CNN still basking in Northwest Airline terror incident coverage; FNC, MSNBC aim for cover

As the other networks and cablers latch on the big story out of Detroit regarding the Nigerian national who tried to blow up a Northwest airliner, CNN is still basking as the ONLY major news network that covered the story live.

CNN's Ali Velshi, along with various correspondents and terrorism analysts, began its coverage early Christmas night and signed off at 11 PM EST. While the story gained traction, Fox News channel was airing Bill O'Reilly re-runs and MSNBC went with canned Christmas programming. Only later did Fox provide an update in its news cluster well into the evening.

Eyewitness accounts direct from passengers on the airbus 330 began in earnest on CNN; only now are the other cable outlets, and networks, both radio and TV, covering the incident in more detail.

Had the story taken a more tragic turn, conventional wisdom among industry observers, was that Fox, MSNBC and the other over-the-air networks would have called in their ace anchors and reporters, but late into the night on Christmas, who was around? Nobody.

Fortunately, for CNN and its viewers, both nationally and internationally, Velshi and a small production staff were able to get the story out; remarkably, in addition to the passenger accounts, CNN had correspondents in both London, (where it was in the wee hours) and Washington that provided details about the suspect and his status on the national terror 'watch list.'

Given the recent ratings and its plunge into the third-rated cabler, this momentary coup couldn't have come at a better time for the embattled network, but what took place on Christmas demonstrates CNN's chief major asset: even at the most inopportune time; on a day and early evening when most people were still celebrating the holiday, CNN was on top of a major story. Alone.

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