (Quite the "feeder" market for Charlotte talent lately.) Look for her to start June 28.
David Rhew is leaving WBTV after 18 months to go back to work for his previous employer, CPCC. He'll be the general manager of the college's Channel 17. "It fulfills my goal of getting to broadcast management," Rhew says. Right now Channel 17 offer mostly class instruction for the school, but Rhew hopes to add more community relations and longer-form shows to the mix.
As for the Coca-Cola 600 being a relatively dull event this year, you have to admire the job Fox Sports does with a race. With a sharp announcing team, the best graphics in the biz, and demos and gee-whiz camera work -- it has to draw even the most reluctant viewer on the track. Indy? It's dead.
Stay tuned.