Did anyone hear Fox TV report that an AP reporter added a smear in a profile of the crew?

FOX TV | 2/1/2003 | TLBSHOW

[visualops]

It is entirely inappropriate and unusual to have a bio that only mentions a mistake! What is up with that? I'm sure she had numerous accomplishments that could have been mentioned, or at least a nice blurb about her family. Geez.
Whoever wrote that crap needs to be slapped around some.

[Fred Mertz]

I think AP was playing their games again. I bet Fox raised heck over it.

Thanks for bringing this to our attention and you might be right about the AP playing their games.

When I die, they'll say Mertz was a decent man but two and a half years ago he scratched while trying to sink the eight ball and lost the table and had to pay the beer bet.

That would be a smear.

[Optimist]

Perhaps they are not the stars,
but rather openings in heaven
where the love of our
lost ones pours through
and shines down upon us
to let us know
they are happy.

Eskimo Legend

[ArmchairWarrior]

It breaks my heart that AP chose to remember such a wonderful human being in such an inappropriate manner. Every year she would visit the school in India where studied and select two students to spend two weeks in the summer camp organized by the Johnson Space Center. One such student who was interviewed today said, amid tears, that she would like to follow in her footsteps, and cherished her advice to "follow your dreams." "I was not born for one corner," Kalpana Chawla had said once quoting philosopher Seneca. "The whole universe is my native land."

This is her bio from the Johnson Space Center web site:

---

KALPANA CHAWLA (PH.D.)
NASA ASTRONAUT

PERSONAL DATA: Born in Karnal, India. Kalpana Chawla enjoys flying, hiking, back-packing, and reading. She holds Certificated Flight Instructor's license with airplane and glider ratings, Commercial Pilot's licenses for single- and multi-engine land and seaplanes, and Gliders, and instrument rating for airplanes. She enjoys flying aerobatics and tail-wheel airplanes.

EDUCATION: Graduated from Tagore School, Karnal, India, in 1976. Bachelor of science degree in aeronautical engineering from Punjab Engineering College, India, 1982. Master of science degree in aerospace engineering from University of Texas, 1984. Doctorate of philosophy in aerospace engineering from University of Colorado, 1988.

EXPERIENCE: In 1988, Kalpana Chawla started work at NASA Ames Research Center in the area of powered-lift computational fluid dynamics. Her research concentrated on simulation of complex air flows encountered around aircraft such as the Harrier in "ground-effect." Following completion of this project she supported research in mapping of flow solvers to parallel computers, and testing of these solvers by carrying out powered lift computations. In 1993 Kalpana Chawla joined Overset Methods Inc., Los Altos, California, as Vice President and Research Scientist to form a team with other researchers specializing in simulation of moving multiple body problems. She was responsible for development and implementation of efficient techniques to perform aerodynamic optimization. Results of various projects that Kalpana Chawla participated in are documented in technical conference papers and journals.

NASA EXPERIENCE: Selected by NASA in December 1994, Kalpana Chawla reported to the Johnson Space Center in March 1995 as an astronaut candidate in the 15th Group of Astronauts. After completing a year of training and evaluation, she was assigned as crew representative to work technical issues for the Astronaut Office EVA/Robotics and Computer Branches. Her assignments included work on development of Robotic Situational Awareness Displays and testing space shuttle control software in the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory.

In November, 1996, Kalpana Chawla was assigned as mission specialist and prime robotic arm operator on STS-87 (November 19 to December 5, 1997). STS-87 was the fourth U.S Microgravity Payload flight and focused on experiments designed to study how the weightless environment of space affects various physical processes, and on observations of the Sun's outer atmospheric layers. Two members of the crew performed an EVA (spacewalk) which featured the manual capture of a Spartan satellite, in addition to testing EVA tools and procedures for future Space Station assembly. In completing her first mission, Kalpana Chawla traveled 6.5 million miles in 252 orbits of the Earth and logged 376 hours and 34 minutes in space. In January, 1998, Kalpana Chawla was assigned as crew representative for shuttle and station flight crew equipment. Subsequently, she was assigned as the lead for Astronaut Office’s Crew Systems and Habitability section. She is currently assigned to the crew of STS-107 scheduled for launch in 2003.

JANUARY 2003

[TLBSHOW]

Notice there was no name to the AP story instead a dead link to NASA! hmmmmmmmmmm.........

[weegee]

Dan Rather got caught in his own embarassing moment on live television (relaying a hoax in bad taste but there were some warning signs and he's been hoaxed before).

