As 2007 comes to a close …

Today's Buzz ...


I was originally going to title this entry “One Hour in Pakistan”, as an homage (yes, I'm kidding) to Friday’s AC360°, but as the day has worn on and I've become more 'sentimental', as many do on New Year's Eve, I won't do a full-fledged "rant". That's not a good way to end the year. With that said, however, I normally try not to criticize too many decisions that CNN makes about its programming, as I consider them to be the experts and I’m the amateur. However, there are certain occasions when something happens that’s so blatantly confusing – from a viewer’s perspective, as well as sheer logic – that I must at least briefly comment.

What was the purpose of sending Anderson Cooper & Company to Pakistan on Thursday? A sixteen hour flight to get there – with most of them sent back after the Friday evening broadcast. And a sixteen hour flight back to NYC. My best guess is that they spent (significantly) more time on the plane than on the ground in Pakistan. After such a ‘build-up” both on-the-air and online about AC360° being "LIVE" in Pakistan – the one hour itself yielded nothing new – no new reporting footage, no really new insights that hadn’t already been discussed earlier in the day. Even if the group didn’t land in time to cover the Bhutto funeral, there is plenty of news to be found in a nuclear-armed Islamic country moving towards the brink of political crisis. I assume that’s why Peter Bergen remained, along with John Vause, Zain Verjee and now joined by Ali Velshi.

Well, I think that’s probably enough of my aggravation over the ‘recall’ of Mr. Cooper – ostensibly to host the NYE celebration in Times Square. As was stated several times at the AC360° Yahoo group on this issue, at the bottom line – ratings rule!!!

A few caps from Friday’s program:









Moving on ... I usually turn a little introspective on NYE, and since this is a “news-oriented” blog, I’m curious about which stories will end up being considered the “top” ones for 2007? The Virginia Tech Massacre? The Minnesota Bridge Collapse? The Crandall Canyon Mine Disaster? The Bhutto Assassination?

I'm also curious about which ones will have impact beyond 2007? Will college campus security measures be increased throughout the entire country? They have been on some campuses, but certainly not all. Will the government pass legislation to provide adequate funding for infrastructure renovation, and ensure accountability for the money that's allocated to various contractors? They haven't done so yet. Will mine safety improve, and if so, how will improvements be monitored? And will Pakistan (and its nuclear arsenal) end up in the hands of al Qaeda - or the Taliban? For the world's sake, let's hope not!

I am looking forward to tonight – it’s always nice to celebrate with friends and to join in the spirit of hope and renewal. And I’m one of those who doesn’t make resolutions, but feel free to share yours if you’d like. I always like to hear what others are planning for – sometimes I’m inspired to ‘break’ my rule and follow suit with the same or similar resolution!

As for what we can look for tonight on CNN:

From CNN.com - AC 360° New Year's Eve LIVE: We Bring the Party to you. Bring in '08 with Anderson and comedian Kathy Griffin will be LIVE in Times Square on New Year's Eve ... it's an unpredictable evening you will not want to miss! Erica Hill and Kiran Chetry will be reporting from the Times Square ‘crowd’, John Zarella will be counting down in Key West once again with the “Sushi Drop”, and Gary Tuchman will be joining the Central Park run at midnight, as he did last year, but be on the lookout for him to (possibly) rollerblade this time – that would be extra fun to watch!

Musical guests include: Earth, Wind & Fire from Las Vegas, Grammy Nominee Miranda Lambert, just nominated in the Female Country Vocal Performance category, and Widespread Panic from Atlanta.

And join in with the i-Party link – send in your videos, photos and best wishes – maybe you’ll get to see your party on TV!!

Here is Anderson’s blog entry for today:

Monday, December 31, 2007
What's Your New Year's Resolution?

Ah, New Year's Eve. Here it is once again. I was trying to remember what my New Year's resolution was last year, but the truth is I can barely remember last week, let alone a whole year ago. This year I've resolved to blog much more often. Everyday, actually. We'll see how long this one lasts. What is your New Year's resolution? Did you keep last year's?

As a kid I was never a big fan of New Year's Eve. There always seemed something slightly menacing about the event. New York City streets are packed, people are drunk, it always kind of freaked me out. Then as an adult, I didn't like it much because there was always so much pressure to have a good time, and you can never find a cab to go home in when you realize the party you're at is lame.

Now I really like New Year's Eve because I'm working and Times Square is actually a really fun place to be. When the ball drops, and the confetti descends I like nothing more than silently watching the explosion of euphoria. Frank Sinatra's voice sings New York, New York. People hug each other and cheer. There really is nothing like it.

This year should be especially fun because Kathy Griffin will be joining me live in Times Square. She'll give us her top ten moments of 2007 and who knows what else. Erica Hill and Kiran Chetry will also be in Times Square helping us ring in the New Year. As those of you who've watched before know, we like to show you how the New Year is celebrated around the world and around America. John Zarrella will once again be in Key West, Florida, for the drag queen drop, Kareen Wynter is in Vegas, and Sean Callebs is in New Orleans.

We'll also hear from Miranda Lambert in Atlanta, Widespread Panic is there as well, and Earth, Wind and Fire will be in Vegas. It looks like it may be a cold night, so break out the bubbly, or the cookies and milk, and snuggle up with us tonight starting at 11p ET.

Also we want to hear from you. Send us your resolutions, your party pictures, whatever you want to cnn.com/iparty. We'll show many of them on the air, maybe yours ....

-- Anderson Cooper
Posted By CNN: 11:26 AM ET

And don't miss the year-end special with Tom Foreman tonight at 10:00 PM EST: All the best ... and worst: AC360° 2007 .... What were the best moves in culture, business, politics, law and entertainment? More important: What were the worst? Tom will wrap them all up with a big red bow in ALL THE BEST, ALL THE WORST; a free-wheeling hour of the sideshow of life ... fistfights in legislatures, stupid
criminals, smart entrepreneurs, clueless celebrities, and hapless courtroom maneuvers. The program will feature all the year's video highlights and low lights, along with interspersed commentary from a panel of surprising observers. It will be fast, funny, and full of shockingly inappropriate assessments.

And last to be posted – but first on my mind – thank you to everyone – and I mean everyone – who has supported this “little effort” in one way or another. From those who read and comment, to those who just read, to those who contact me with comments and suggestions, to those who unknowingly (or maybe knowingly) give the blog (and our companion Yahoo group) the occasional ‘mention’ – please know that it’s all very deeply appreciated.

I don’t know if Anderson will be able to keep his ‘resolution’ to blog every day – I can certainly testify that it’s very difficult, even if it’s (sort of) part of your job! Imagine those of us that are doing it for – allegedly – FUN! But I’ve learned so much and experienced so much in such a short time – I wouldn’t trade it for anything!!

I’ll hopefully post a few NYE screen caps before midnight in the West – we’ll see how the party goes here on the ‘left coast’ – but if not tonight, then first thing tomorrow, with a review, of course!

And yes, for those wondering, we have answers from none other than Gary Tuchman!! BTW – Gary won our little ‘straw poll’ for substitute NYE hosts, if AC hadn’t made it back in time. He won by a landslide, but we don’t want to slight the others who were nominated!! :-) I’m planning on posting the Q&A in two parts on January 2nd & 3rd, so be on the lookout for it!!

Have a fun, fun, fun (and safe) celebration!! See you in 2008!!