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CNN Live At Daybreak

Talk of CNN: Protection from Telemarketers

Aired December 19, 2002 - 05:36   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well, we've got all those calls from pesky calls of telemarketers now to think about. Now the government is stepping in to provide some protection. Federal telemarketing rules have now been revised, which could give you some much needed silence. By the spring, you should be able to enroll in a few national do not call lists. Also, telemarketers will now be required to transmit their information over caller I.D.
Well, let's dive into something that frustrates most of us, those telemarketers. People are talking about a proposal to combat those annoying calls.

Jimmy Barrett at WRVA News Radio 1140 in Richmond, Virginia is one phone that a lot, or forget that.

Jimmy, let's talk to you now.

What's going on there? What's on the line there?

JIMMY BARRETT, WRVA RADIO CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Fredricka.

How are you?

WHITFIELD: OK. I'm pretty good. You've got a lot on tap, including those telemarketers. And, of course, Trent Lott, the kind of discussions that are driving your morning discussions, right?

BARRETT: Right. Well, and the Trent Lott thing has been going on for days and days. Here's the one thing I would like to know if Trent Lott has learned.

WHITFIELD: Yes?

BARRETT: Never make a comment like that in the month of December. There's no other news going on. And I'll tell you what, we've heard from everybody on this, haven't we? We've heard from Spike Lee. We've heard from former President Bill Clinton. We've heard from the few Republicans that have been willing to discuss it. My opinion is this morning, has not changed. I think that Trent Lott needs to step down as the Senate majority leader. I think he should stay in the United States Senate, however. And the quicker he makes that decision, the quicker we can put this whole thing behind us.

WHITFIELD: And so you've got some very strong opinions, you know, from those listeners who were saying, you know, there's no way that Trent Lott can not be affected or his abilities to carry out his job as majority leader being compromised. So it's time to even resign, is that the discussion, too? Or simply step down from the leadership post.

BARRETT: I think at this particular point this compromise position would work out fairly well for our listeners. About 60 percent of our listeners, Fredricka, feel that, at least in the little survey that we did online in conjunction with our program, Richmond's Morning News, was to say about 60 percent would say hey, listen, we think it's time for him to go. And I don't think it's because they don't think he can govern effectively. I think it's because they just think, first of all, it's the right thing to do, and second of all, it's going to hurt the Republicans.

WHITFIELD: Hmmm. All right, well, let's shift gears a little bit now because I think you can't, I guess, finally reach a conclusion on this whole Trent Lott debacle. I mean this is going to keep spinning out of control for a while. Let's shift gears now to telemarketers and the fact that the government is stepping in. Everyone has experienced this, a phone call from telemarketers. And the timing is so perfect, isn't it? Always around dinnertime.

BARRETT: It, well, 20 minutes after I fall asleep.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

BARRETT: Without fail, 20 minutes after I fall asleep we'll get a phone call from a telemarketer. A national call in line, here's the unanswered question this morning, a national do not call line. I think that's a great idea. But, you know, the devil is in the details. In order to participate in this national call, don't call list, what are you and I, Fredricka, going to have to provide?

WHITFIELD: Yes, no kidding.

BARRETT: Are we going to -- what kind of information do we have to give of ourselves? Are we going to have to start spreading our Social Security number around more than we already do? That bothers me a little bit.

WHITFIELD: Yes, and how about for your listeners? Does that bother them a lot?

BARRETT: I think so. I think, you know, identity theft is a huge problem. I'm one of those people that is very reticent to ever, ever give out my Social Security number, and this is another case where I'm very concerned about that. I found some effective means, by the way. If you ever heard this little product, not to do a free commercial for them, but have you ever heard of a Telezapper?

WHITFIELD: No.

BARRETT: I've got one of these things. It actually does work. My phone calls have virtually disappeared from telemarketers.

WHITFIELD: Really?

BARRETT: Yes, take a look at something like that.

WHITFIELD: OK.

BARRETT: Make sure you have an unlisted phone number. That is a huge...

WHITFIELD: Oh, yes, that helps.

BARRETT: And make sure you have caller I.D. because...

WHITFIELD: But you know what? That, I guess it helps, but not really. I mean I'm an unlisted phone number and I still get those phone calls at around dinnertime all the time.

BARRETT: Have you ever bought anything, by the way, from a telemarketer?

WHITFIELD: No.

BARRETT: Neither have I.

WHITFIELD: Whoa.

BARRETT: Who's buying this stuff that telemarketers find this an effective means of advertising?

WHITFIELD: Interesting.

All right, well, we're going to have to resume this conversation another time because, guess what? We're out of time right now.

BARRETT: All right, see you later.

