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Showbiz Tonight
Media Debates Whether to Show Bodies; Kanye West Opens Up About Race Remarks; Video Diary Reveals First Pics Inside Superdome; "CSI" Actor Searching for Hotel Employees
Aired September 09, 2005 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
A.J. HAMMER, CO-HOST: I`m A.J. Hammer.
KARYN BRYANT, CO-HOST: And I`m Karyn Bryant. TV`s only live entertainment news show starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER (voice-over): On SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, painful pictures and painful decisions. The Katrina dead line the streets. Tonight, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT asks, should TV news show dead bodies? Or should the gruesome images be censored? We go in-depth.
BRYANT (voice-over): Also, the Katrina crisis and your kids. Tonight, the frightening devastation and destruction. How kids can face their fears and help other kids in need.
HAMMER: The Katrina race debate flares up again. Tonight, for the first time, rapper Kanye West speaks out about his explosive comments on NBC that shocked the White House.
KANYE WEST, RAPPER: George Bush doesn`t care about black people.
HAMMER: We`ll tell you what he said on "Ellen."
ELLEN DEGENERES, TALK SHOW HOST: I think good for you for saying it.
HAMMER: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s coverage of the Hurricane Katrina aftermath starts right now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRYANT: Hello, I`m Karyn Bryant.
HAMMER: I`m A.J. Hammer.
Tonight, the most gruesome scenes of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Thousands of dead bodies may be yet to come. But should you get to see them?
BRYANT: That was the raging debate today after the government asked the news media not to show the bodies of those killed by Katrina. We`ve got some fast-moving developments late today.
David Haffenreffer live in the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT newsroom with the very latest -- David.
DAVID HAFFENREFFER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Karyn and A.J., first, we just want to let you know that you`re about to see some very graphic images.
An inevitable part of the Katrina story is the countless lives that have been lost and the efforts to find and identify those bodies. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin has said that there may be as many as 10,000 bodies in the waters of still swamped New Orleans. It`s forcing the media to decide just how much of the gruesome images to show on the air and how much is too much.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA ZAHN, HOST, "PAULA ZAHN NOW": I really mean this. If you have children in the room, this is something you won`t want them to see.
HAFFENREFFER: It`s an evolving part of the Katrina coverage coming out of the Gulf, showing pictures of dead bodies. It`s heartbreaking; it`s gruesome.
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Without us showing these pictures, the world may never have known.
HAFFENREFFER: Many feel it`s an important part of telling the story, like the four mutilated bodies found in the New Orleans convention center.
A source outraged at what happened who was inside the center gave these photographs to CNN. It is not known how these people died. But the source says it is apparent that at some point, they had been physically abused.
One photograph of two corpses in a wheelchair is to gruesome for us to show.
But FEMA, the agency leading the rescue efforts, has just asked the media to shop showing dead Katrina victims out of respect for families. That request has sparked a heated debate, as we found as SHOWBIZ TONIGHT hit the streets of New York.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s necessary to see the extent of the damage and the destruction and to see the response. And part of that, and being able to gauge the response, I think, is to see the death. And seeing the bodies is part of what happened down there. And if we hide that, we`re not giving full story to the American people.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If the media is showing it just to sensationalize the story or to gain popularity for their particular program, then that`s just not right to the families of those victims.
HAFFENREFFER: It`s a debate that news organizations are taking very seriously, including CNN.
JON KLEIN, PRESIDENT, CNN U.S.: It`s hard to get around showing an image of a dead person. When you`re trying to cover the -- and convey the impact of a tragedy that has killed so many, it would be false not to show the bodies.
HAFFENREFFER: That`s the thought of other news organizations, too, but Klein stresses it`s got to be done tastefully.
KLEIN: I don`t think that it`s an all or nothing proposition. I don`t think that you`ve got to show every graphic detail. The audience is smarter than they`re often given credit for. They get it.
HAFFENREFFER: Even as American news organizations report and show images of dead bodies on a case-by-case basis, it`s nothing compared to what you see overseas.
SIVA VAIDHYANATHAN, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, NEW YORK UNIVERSITY: If you spend any time overseas watching BBC, watching CNN International, you will see much more frank and brutal images than you do in American television. Part of it is that the rest of the world is simply acculturated, simply used to this.
HAFFENREFFER: But many Americans aren`t used to it, so will they still watch?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`ll still watch it the same. It really doesn`t make a difference.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think definitely some people will actually be affected by that and definitely choose not to watch it.
