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Under preliminary review

I see on several Web sites that we are taking incoming fire for our decision to lead the broadcast with the media event at the White House yesterday. On the other hand, I noticed a few Web sites who seemed critical of the event itself. I will continue my stated practice of reading every incoming e-mail (even if we can't answer every one), and this story generated a lot. There may, in fact, be time for little else this weekend. I've already read a slew of comments and accusations. The only recurring inference that should be corrected immediately is this: Thanks in part to the time I have spent with them in Iraq, and with their families here in the states, I yield to no one else (as a review of our coverage from the region would indicate) in my attitude toward the work our soldiers do and the task they face. And a question may be in order here: as long as the coverage is balanced in its political context, would anyone really want us to cover this White House by a different set of standards than we have others in the past?

We'll keep reading... and reacting... and asking the right questions... and I'm confident our viewers will keep up their end of the deal: they will keep responding.

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Viewer feedback, the economy

When we ask people to e-mail us and share their opinions of the broadcast (or of this blog), we mean it. We've learned today there is no shortage of opinion on our decision to begin the broadcast with yesterday's media event at the White House...and after reading all comments received to date, perhaps we'll do a few words on that topic in this space at a later time.

Tonight, the economy has our attention. The damage done by Katrina is staggering... and we'll explain this evening how, beyond the pictures of the physical damage, this storm will eventually make its way into all of our homes. Kelly O'Donnell will lay out the state of play at the White House, Jim Maceda will update us on the ongoing misery in the quake zone. We'll also have coverage of the week-long rains in the Northeast and the damage the waters are causing tonight. We'll also have a report from Campbell Brown who is with troops in Iraq as they prepare for hopefully secure elections. And we'll look at two aspects of the past in the South that have both been forced to accept changing times. We hope you'll join us and have a good weekend.

Editor's note: To comment on this post or any other, just click the "Discuss" link below the post and follow the instructions.

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A big week ahead in Iraq

Saddam seems to be planning to pull a Milosevic and use his first day in court, Oct. 19, and the trial itself, to put America and the war on trial instead of himself.

I have been trying to get in touch with Saddam’s lawyer Khalil al-Duleimi for days. The guy is like a ghost. He rarely answers his phones, keeps changing numbers and is always vague about where he is as he moves between Amman, Baghdad and Fallujah. Today we finally got him on the phone and I was able to speak with him (over a terrible satellite line) for about 20 minutes. It was obvious Saddam will try to play on Iraqi dissatisfaction with the American occupation and international opposition to the war to divert attention from himself and de-legitimize the court.

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Iraq's constitution true to its history

BAGHDAD - The U.S.-brokered compromise here this week to make Iraq’s constitution flexible may have saved this country from collapsing into civil war — or at least postponed it a few months.

But it is a deeply flawed document, peppered with religious slogans, and leaves plenty of room for Shiites and Kurds to govern themselves. Iraqis vote Saturday in a referendum on the constitution, which has been the cause of rancorous debate here since it was written.

Secular Iraqis, women’s groups and Arab Sunnis — who had almost no say in drafting the constitution — have been complaining that the constitution is a formula for dividing Iraq into three pieces, with the Sunnis getting the worst slice: a triangle of desert without known oil reserves. Critics also say the draft constitution gives too much authority to Shiite religious leaders friendly to the regime in Iran.

Editor's note: Richard wrote this analysis piece for MSNBC.com. You can read the rest of it here.

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Tonight's promoted story

Tougher bankruptcy laws are on the horizon, and for many, that means it's a race against time. Americans in debt are filing for bankruptcy in record numbers -- between 1-2,000 applicants each day -- but what about those who don't make it? Chief Financial Correspondent Anne Thompson reports on how the new laws will affect families nationwide.

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Dress rehearsal

My day, at least editorially, started just after I'd chosen a spot on the couch for the 9:30 a.m. editorial daily planning meeting. I arrived early and was finishing up the newspapers when an e-mail came into my BlackBerry -- it was from a producer in our control room, watching the incoming feed from Iraq. The President was minutes away from what was billed to us as a "give and take...a back and forth" with soldiers on the ground in Iraq. The e-mail said they were rehearsing their answers to the President's questions. It went on to say they were receiving coaching from yet-unnamed government officials on HOW to deliver their lines once the President appeared.

