******Oh my god.....did you hear what Rita Cosby said?????*****

[cboy4]

Now that everyone has calmed down - - -

During the the 3PM Eastern hour regarding the NYC building crash, Rita Cosby said on live MSNBC coverage that it was 100% clear that it was A HELICOPTER THAT CRASHED.

Anyone else notice that?

Presumably, MSNBC keeps this awful woman on the air for her incredible reporting contacts/sources.

Certainly NO television market in the country would hire her with that god-awful fingernails on the chalkboard throaty voice.

However, THIS IS WHAT SHE SAID ON LIVE T.V. (I just copied the transcript off of my DVR recording)

COSBY (breathlessly and seemingly on the verge of panic) - - "New York officials are telling me that it is indeed a helicopter, uh, that they are sure of that 100 percent. They just told me.......They did

say, this is according to an FAA contact I spoke with, that there was a helicopter reported over the area at that time around the river - around the East River which of course isn't too far away, so that

may help them if indeed it is this specific helicopter cuz they can track it down........but I have been told that it is a helicopter......and again the headline that we just learned is that it is a helicopter...

CROSSTALK - - "We need to get to Tom right now!"

COSBY - - "And Tom Costello (sp?) I understand has some more details. Tom, what do you know?

TOM COSTELLO - - "Well Rita, the FAA in Washington says it believes now that this may have been a fixed wing, NOT a helicopter, a fixed wing aircraft flying under visual flight rules..."

This is an unforgivable mistake that occurred because nothing, including facts, was going to get in the way of Rita getting something on the air before Greta and Nancy Grace (so MSNBC could shoot a promo for an upcoming breathless special on the crash.)

Rita needed and wanted to try to get it first instead of confirming information.....double sourcing......doing everything you're supposed to do as a journalist (especially a highly paid network personality) during a breaking news event.

How can MSNBC keep her on the air?

Some may be saying, yea, so what? Everyone knows she sucks.

Well, the reason I'm so angry is one day, she's going to cause panic that gets people killed because she sensationalizes every damn thing she says.

There's smoke near the subway, my sources say it's mustard gas, run for your lives......

She is a disgrace and she should be thrown out on her ass for misleading the public during a breaking news tragedy.

[DRoseDARs]

1. Love the picture, and the irony that there was no story in it afterall. nt

[Kingshakabobo]

2. OMG! That picture is like something out of "Dawn Of The Dead"...

....or some other ghoul clawing at the window movie.

[area51]

5. That picture is like something out of "Dawn Of The Dead".

You know, I was just thinking that the people in that car need a cross to ward her off.

[deutsey]

11. LOL!

[Rex]

3. OMFG!

"Hey hey hey you hey you hey you!" "Look at the camera, look at the camera!" "Okay."

"How do you FEEEEL right now?" "Foxnews viewers have a right to know!" "How do you feel!?"

[cboy4]

10. I'm surprised she didn't pull out a rifle and shoot out the tires to

get his car to stop so she could conduct an exclusive!!

[Alacrat]

4. There was a helicopter crash in FL today

she may have gotten her stories mixed up. What does her fingernails and voice have to do with anything? Are women reporters only worth a damn if they are pretty? I don't care for her either, but her looks should have nothing to do with her ability to do her job. We are supposed to be above these sort of judgements.

[cboy4]

9. Why don't you read my post thoroughly before you humiliate yourself?

(A) I never said anything about her looks, now did I? Where did I say she wasn't "pretty?"

(B) I never said anything about her fingernails now did I?

What I said was her voice sounds like someone scraping their fingernails on a chalkboard.

She is well known for her unacceptable broadcast voice.

And finally......are you actually trying to say she mistook an alleged helicopter crash way, way down in Florida with a plane crash into a New York City skyscraper?

Come on now. Wake up.

And please make this the last time you accuse me of criticizing a female journalist for not being competent because of her looks.

Nowhere did I say or infer so. Shame on you.

[Chipper Chat]

6. Let's take another look at this wonderful picture.

It says all you need to know about "journalism" the past 10 years or so (since O.J.)

Ernie Pyle, where are you?

[Justice Is Comin]

7. cough.

[Cooley Hurd]

8. She jumped the shark long ago...

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

12. I give it five minutes...

...before the conspiracy theorists start using this to "prove" that it was a helicopter, while simultaneously lambasting the corporate media as a tool of the ruling junta.