HAFFENREFFER: It`s also an issue for parents, who may or may not want their children to see such images.
CAMRYN MANHEIM, ACTRESS: I can`t have the news on 24/7, because I have a 4-year-old.
HAFFENREFFER: Actress Camryn Manheim told SHOWBIZ TONIGHT she`s had to reassess how much television news her child can watch because of Katrina.
MANHEIM: You have to ask yourself, you know, how much do you want to expose them to and give them so much anxiety about something like this at this time in their life.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In my opinion, it`s a lot easier for me to explain to my children what happened in New Orleans when they see those things.
HAFFENREFFER: But it`s not just about parents taking responsibility.
KLEIN: I think it`s incumbent upon us to give ample warning. One of my pet peeves is newscasts that tell you at the last possible second that, "Oh, by the way, there may be some graphic images," and then, boom, the piece starts and the image comes up. And it`s too late to get the kids out of the room and to turn the channel.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAFFENREFFER: Another issue that came up today about the government trying to limit what can and cannot be shown on television, officials earlier today said the news media could be excluded from covering the actual recovery of the bodies.
Late today, CNN filed a federal lawsuit to prevent that from happening -- A.J.
HAMMER: All right, David, thanks very much. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s David Haffenreffer.
It`s a subject we`ll be taking in depth a little later in the program.
But now we want to hear from you. What do you think? It`s our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day. Katrina coverage: should TV news show dead bodies? Chime in at CNN.com/ShowbizTonight. Or send us your e-mail; ShowbizTonight@CNN.com is our address. Coming up later in the program, we`re going to read some of your thoughts.
BRYANT: Tonight, as the biggest celebrities in the world take part in a telethon running on all six major broadcast networks, also in a hundred countries worldwide, all eyes are focused on one man, Kanye West.
That`s because a week ago tonight, his explosive comments on NBC`s hurricane relief telethon ripped open a heated emotionally charged and uncomfortable debate: did race play a role in the Hurricane Katrina relief efforts?
Well, today, Kanye went further, and we may not have heard the last of him.
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Sibila Vargas is live in Hollywood.
Hey, Sibila.
SIBILA VARGAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.
And Kanye West speaking about the issue for the first time since he made his comments last week, and a response from the first lady of the United States. It`s issue that many, including an overwhelming amount of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT viewers, have passionate feelings and opinions about.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WEST: You know, I`ve been brutally honest since I was a little kid and I think I was made to do this.
VARGAS (voice-over): Appearing on the "Ellen DeGeneres Show" just today, multi-platinum rapper Kanye West spoke about the seven strong words he spoke live at an NBC telethon last week...
WEST: George Bush doesn`t care about black people.
VARGAS: ... words that sparked a heated an emotional debate that has only escalated over the past week.
DEGENERES: Good for you for saying it. And it shocked people because we don`t know what to do with that; it`s hard to listen to that.
WEST: I was on the brink of tears, and maybe I did start crying. I don`t remember, it was just so emotional that I just felt like it was so many things that I had been hearing and bullet points that I`d been hearing that weren`t on those teleprompters.
So my goal was to go in there. And I told Mike, I was like, "Yo," I told Mike Myers, "I`m going to ad lib a little bit, so just" -- and I remember going up to Chris, Chris Tucker and saying, "Get ready for live TV."
So I just went up there, and I just wanted to bullet point these things that just disturbed me so much.
VARGAS: His comments and the reverberations from them reached the White House, and the first lady, Laura Bush, responded just last night in an interview with American Urban Radio Networks.
LAURA BUSH, FIRST LADY: I think all of those remarks were disgusting, to be perfectly frank because, of course, President Bush cares about everyone in our country. And I know that. I mean, I`m the person who lives with him.
VARGAS: The top selling artist`s words were quickly becoming one of the top topics in Washington. Here`s Democratic chairman Howard Dean on Wednesday.
HOWARD DEAN, CHAIR, DNC: ... that skin color, age and economics played a significant role in who survived and who did not.
VARGAS: And taking it up a notch on CNN`s "THE SITUATION ROOM," former Clinton aid Paul Begala responded to Dean`s comments with a strong accusation.
PAUL BEGALA, FORMER CLINTON AID: I think he was not playing a race card here the way that that rap artist was.
WOLF BLITZER, ANCHOR, "THE SITUATION ROOM": That rap artist being Kanye West.
VARGAS: That rap artist is now thrust into the center of an emotional and politically charged issue that has everyone talking.