Dan Rather Coverage of Columbia Disaster

I caught the original FOX/AP biographical comment (local Fox26 broadcast Fox News) and was still home posting on FR when I heard the apology (which I was glad to hear).

[Recovering_Democrat]

I recognize prejudice when I see it.

btw, pointing to a member's length of membership only serves to emphasize that the one presenting the irrelevant information has no defensible position or lacks confidence in their position. This is an ad hominem attack.

Wow. I'm getting a lecture from a newbie, everyone! :) How quaint! She thinks she knows a man's position and prejudices from two posts!

Here's one to watch...it might be fun.

Now, potato, once again: welcome to Free Republic. Your three week membership in FR indicates a true lack of maturity about the decorum and gentility you'll find among a great majority of FREEPers, including this one.

Try to recognize it--or try going to DU, where you might be more comfortable.

[Madame Dufarge]

Reading on autopilot is sort of par for the radio course, which is why it has been a radio station prank since time immemorial to place inside the copy stack a story which begins something like "GEORGE WASHINGTON SAID TODAY HE IS PLEASED WITH THE PERFORMANCE OF HIS TROOPS AT VALLEY FORGE..."

Back in 1995 or '96, at the height of the "militia movement" hysteria by the libs, some friends and I sent a fax announcing the gathering of the Barnstable Militia on the village green at Hyannis, complete with nice graphics of Revolutionary Militiamen and all. We sent it to the two talk show hosts, as a goof.

Well, the newsperson thought it was a genuine press release and read it as part of the news.

People started calling in and wanting to know whether they should bring their firearms ID's or not.

Apparently, some people did show up; and the talk show guys said there were ATF agents all over the place waiting for the mob to arrive.

[rwfromkansas]

It may be relevant later, but not when you are producing a bio so people can remember the dead.

I hope the AP reporter that researched and printed that piece was fired.

I do not blame Shep for reading it...he wasn't looking ahead so he didn't know what was coming and with breaking news like that, you just simply read it, you don't have time to review everything you got. Now, the underling that got it off the wire and passed it off to Shep SHOULD have read it before giving it to him. If he did, he screwed up by letting it get on the air without alteration. But, in my opinion, Shep should not be held responsible.

[Alberta's Child]

The AP reporter didn't research those bios for yesterday's reporting. Those bios were compiled before the Columbia was even launched -- in yesterday's news they simply used those standard bios that NASA or someone else had prepared for the shuttle launch in mid-January.

[Dante3]

I agree with you that it is relevant. I didn't hear the comment. However, if it was a false comment, then Shep should have corrected it.

[Humidston]

I haven't read this whole thread, but wanted to weigh in and say something important....

Shepherd Smith was the SECOND person to mention that piece on the astronaut. I was switching between MSNBC and FOX and heard it on MSNBC first.!

Can't recall the name of the reader who said it, but can guarantee I heard it there before Shep picked it up.

[TLBSHOW]

Sure they did! AP is fools!

Here is another example

http://www.boston.com/dailynews/032/nation/Columbia_streaks_toward_Florid%3A.shtml

[JennysCool]

Hah! Great story! Well, they always say radio is "your immediate medium." April Fool's Day used to be especially fun!

[Gabz]

Well, they always say radio is "your immediate medium." April Fool's Day used to be especially fun!

When I worked in radio I did my darnedest to make sure I wasn't doing morning drive time on April 1.

In my early days in radio I had 2 strikes against me when it came to breaking news, I lived the closest and was the only single member of the news department - so I was always called first by the night and over night staff.

When information is changing on a minute by minute basis, pre-reading is not always an option - as I'm sure you well know.

In this matter about the only person I see that deserves a talking to about appropriateness are the people that handed the Bio information to the anchors, whether it be at Fox or anywhere else.

I really can't even fault the AP writer(s) because their main goal is to get into the newspaper, which generally appear the next day - it was standard Bio stuff.

there are times when I really and truly miss being in the newsroom - but then there are times that remind why I am happy I am no longer there.

[L.N. Smithee]

Don't blame you, I think you will find better coverage on ABC with Pete Jennings. In fact, I think you will find all around greater unbiased coverage there also. Jennings is numero uno in my book and yours too I suspect.......

That ain't the case for me by a longshot. In the "least bad of the bunch" category, I vote for Brokaw. Rather, of course, brings up the rear.

[Leisler]

People like you and your friends ought to be on lists with the authorities or something.

[Madame Dufarge]

Badges?

We don't need no steenkin' badges.