[Rex]

35. LOL

[Oeditpus Rex]

13. Here we go again

She didn't say it was a helicopter. She said a source said it was a helicopter.

From your own transcript, with my emphasis added:

"New York officials are telling me that it is indeed a helicopter, uh, that they are sure of that 100 percent. They just told me.......They did say, this is according to an FAA contact I spoke with..."



Christ, I get tired of this.

[phylny]

14. I was listening to WCBS newsradio, and not once did they say that

NYC officials said it was a helicoptor. What they DID do was give information in a measured way, being careful not to give out false information. What Governor Pataki DID do on WCBS (and I can't stand the man) was make certain that the information he was given by NYC officials, but that was not verified was NOT given out over the air. What they DID do was point out that a plane left Teterboro that could not be accounted for on radar. What they DID do was NOT connect any dots that they couldn't verify. What they DID do, when they found out the plane was registered to Cory Lidle was make certain that listeners knew that often a plane is leased out to other flyers, and that we could not assume that Lidle was on board until the information was confirmed.

See, a long time ago, I got a minor in journalism. So believe me, I get "tired of this" kind of reporting that Faux "personalities" do. It utterly stinks.

[cboy4]

17. Very, very well said.

[Oeditpus Rex]

22. Pataki is a politician

So, naturally, he's going to be more careful with his words than a TV reporter.

Do not assume I'm defending Faux or any other news organization. I despise Faux. But this time, the fault is not the reporter's. She had a supposedly good source and the source blew it.

And, you minored in journalism? I was a newspaper editor.

[Berry Cool]

15. But why did she have to say "100 percent"?

Lord, this is the second time the woman's been burned! The first time was when she told us all the Sago miners had been confirmed alive!

You'd think she'd know better by now!

And to think people tut-tutted at Keith Olbermann because he supposedly sent an email to someone describing her as "dumber than a suitcase full of rocks"? If the Manolo Blahnik fits, lady...

[cboy4]

16. Why are you saying "here we go again?" She got the information wrong.

Why in the world would she believe this "source" who obviously didn't see the accident?

And why in the world didn't she try to confirm the information with more sources.

We know she didn't because it's ridiculous to believe numerous "officials" would have erroneously said it was a helicopter that crashed.

You know as well as I do that you can go on the air and say ANYTHING if you attribute it to an "official" or a "source."

You're NOT supposed to take something at face value...especially to get it on the air first.

So fine, you be tired.

But I'm tired of this woman sensationalizing her work -- especially during a breaking news event when terrorism had not been ruled out.

[Oeditpus Rex]

19. You want less sensationalism? Don't watch Faux

An FAA rep is presumed to be a solid source. If one verifies it was a helicopter, you run with it.

The source blew it. She didn't.

I fucking despise Faux, but this "shooting the messenger" bit has to end at some point.

[cboy4]

23. You really need to get your act together. She does NOT work for

FOX........she works for MSNBC and has been doing so for more than a year.

Now it's understandable why you defend someone getting her facts wrong.

You're unable to get the facts right yourself.

[Oeditpus Rex]

25. Whatever

I don't watch any of them. I don't have cable, and I find them all less than credible.

My previous point stands. They weren't "her" facts, they were her source's.

[cboy4]

26. Yea, it's clear you don't watch any of them, and it's clear you know

nothing about journalism. (even though you posted that your were allegedly an editor)

No wonder you're a fan of her sloppy journalism!!!

You made a big mistake identifying Cosby as an employee of FOX and responded with "whatever" when I corrected you.

Here's some news for you: Getting information wrong is not the fault of a source.

It's the fault of the reporter for not finding anyone else to substantiate the information provided by a source.

I know too much about this subject for you to lecture me about your ridiculous nonsense.

Don't blame the source. It's not the source's job or responsibility to get the information right for a report on live network television during a possible terrorist attack!

The buck stops with the reporter. It's the reporter's ultimate responsibility.

Wake up.

[Oeditpus Rex]

27. You're motivated by hate

You exist here solely to post "OMG!!! THIS IS HUGH!!!11" while waving your arms and flailing about like some crazed "media watchdog."

Yes, the buck does stop with the reporter, but the reporter can't control sources who give bad information.