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has been covering the issue from the start. Your viewer e-mails on Kanye`s comments have been overwhelming our in-boxes.
Writing from New Jersey, Joel says, "I congratulate Kanye for speaking the truth. Let`s be real; if a natural disaster would`ve hit Beverly Hills, food, shelter and anything and everything else needed would have been provided the same day."
But Josh in Pennsylvania took a different view: "For someone in Kanye West`s position of the public eye to suggest that our lack of swift response to this natural disaster was racially related is absurd. Regardless of whether you are or aren`t a supporter of Bush (and I`m not), to use race as the reasoning for this is truly sad."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VARGAS: Now, Kanye West takes part in the largest and most talked about Katrina charity telecast, "Shelter for the Storm: A Concert for the Gulf Coast."
It will air across all the major networks, CBS, ABC, NBC, FOX, UPN and the WB and almost 50 other channels. Producers are using a five- to seven- second delay, though, but they said that they will only censor obscenities and not any political statements. Very interesting -- Karyn.
BRYANT: All right. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Sibila Vargas, live in Hollywood.
Well, coming up next, a "CSI" star joins us live to tell us about his special connection to New Orleans. He is still missing more than 20 people that are close to him.
HAMMER: Plus, we`ve all heard about the awful conditions inside the New Orleans Superdome, where thousands sought shelter from Katrina. Now, we have some of the first pictures of exactly what life was like there. That`s coming up.
BRYANT: And, it is the fourth anniversary of another human tragedy: the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Dramatic, never before heard details of passengers taking on the hijackers inside one of the planes. That`s still to come.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I`m A.J. Hammer.
Tonight, we have startling images of what it was like to live inside the New Orleans Superdome. Video that you have not seen before. It comes from a video diary which was shot by two British students inside the place where thousands of people who couldn`t, or wouldn`t, leave New Orleans sought refuge.
They had little food and water, trudged through human waste, and reportedly battled criminal gangs with guns.
Paul Davies from England`s ITN network has the amazing story for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re driving in America.
PAUL DAVIS, ITN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It begins as a holiday video, two friends from Devon touring America. The highlight of the trip: their arrival in New Orleans on highways that within a matter of hours would no longer exist.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m driving the longest bridge in the world. It just goes on for absolute miles.
DAVIES: For this is downtown New Orleans and a hurricane called Katrina is heading its way. For Adam Friend and Russell Porter, the time for happy holiday shots is about to run out.
ADAM FRIEND, HURRICANE SURVIVOR: Me and Russell in our hotel room before the Hurricane Katrina.
It`s 11:00 on Sunday. As you can see, this is where the hurricane is. Doesn`t look good. We are here. And it`s going straight in for us.
And as you can see, it`s been lovely and sunny here, but the sky is getting cloudy. It`s getting quite windy. It`s just a ghost town down here.
You can see the weather is turning worse.
DAVIES: As Katrina does her worst, the friends spend the night in the hotel corridor, emerging the next morning to survey the damage.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`ve just been allowed back to our rooms. Luckily, our window didn`t smash, but most other people`s did. And as you can see, total devastation down there.
DAVIES: For two days, they can`t leave the hotel.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And the sun`s gone down. Been stuck in our room for pretty much the whole day because with the hurricane, we`ve got no electricity, no water, can`t go outside. Can`t leave the building, can`t leave our room.
DAVIES: But the view from their balcony gets worse, for the city`s protective levees have been breached, and now the streets are submerged.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The water is going, getting deeper and deeper down there.
DAVIES: And when the friends are finally evacuated, it`s to somewhere they would rather not be: New Orleans` vastly overcrowded and highly dangerous Superdome.
FRIEND: At this present moment, we and Russell are in the Superdome, because most of New Orleans is flooded. We`ve been taken from our hotel to the Superdome in an Army truck along with everybody else.
There are about 15,000, 20,000 people here. Not too friendly people, either. It`s quite scary, and at this point, we don`t know what the hell we`re going to do to get out of here.
FRIEND: These are the first pictures from inside the Superdome after Katrina struck, taken by Adam and Russell.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are the holes in the roof.
FRIEND: They teamed up with other young Britons for safety. They said there was racial tension, with gangs attacking fellow refugees, particularly young women.
The Britons were moved out of the Superdome for their own safety. Before returning home, they paid a visit to the district where they spent their first night when Katrina struck. It was the final chapter in their video record of disaster and survival.
