Kudos, ABC Nightline! Koskinen - Get Real!

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Hard to keep a straight face as Koskinen declared no need to worry or prepare (!) because the federal gov't is on top of this problem. Anyone want to join him to fly to NY on New Year's Eve in 1999? How about the "return" flight on jan 1, 2000?

Forest Sawyer and ABC-TV did the best job I've seen to date on television in covering the subject. It was especially nice to see an apparently rational family, the Olmstead's, preparing for Y2K. It may not be wthe path hat everyone choses to take, but it sets the stage for people to take this issue more seriously.

-- Sara Nealy (saran@ptd.net), October 21, 1998

Answers

I agree with Sara's comment about ABC's coverage. It seems that interest seems to be heating up all at once. World News Tonight (also ABC) is doing a story tonight (6:30pm EST). And Focus on the Family is doing a 3-part series starting today (10/21). So often feel as if people look at me as if I'm crazy when I talk about this issue. Hopefully this will add some credibility for some people and that they might get on board.

-- Debbie V (djvpool@frontiernet.net), October 21, 1998.

The report was fairly well balanced, but hardly more than a sound bite. I watch little TV, so I guess when I do, I expect more depth.

Sara: Koskinen didn't exactly say there's no need to prepare, and he did say that everyone needs to make their own decisions. He definitely played down the situation, and played the "look over there" game. (The DOD is only "challenged" while half the other countries in the world are in very bad shape.) There is no chance this boy will get on any airplanes on or around 1/1/2000. That's a PR stunt.

Awareness is growing, slowly. But JQP will probably procrastinate, as usual.

-- Mike (gartner@execpc.com), October 21, 1998.


Clarification: "this boy" means me!

-- Mike (gartner@execpc.com), October 21, 1998.

Overall, I was impressed with the balanced coverage. Forrest Sawyer asked a few probing questions, but didn't follow up when he certainly could have asked some very tough questions. Koskinen's comment that he wanted the American public to know everything he knows was suspect at best. He apparently doesn't read the Government's own documents (see recent Medicare [HCFA] report).

The battle lines are clearly being drawn. While I am willing to consider the possibility that it won't be TEOTWAWKI, I need more than reassurance from Mr. Koskinen. I need some solid, factual info. I don't expect to get it from the "czar".

-- Steve Hartsman (hartsman@ticon.net), October 21, 1998.


Has no one questioned the title "Y2K *czar*" in a supposed democratic republic?...even only a ceremonial title...Can you spell Drug War? I knew you could.

-- Donna Barthuley (moment@pacbell.net), October 21, 1998.


Did you notice that Koskinen READ most of his answers/script? I mentioned this on another thread. My husband and I watched it together, and it was SO obvious if you watched the pupils of his eyes. If you taped it, as I did, go back and watch him again.

-- Gayla Dunbar (privacy@please.com), October 21, 1998.

Wow. I didn't think ABC had it in them. Very fair considering the kind of pablum that usually passes for 'news'.

Koskinen served as a nice counterbalance, though if you take what he said as whole, I think he is clearly laying the foundation for further bad news down the road. This report should not panic anyone and yet it will serve as a one more wakeup call to those who can hear it.

Too bad Nightline airs at 11:35pm local time (much of the local audience who needed to see it won't have).

Awareness is growing. Yesterday while getting my teeth cleaned, I asked my dental hygenist if her office had been addressing their 'Year 2000 computer issues'. Boy o boy did I hit a raw nerve. For a second it seemed that she was the one who's teeth were being worked on. She said "No...I don't..., no No! No! You know that bank thing is scary...I just don't know...No! Our computers? I don't know..." I nodded and let it drop, she obviously will be tuned in and I was only mildly curious. She had a sharp instrument in my mouth and I didn't think it wise to frighten her further.

OK then, off to bed with myself. I'm going to sleep ever so slightly better tonight. And then tomorrow, I'm going to buy another 50# bag of rice and another 5 gallons of kerosene.

Arnie

Arnie

-- Arnie Rimmer (Arnie_Rimmer@usa.net), October 21, 1998.


I thought the cover began well, but slide into the mud with Mr. Koskinen. He certainly does read his own governments year 2000 testimony. For example, the port of Seattle commisioners own dire review of the state of Seatac airport and that they won't be ready. And they are supposed to be the most advanced in the US.