Did you notice that many posts yesterday cited various media as reporting that it was a helicopter? Apparently, the object of your derision wasn't the only one with a poor source.

As for "substantiating," you people seem to think that reporters have the time or inclination to check every single fact with 28 highly placed sources. I would remind you that she got this from an FAA official, and the last time I checked, the FAA is the definitive source on aviation matters. Should she have also called the director? The Wright Brothers? Igor Sikorsky?

Now — you just go ahead with your hatred and prejudice, and don't bother considering other aspects of a situation. It's too much for your beautiful mind, isn't it?

[cboy4]

28. My post was directed toward a single journalist who is notorious

for her sensational reporting skills -- a journalist you think works for FOX.

As for all of your personal attacks, how sad for you.

Just because you lack the critical thinking skills necessary to discuss issues at DU in a civil manner without name-calling....that doesn't mean you can't work to improve your skills.

Maybe then, we can have a constructive debate, without you figuratively hanging up the phone on me after calling me a bigot.

As it stands now, you should be embarrassed.

edit: correct spelling mistake, because unlike some, I'm interested in getting it right.

[Quantess]

29. Why are some DUers mad at you

for ripping on Rita Cosby? I don't get it.
She's fun to rip on.

Add: And by the way, she does a disservice to female newscasters everywhere by speaking in an artificially low voice, not to mention a disservice to her own, abused, vocal folds! Why should female newscasters have to speak in a deep voice?

Rita sucks.

[cboy4]

30. There are 95,822 registered members here, and this is the only

person I've run across who has been sooooo defensive of this poor excuse for a television news reporter.

This person has to be a relative.

Sure, I can write a two million word post on how friggen annoying she is.

However, I was simply trying to point out that first and foremost, she's a lousy journalist.

[LibraLiz1973]

37. the TRUTH is that a reporter should NEVER report on things that aren't

100% proven.

Frankly, thats a big part of how this country got into this Bushie mess.

[Mr_Spock]

32. lol

Commenting on shit you know nothing about!

[Rex]

33. And she just went ahead and reported her 'sources' error

without verifying it. But you go ahead and defend her.

[Poiuyt]

18. I did not hear Rita say that - I have to mute my TV whenever she comes on

I cannot bear to listen to that voice!

[Kingshakabobo]

20. She doesn't bother me THAT much but I'm under STRICT orders..

....from the boyfriend to use mute whenever she is on.

[Pathwalker]

24. She has a voice made for silent movies, and a face

made for radio. Read that on DU a few weeks back - still makes me laugh.

[LSK]

21. the MSM media is wrong?

How is this earthshattering news???

Isnt this just business as usual?

[Parche]

31. rita

Has she taken her Metamucil yet? She sounds/talks like she hasnt pinched a loaf in a month

[cboy4]

40. That's a disturbing picture!!

LOL!!

[LibraLiz1973]

34. omg- that picture is classic

No, I didn't hear what she said because I SERIOUSLY CANT HANDLE HER VOICE!!
She has "cokehead voice".

She's a hack and an awful reporter.
I saw she was reporting on it and went right over to CNN

[texas1928]

36. Well when she was reporting on the Amish school shooting.

She sounded so excited and happy about it, I thought she was going to wet herself.

Plus when they were showing the firemen in a line moving through a field. She asked outloud " I wonder if they are looking for evidence" I wanted to call her and say "NO THEY ARE LOOKING FOR THE CHIEF'S CONTACT, YOU STUPID B****!"

[cboy4]

39. "thought she was going to wet herself..."

[texas1928]

45. I was not watching her.

But was listening while I was working on a report. And the way she was reporting it, I would have thought she was jumping up and down and clapping. She was giddy sounding.

[WI_DEM]

38. her voice is even more grating than Nancy Grace

[Quantess]

44. Hell, yes!

Her voice is not only annoying, it's abnormal.
I am not kidding when I say she needs a Speech Pathologist!
Her vocal folds are probably in unhealthy condition, due to vocal abuse.

[Roon]

41. Is that Rita clamoring over the fake johnbenet murderer?

How emabarrassing for her.

[Jack Rabbit]

42. No, I didn't

Image from Kill Your Television

[meisje]

43. This is how you spend your free time?

[cboy4]

46. How about trying to formulate a complete thought if you're going to

bother responding to my stuff?

"Is this how you spend your free time?"

Uhhhhhhh,,,,,,