Adam and Russell arrived home at Heathrow Airport, welcomed by those who`d missed them and worried. Two young men with a chilling story to tell and the pictures to prove it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: We`ve seen so many images but amazing seeing it from a totally different perspective. That was Paul Davies from England`s ITN network, reporting for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
BRYANT: Well, I know this guy because we went to college together, but many of you may know actor Hill Harper as Dr. Sheldon Hawkes on the hit CBS series, "CSI New York."
Well, Hill also has ties to New Orleans. And he, too, has been affected by the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. He`s a local businessman, and he is most concerned for his employees, some of whom are still missing.
He joins me now live from Hollywood.
Hill, it`s great to see you again.
HILL HARPER, ACTOR/BUSINESSMAN: Nice to see you, Karyn.
BRYANT: So please tell us about -- you own two hotels there. Can you tell us what happened to your hotels but more importantly what happened to your employees?
HARPER: Well, we own two hotels in New Orleans. And we have a total of about 83 employees and as of this time, right now, 23 of whom are still missing. So, we are working as hard as we can.
There`s one encouraging story that just came out. Vicky Lynch, who`s our head of housekeeping, has been found, as it were, and I`ve just talked to her on the phone. She said, "Baby, I was never lost." You know, so -- so she`s been found and we`re happy about that.
And, so, there are 23 people that we still have not reached, and we`re looking for them, because we`re very concerned. And obviously, the people who work at the hotels that I`m involved in, we want to see them safe.
BRYANT: And I hear that you`re still going to continue to pay benefits, and is that because you have some employees who are pregnant and with families?
HARPER: Well, unlike -- unlike other big corps that are in New Orleans, like Wal-Mart, for instance, we`re going to continue to pay our employees full salary, even our hourly employees, all the time while we`re out of business, including their benefits.
Because most of our employees -- what people really have to understand is that most of our employees lost everything from down to their shoelaces. And so it`s a total loss.
So, if you`re going to -- if you`re going to rip out their paychecks, that`s going to -- that`s doubling the loss. So, we`re going to continue to pay them.
We have another great story is Keisha Mackey (ph), who`s one of our employees at the front desk. She was nine months pregnant. We evacuated her. She ended up in Atlanta. She had a happy, healthy little baby.
BRYANT: All right.
HARPER: And so, we`re happy about that.
And as far as paying your employees, we want to set an example for the city of New Orleans and all the people who are -- have employees out of New Orleans, to continue to pay them and continue to pay them their full benefits as well as their salary, including the hourly employees.
BRYANT: Right. Now we`ve been talking a lot about Kanye West. He made, you know, a very heartfelt statement during a telethon, kind of dangerous for a celebrity, some people are saying. Would you have done that, and what do you think about what he said?
HARPER: Well, you know, my thoughts about Kanye West, first of all, you know, is that I think that he saw it as an opportunity, because it was a national live broadcast that couldn`t be edited or preempted. He saw it as an opportunity to make a statement. So I applaud his courage.
I think there`s some great speech writers out there, so he probably could have gotten someone to maybe put it together a little more eloquently or a little more concisely.
But beyond that, I applaud his courage for speaking his truth, because we`re all Americans. And he doesn`t happen to be a displaced American like -- like hundreds and hundreds of thousands of those from New Orleans, but he happens to have a voice and opinion, and I appreciate that.
BRYANT: All right, well, he`ll thank you for joining us and good luck finding the rest of your employees.
HARPER: Thank you so much.
BRYANT: Hill Harper, joining us live from Hollywood -- A.J.
HAMMER: All right, Karyn. The Katrina images are certainly shocking. We`ve been seeing them over and over. But how much do we really need to see of those images? Tonight, should TV news show dead bodies? SHOWBIZ TONIGHT goes "In-Depth." That`s coming up.
BRYANT: Plus, how are kids coping with the startling pictures? And what can you do to help overcome their fears? SHOWBIZ TONIGHT shows you how your kids can help other kids in need.
HAMMER: Also, Jennifer Lopez is determined to help children affected by Hurricane Katrina. She sits down with SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s to talk about what she`s doing, coming up a bit later.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BRYANT: Tonight, Hurricane Katrina and the sad stories of so many children who have been torn from their loved ones. The destruction and tragedy caused by Hurricane Katrina is overwhelming. So, how do you explain what happened to a child?
This weekend, a special Nickelodeon show tackles that sensitive question. I spoke with the show`s host, Linda Ellerbee, about what it was like to cover this emotional and often heartbreaking story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRYANT: I imagine you must have heard both the heart wrenching and the heart warming stories.