Also as to the banks being the most prepared...I disagree strongly. Just consider examples of a "small problem like a hedge fund that was going to fail and the Fed has to arrange to have them bailed out for fear of the falling dominoes. Just take a few countries that can't pay their debts. Scary.

-- tj (toddjk@aa.net), October 21, 1998.


correction...Koskinen "does not" read the testimonies ...oh well, it's late

-- tj (toddjk@aa.net), October 21, 1998.

I agree this was the best presentation of the y2k bug I have seen on TV. It was also covered in this months AARP Bulletin. Our Arizona Republic paper had a half page yesterday on Y2K awareness for private business. I believe we will see the pace accelerate henceforth.

-- ronbanks (phxbanks@webtv.net), October 21, 1998.


I won't fly with Koskinen that night, but I might put a few bucks in the flight insurance kiosk at the airport...

Brad

-- Brad Waddell (lists@flexquarters.com), October 21, 1998.


The sides of me were split on the coverage. It was like this:

The Y2K Scaredy Cat Side Of Me - I was thrilled a major news show covered it, and pretty evenly showed both sides. Was pretty basic, but I think anyone who has spent anytime on the web would think so. Pretty good primer for a newbie though

The Survial Side Of Me - The reporter who talked to Olmstead (name alludes me right now) mentioned that his property was the only one fenced in for miles. HELLO! Red flag! Why don't you just stick up a big sign saying "There is something of interest in here, come on in!" I hope he plans to take down the fence if things do go bad because otherwise he is just asking for people to figure out he has something of interest in there.

Journalist Side Of Me - What the hell? You do NOT use as your lead off a guy somepne who has something to sell in all this! It is becoming more and more obvious to me that a vast majority of journalists are just not giving a damn anymore. They see an easy end to their assignment and go for it. The use of the Olmstead's, from a journalistic view, was extremly poor. The wearing of the shirt blaring his web site, and then mentiong, after scaring you, that he had food for sale was just shotty journalism.

Rick Cowles menioning GPS had no "qualifiers" (what makes this relevant to the story) and seemed like an after thought. No credentials were given to anyone but Olmstead and Koskinen, so really why did their comments matter? Yes they said what they did beneath their names, but that is not enough. This whole show felt to me like an hour long special trimmed to the 22 minute commercial format.

Rick

-- Rick Tansun (ricktansun@hotmail.com), October 21, 1998.


Oh I dunno Rick,

>his property was the only one fenced in for miles. HELLO! Red flag!

That's the first thing that occurred to me as well. But then I considered, "This guy doesn't look too dumb." A motion-sensor or touch sensor, a few haz-mat or radiation signs, a couple of large dogs. I won't have it that good.

I agree his credibility might have been enhanced had they not aired his commercial tie-in. I'm sure he was thrilled though, and his business won't suffer, fer sure.

Hallyx

"You are all going to find out too late that it is too late." --- Paul Milne

-- Hallyx (foo@bar.com), October 21, 1998.


Did anyone notice the 'robot-like' stance of Koskinen? His head seldom moved, and he rarely blinked. Even my 15 year old son mentioned it. Overall, I was glad to see a report on y2k in the national media, but it was kind of discouraging to see a retreat which most of us will not be able to achieve by 2000.

-- Willis Thomason (BANDIT1@ontheroad.com), October 21, 1998.

I was bracing myself for a lame show. With a lot of disenformation. Granted it was too short and they skimmed on a lot, there's too much to cover in 1/2 hour, but I was amazed at the job they did. No mincing words here. Koskinen's response was predictable propaganda, but hopefully his last sentence was the one that stuck "that's a personal desicion for everyone to make." He didn't discourage preparation, coming from a government spokesman, that's as good as saying "prepare!".

The whole time I was putting myself in the shoes of my neighbors who have no clue what Y2K is. From that view, that show WAS scary. All credible sources on one of the most respected program. Nobody looked remotely like a nut. What they presented was already too much for anyone not already aware of Y2K .

Finally! my husband lost sleep last night! This show was like a seal of aproval on what I had been telling him and all the printed articles I gave him to read. The wife at the begining of the show explaining how she felt when her husband first made her aware hit him home, her son saying "i'm just going with the flow, but it's scary"...words my own son could have said as that's what his stance is whenever I discuss Y2K. But what did it for my husband knowing him is Koskinen's last words. I'm sure he expected for him to say "there's no need for panic or preparation, we're on top of it" or such lame response.