We've all been party to media events and blatant photo ops. Members of the media have known full well when events in the past have been thoroughly scripted to bring about the desired response. While this kind of thing gets reported when germane, it's a given in political campaigns, just as it was a given during the series of town meetings this President held, the guests were invited and questions were at very minimum strongly encouraged by subject manner, if not outwardly planted. It's what the home team gets to do. It's part of politics and both parties have made it something of an art form. In this case, however, the advance billing and final execution were at odds. And what we witnessed -- the comments first rehearsed then repeated verbatim with minor deviations once the President entered the discussion -- was rather stunning to see on television, as viewers will see on our air tonight.

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Empathy for Pakistan

I've been very closely following the dispatches of our friends and colleagues in Pakistan: Correspondents Ned Colt and Jim Maceda. Having done what they're doing now gives me great sympathy for how they are living and what they are witnessing. I hope it goes without saying that all of us routinely point out that we are mere visitors... reporters and observers... in a land where so many are gone, so many have lost so much and so many are sad. At least our folks have their health, families, homes, possessions and lives to return to.

Having said that, though, it's easy to envision so many aspects of their current trip: the smell, sound and vibrations of a long hop in a Chinook helicopter, the taste of the MREs (the military meals that become, in a disaster setting, one's sole source of nourishment... and we're glad to have them) and the sight of our London and New York-based technical wizards arriving to set up shop. I can easily visualize all of their faces, right there, in the rugged and awful context of where they have landed.  They are the best in the world at what they do -- setting up a live TV signal from the side of a mountain in the middle of nowhere, using the contents of the equipment cases they carry -- and I am constantly in awe of their knowledge, talent and work ethic when serving with them in the field. It's hard work, tough duty and emotionally so draining.

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Terror tip offs in NYC?

Federal authorities today opened a criminal investigation into who wrote e-mails apparently sent to private citizens in advance of New York City’s decision to issue a public alert last week involving its subways.

Investigators are looking at the e-mails, which appear to be based on statements by government officials with knowledge of the potential threat information, which was subsequently discredited.

Earlier today a federal official said it was not clear whether the e-mails were written by government employees or by people who overheard discussion of the potential threat. But now, the fact there is a criminal investigation would indicate an interest in finding out whether government officials in possession of classified information were somehow involved in the unauthorized e-mail.

Editor's note: Pete made some calls checking into this story, as reported in The New York Daily News.

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Snapshots of New Orleans

There are a few people, and I must say, just a few, that we have seen dressed in what reasonable people would say are normal clothes. Shoes, a button-down shirt, a suit jacket. Most people here, regardless of income level, race, or previous job, are dressing in "survival" mode. This consists of boots, cargo pants or shorts, leather work gloves stuffed in one back pocket, with a respirator mask shoved into the other. They also typically have a case of water and several MREs in the back seat of their vehicle, and rubber boots and a shovel on the floor. What is most astounding about this "survival mode" is who it affects. Waiters, doctors, lawyers, ditch diggers, truck drivers, bankers, all economic and social levels, all races, all ages. Driving through the CBD (Central Business District), the Garden District and the French Quarter, you can almost convince yourself things are getting back to normal, that it's just a missed trash pickup day, or a good sized construction project in the neighborhood.

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Tonight's promoted story and our new look

One hurricane, one house, five bedrooms and 44 people. We'll tell you the story of how one family managed in the wake of Katrina as our cameras documented their struggles and joy.

Regular readers have no doubt noticed that we redesigned this blog late yesterday.  "The Daily Nightly" is now produced using TypePad, a web-based blogging service.  What's that mean for you?  Hopefully, a page that's easier to navigate, easier to link to, and easier to post comments. I reserve the right to edit comments for readability and profanity. 

The mission of the blog remains the same... it's a place for you to learn more about the reporting and decision making that happens every day as we prepare the broadcast for air.

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