LINDA ELLERBEE, HOST, "NICK NEWS": Well, you`re exactly right about that. When I got to Houston, we went straight to the Astrodome. From there, we sort of followed the trail of people. We went to churches, to shelters and eventually, to schools that were taking kids in.
And, yes, we heard very sad stories from kids who had lost everything. We also heard stories of hope and stories of courage.
BRYANT: Linda, we`d like to take a look at some of your show. What are we going to see?
ELLERBEE: Well, in this clip, what you`re going to see is me talking to a little boy who was evacuated from New Orleans.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELLERBEE: How did you decide in a very short time what to bring with you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I thought we were going to be out, like, three days, so I just took a couple of shirts, some underwear or whatever. I didn`t really pack heavy. I took my game, but that was about it.
ELLERBEE: What do you wish you`d brought that you didn`t bring?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My friends.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRYANT: One thing that`s an interesting approach, because your show is for children, you have tackled 9/11 before.
ELLERBEE: Yes.
BRYANT: You`ve talked about Columbine. How do you -- how do you phrase certain things? You`ve covered racism, the racism element of Katrina. How do you sort of approach the issue in a manner that the children can understand?
ELLERBEE: Well, first of all, we don`t lie to them, because lying to kids is never good.
In this case, for example, we say, quite simply, that most of the people who got out were people who had cars, and most of the people who were left behind were poor, and in the case of New Orleans, that means African-American.
And we also point out that, when the clouds cleared, what we saw was something that maybe we don`t like to think about, that everything is not equal in America.
So, the enormous separation between black and white, rich and poor, have and have not, if we`re to rebuild a new New Orleans, and we will, that`s the levee. That`s the barrier that has to be broken down now.
And not just in New Orleans. All across America. And kids can do it. They can start that. And we can learn from them.
BRYANT: And would you say that is your personal statement to the children?
ELLERBEE: Absolutely. I would remind them that citizenship in this country doesn`t start when you`re 18 years old. It starts when you`re born, and you are never too young to help. And by extending a helping hand, you are extending yourself.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRYANT: This special edition of "Nick News with Linda Ellerbee," called "Do Something: Caring for the Kids of Katrina," airs Sunday night on Nickelodeon.
HAMMER: How some "American Idols" are helping victims of Katrina, that`s coming up.
BRYANT: Plus, stomach churning graphic images all over the TV, and as the floodwaters recede the media faces a very difficult decision: should TV news show dead bodies on TV? We`ve got a debate just ahead.
HAMMER: And the anniversary of 9/11 this weekend. Up next, your first look at a dramatic new movie that reveals what went on inside one of the hijacked flights. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
THOMAS ROBERTS, CNN HEADLINE NEWS ANCHOR: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT continues in one minute. Hi, everybody. I`m Thomas Roberts with your "Headline Prime Newsbreak."
A short while ago, Tropical Storm Ophelia was upgraded again to a hurricane, packing 75 mile-per-hour winds. It`s swirling off the northeast coast of Florida. Today, the storm pushed water up a 15-foot barrier on one Florida highway. Forecasters do warn Ophelia could hit the U.S. as early as Monday.
A top official overseeing the recovery of bodies says there`s hope the death toll from Hurricane Katrina may not be as high as once thought. Authorities say the number of bodies found so far is relatively low compared to the dire predictions, but as yet there are no new estimates of those numbers of victims.
President Bush will return to the hurricane-damaged areas in Louisiana and Mississippi Sunday. It`s going to be his third trip to the Gulf Coast since Katrina hit. Aides say he`ll head there after a church service marking the fourth anniversary of the September 11th attacks.
That is the news for now. Thanks for joining us. I`m Thomas Roberts. We take you back for more of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
BRYANT: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. It is 31 minutes past the hour. I`m Karyn Bryant.
HAMMER: I`m A.J. Hammer. You`re watching TV`s only live entertainment news show.
Still to come in this half-hour, this weekend a very powerful docudrama about one of the doomed flights of 9/11, the one that crashed in Pennsylvania. Some never-before-seen and rarely heard footage, actual audio footage, from that flight will be a part of this. We`re going to talk to the film`s executive producer coming up in just a bit.
BRYANT: And also, we`re going to talk to Jennifer Lopez about politicizing herself. You know, a lot of celebrities are kind of afraid to do it. Some of them are not so afraid. Obviously, Kanye West getting right out there and mixing it up.
So David Haffenreffer talked to Jennifer Lopez. And we`re going to hear her thoughts on celebrities getting political.