My husband tossed and turned all night...I slept a little better myself :) My hopes are up that my husband won't put monkey renches in my preparations anymore.

-- Chris (catsy@pond.com), October 21, 1998.



While I was watching Koshiken(however you spell it) I kept picturing his head morphing into a cobra, and ya' know- I think it would have been a perfect fit...

-- madeline (runner@bcpl.net), October 21, 1998.

I agree that ABC has done the best to cover y2k to this point. In the recent past they have done very good investigative work in there news shows. Being from the general Oklahoma area, I was keen to notice that they were the only network to give any credence to the story that the McViegh = Lone Nut theory might be hogwash. Maybe they will begin covering the computer issue more thoroughly. I just happened to switch through ABC at the right time last night.

I thought a lot more of the Olmstead's credence before the advertising began. Jim Lords also might want to look into reshaping the facial hair before the next TV appearance.

-- Slick (slick@hucheemama.com), October 21, 1998.


For those who don't know. Scott Olmsteads website is: http://www.prepare4y2k.com

-- Bill (bill@microsoft.com), October 21, 1998.

The Nightline piece prompted our local radio talk show host to discuss the issue this morning. Lots of wannabe techies calling in to say their PCs at home turned over ok. One, who used to own a computer, set his clock ahead and all it did was read 1983, but his programs all ran just fine except for printing the wrong date on stuff. One guy says his company replaced all 17 of its PCs, so everything was okay now. Another said the mainframes running Cobol would only need for someone to change a little code at the end of '99. And of course a handful knew that Bill Gates would come up with something. There was a LOT of scepticism about the reality of the problem. Many believed it was either a hoax or a way for computer companies to make money. The host did a good job of arguing for its reality and asked callers what they would do "if". One enlightened lady said we could all just go live with the Amish! One man actually admitted that he was putting up some extra food. No one said, when asked, that they would take their money out of the banks.

I called and thanked them for covering the subject, got a little bit in about the impossibility of a silver bullet, the interconnectedness of systems, the vulnerability of the infrastructure. The host asked if Emergency Management Services was prepared to provide food and shelter. I told him my county had no plans beyond its standard disaster plan, and that I was concerned because in a disaster outside help is available while in a y2k worse case scenario it wouldn't be.

Listening to the discussion this morning convinced me we need a lot more pieces like the one Nightline did. At the very least, it got the conversation going on our local airwaves.

-- Faith Weaver (faith-weaver@usa.net), October 21, 1998.


Great job ABC....I'm willing to bet cha that ol koski (or whatever his name is) WONT be flying but will be cancelling his flight come this time next year. I clung to the words of his when he stated something to the effect "most should make their own decisions" That was the ONLY honest thing I believe he said. As for the olms family, I agree with this thread here, I would be cautious as the fence but overall, I am a lil envious that they have that kind of $$, I am in a major city with a Major Grocery store right at the corner and a milk company directly across the street. The milk trucks are refrigerated and I can SEE IT NOW>>> scarey. I dont have the $$ to move out of the city as well I'm sure alot of people dont. It makes me ill that people like that make the big $$$ selling and profitting off of us lil folks...Brings out the Worst in me. A part of mewants to see someone attracted to their Fence and I am apologetic for these feelings. I'll be SOOOO glad when it does come as I am weary in trying to make ends meet and prepare and alway's wondering "is THIS enough, can I feed my kids with what we have?" Please accept my pre apology if I have offended any, I did not mean to. Respectfully,

Just another survivor

-- cls (private@aol.com), October 21, 1998.


[...] "Another said the mainframes running Cobol would only need for someone to change a little code at the end of '99"

Oh boy! That is scary!!!

Faith, I'm glad you got through and had a chance to say your piece! ______________________________________________________________________

-- Michael Taylor (mtdesign3@aol.com), October 21, 1998.


Koskinen looked and sounded like a bad ventriloquist's dummy act! His jaw was clenched so tight...to keep from biting his own tongue (or was it so we couldn't see the fork in his tongue!).

Texas Terri

-- Terri Symington (TJSYM@AOL.com), October 21, 1998.