WHITFIELD: All right, Jimmy, thanks a lot.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired December 19, 2002 - 05:36   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well, we've got all those calls from pesky calls of telemarketers now to think about. Now the government is stepping in to provide some protection. Federal telemarketing rules have now been revised, which could give you some much needed silence. By the spring, you should be able to enroll in a few national do not call lists. Also, telemarketers will now be required to transmit their information over caller I.D.
Well, let's dive into something that frustrates most of us, those telemarketers. People are talking about a proposal to combat those annoying calls.

Jimmy Barrett at WRVA News Radio 1140 in Richmond, Virginia is one phone that a lot, or forget that.

Jimmy, let's talk to you now.

What's going on there? What's on the line there?

JIMMY BARRETT, WRVA RADIO CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Fredricka.

How are you?

WHITFIELD: OK. I'm pretty good. You've got a lot on tap, including those telemarketers. And, of course, Trent Lott, the kind of discussions that are driving your morning discussions, right?

BARRETT: Right. Well, and the Trent Lott thing has been going on for days and days. Here's the one thing I would like to know if Trent Lott has learned.

WHITFIELD: Yes?

BARRETT: Never make a comment like that in the month of December. There's no other news going on. And I'll tell you what, we've heard from everybody on this, haven't we? We've heard from Spike Lee. We've heard from former President Bill Clinton. We've heard from the few Republicans that have been willing to discuss it. My opinion is this morning, has not changed. I think that Trent Lott needs to step down as the Senate majority leader. I think he should stay in the United States Senate, however. And the quicker he makes that decision, the quicker we can put this whole thing behind us.

WHITFIELD: And so you've got some very strong opinions, you know, from those listeners who were saying, you know, there's no way that Trent Lott can not be affected or his abilities to carry out his job as majority leader being compromised. So it's time to even resign, is that the discussion, too? Or simply step down from the leadership post.

BARRETT: I think at this particular point this compromise position would work out fairly well for our listeners. About 60 percent of our listeners, Fredricka, feel that, at least in the little survey that we did online in conjunction with our program, Richmond's Morning News, was to say about 60 percent would say hey, listen, we think it's time for him to go. And I don't think it's because they don't think he can govern effectively. I think it's because they just think, first of all, it's the right thing to do, and second of all, it's going to hurt the Republicans.

WHITFIELD: Hmmm. All right, well, let's shift gears a little bit now because I think you can't, I guess, finally reach a conclusion on this whole Trent Lott debacle. I mean this is going to keep spinning out of control for a while. Let's shift gears now to telemarketers and the fact that the government is stepping in. Everyone has experienced this, a phone call from telemarketers. And the timing is so perfect, isn't it? Always around dinnertime.

BARRETT: It, well, 20 minutes after I fall asleep.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

BARRETT: Without fail, 20 minutes after I fall asleep we'll get a phone call from a telemarketer. A national call in line, here's the unanswered question this morning, a national do not call line. I think that's a great idea. But, you know, the devil is in the details. In order to participate in this national call, don't call list, what are you and I, Fredricka, going to have to provide?

WHITFIELD: Yes, no kidding.

BARRETT: Are we going to -- what kind of information do we have to give of ourselves? Are we going to have to start spreading our Social Security number around more than we already do? That bothers me a little bit.

WHITFIELD: Yes, and how about for your listeners? Does that bother them a lot?

BARRETT: I think so. I think, you know, identity theft is a huge problem. I'm one of those people that is very reticent to ever, ever give out my Social Security number, and this is another case where I'm very concerned about that. I found some effective means, by the way. If you ever heard this little product, not to do a free commercial for them, but have you ever heard of a Telezapper?

WHITFIELD: No.

BARRETT: I've got one of these things. It actually does work. My phone calls have virtually disappeared from telemarketers.

WHITFIELD: Really?

BARRETT: Yes, take a look at something like that.

WHITFIELD: OK.

BARRETT: Make sure you have an unlisted phone number. That is a huge...

WHITFIELD: Oh, yes, that helps.

BARRETT: And make sure you have caller I.D. because...

WHITFIELD: But you know what? That, I guess it helps, but not really. I mean I'm an unlisted phone number and I still get those phone calls at around dinnertime all the time.

BARRETT: Have you ever bought anything, by the way, from a telemarketer?

WHITFIELD: No.

BARRETT: Neither have I.

WHITFIELD: Whoa.

BARRETT: Who's buying this stuff that telemarketers find this an effective means of advertising?

WHITFIELD: Interesting.

All right, well, we're going to have to resume this conversation another time because, guess what? We're out of time right now.

BARRETT: All right, see you later.

WHITFIELD: All right, Jimmy, thanks a lot.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com