Hey, it's like everyone already read my thoughts about Nightline. I watched it with my father-in-law, whose favorite thing to say is "THIS IS ALL JUST SO THEY CAN SELL THAT DAMN DEHYDRATED FOOD" A man I normally considered quite intelligent. Well, by the end of Nightline, he was VERY subdued and said he was re-thinking their New Year's Eve trip to Key West next year. At the end of the show I told him we had bought a .380 and he just nodded instead of freaking out.

Did Kevorkian or whatever the heck his name was look like an ALIEN or WHAT????? I found his appearance scary!!! And what pupils? It looked like he didn't have any! And I am with whoever said they had to try to keep from laughing. When he was done, I told the father in law, "THAT was the biggest pack of lies I have ever heard." I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

And I was impressed with Nightline's coverage of this. However, on a more selfish (??) note, I hope the media doesn't REALLY start heating up with this! We aren't done stockpiling! I did feel like it finally led some credibility to what my husband and I have been trying to tell our families for months! (We are the family kooks now.) Kellie

-- K. Heckert (bill_n_kellie91@hotmail.com), October 21, 1998.


While I do agree Koskinen was sugar coating, do give the guy a break on his looks. He just struck me as being nervous with a camera. The guy is a crisis manager, his forte really is not, nor has it ever, been television work.

Rick

-- Rick Tansun (ricktansun@hotmail.com), October 21, 1998.


Well Faith,

Congratulations, your answers on the radio show probably "planted the seed" for tens of thousands to begin learning. What they will do next, nobody knows. But their next actions are their responsibility, not yours.

I hope our comments here helped your confidence and presentation over the radio, your words (as transcribed) sounded great.

Bottom line: "Ya done good, lady."

-- Robert A. Cook, P.E. (cook.r@csaatl.com), October 21, 1998.


Thanks, Robert! This was the first time I have had a chance to hear local folks give their impressions of the situation. What a shock! I just sat here with my mouth open and eyebrows raised as I listened, waiting for my turn. Cranking up the community awareness-raising machine another couple notches!

-- Faith Weaver (faith-weaver@usa.net), October 21, 1998.

I didn't see the show, but accounts of it (not reflected in this thread) note that Koskinen apparently was pretty careful to limit his good news claims solely to the Federal Government; he had no authority over anything else. That is itself pretty revealing -- it underscores the reality that there NO ONE IN CHARGE of Y2K fixing, really, yet all governments, businesses, etc., are completely dependent on each other.

-- Jack (jsprat@eld.net), October 22, 1998.

I thought this Nightline show seemed much more tightly scripted than some I've seen. Based on my (non-professional) acquaintance with the Y2K matter, it looked to me that all these people acted as if they were walking very carefully through a minefield.

Exception: I think it was completely dumb for Olmsted to hang all his plans out in public -- if what he is getting ready for actually happens, namely the collapse of urban infrastructure, his chain link fence and one rifle will only be a speed bump for the folks who will want to divvy up his stash. His contribution may have been included as an example of excessive & unjustified reaction. Koskinen pretty well said as much in his wrapup. Which I agree was very carefully phrased.

My sense overall is that there's a pretty serious program in place now simply aimed at preventing PANIC. Not everybody's on board -- Sen. Bennett, Rep. Horn, Sam Nunn, GAO -- but you notice these alarming official reports never get any broadbased coverage.

-- Tom Carey (tomcarey@mindspring.com), October 22, 1998.


Maybe John Koskinen and the others should tell the world that we don't have a prayer of getting through this, our money is gone, the power will go off and we'll run out of food. One of you said he is strange looking. I bet that makes him even more of a liar. Another said that you hope the word does not get out until you have all your preparations made. I have never heard such a selfish statement in my life. I bet you call yourselves a Christians too.

-- Believer (OYe@littlefaith.com), October 22, 1998.

No disrespect to anyone intended BUT I suspect most of us have thought...I hope I can get most of my preparations done before the sheeple stampede! I can more afford to be altruistic (a la Ayn Rand) after I have handled my basic survival instinct....I will have a little extra to give to those who would ask and not try to take!

-- ronbanks (phxbanks@webtv.net), October 22, 1998.

My (occasional) girlfriend and I watched Nightline together. She's definitely less pessimistic than me but does agree there will be problems. All she could say about Koskinen was, "I keep waiting for his nose to break through my TV screen!" Made me laugh... but I actually have some sympathy for him. By all accounts he is a capable man, but he has an impossible job. There's no way he can tell the truth. Scott

-- Scott Johnson (scojo@yahoo.com), October 22, 1998.

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