One woman who is not afraid to get political, Rosie O`Donnell. She is blogging out her frustration over the Hurricane Katrina rescue and recovery efforts. On her web site, Rosie.com, today she has posted a photo of a woman`s dead body, floating face-down in the water.
And from her blog, this quote: "How can there still be bodies floating? Explain it to me. There are firemen playing football waiting to help. I want red terror alert."
HAMMER: Well, if it`s on Rosie`s blog or on the news, showing pictures of dead bodies is a touchy issue. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, is asking the news media not to show dead bodies in their hurricane coverage.
Tonight, we`re asking, should news organizations show images of the dead?
Joining us live tonight in Southfield, Michigan, Nancy Skinner. She`s the radio show host at WDTW. Live in Washington, D.C., Ben Ferguson. He`s a syndicated talk show host.
Thank you both for joining us. Let`s get right to it, Ben. What do you think, good idea, not a good idea, for dead bodies to be shown on television?
BEN FERGUSON, SYNDICATED TALK RADIO HOST: Well, I think it`s a bad idea. And I think people already know how bad things are down there. They`ve seen the images, and I think that now that you know what`s happened, everybody`s seen it.
And we`re doing all these specials about, how do you talk to your kids, and how do you talk to people about the horrible tragedy? And I think it`s unfair to show close-up and personal photos of people that family members may see for the first time in their newspaper or on TV.
And I think that`s what FEMA`s trying to do, is say, "Look, we don`t want close-ups. We don`t want these bodies being shown on TV or in the newspapers, because their family members are literally still looking, and waiting, and hoping to hear from these people."
And that`s just not saying that America needs to see anymore. We know what happened. We know it`s a tragedy. We`ve seen enough pictures already of bodies in a distance. And I don`t think it`s going to help to sensationalize the news and have people shock and awe even more than it is now.
HAMMER: Well, Ben, I`ll personal take issue with the idea that we can even sensationalize this story, because I think that, by not showing everything, we`re going telling the whole story. But I`m going to get Nancy Skinner so she can give her take on this -- Nancy?
NANCY SKINNER, TALK RADIO HOST, WDTW: Yes, I don`t know where to start, Ben. First of all, FEMA isn`t concerned about close-ups. They want no photographs. And the differences between reality-based journalism and ideology-based journalism.
This is what`s happening. You can`t sensationalize. To sensationalize means to blow something out of proportion, like, say, Laci Peterson and her death. But the enormity of what happened here, you can`t go to the full extent and describe it without showing all of it.
And just as you said earlier in the setup piece, Rosie O`Donnell is saying today there are bodies that are still lying around. So you can`t say, once you`ve seen one dead body, you`ve seen them all, Ben.
FERGUSON: It`s a tragedy. That`s why it`s a tragedy. And everybody knows that. People know the bodies are still floating around.
But there`s a big difference between trying to help clean up. There`s a big difference between trying everybody together and then trying to just put a video out there or a picture out there that shocks people.
And what I`m saying is, you`ve got to have respect for the families that have lost people.
(CROSSTALK)
HAMMER: Ben, hold on just a second. What you`re saying then is, we`re putting that video on to shock people?
FERGUSON: No, I`m saying there are some people -- look, there are some people that have done a great job in journalism, who have done a great job of showing bodies in a distance, or showing the lady in the wheelchair in the Superdome with a blanket over her.
That`s one thing. But to show an up-close-and-personal shot of someone floating on the water...
SKINNER: Who`s doing that, Ben?
FERGUSON: A lot of the journalists down there. You`ve got thousands of journalists down there. There are people that want to show shocking video. There`s people that want to show shocking pictures, that are taking it to a new level. And I don`t agree with that.
HAMMER: Let me ask you this then. Let me ask you this. If good journalistic sense is employed, if we`re using empathy, if the bodies are not identifiable, wouldn`t you then say, "It is OK to show the bodies, because that is part of the story." The fact that there are thousands of bodies there is part of the story.
FERGUSON: Absolutely.
HAMMER: We`re not talking about trying to shock people and boost the ratings here. We`re talking about what we do in news organizations, which is to tell the story and to document what`s going on.
FERGUSON: Look, you know, as well as I do, there are good journalists and there are bad journalists. And what they`re trying to do is, I think, is keep the bad journalists away from doing things that just don`t need to be out there.
SKINNER: No, Ben, that`s not what they`re trying to do.
(CROSSTALK)
HAMMER: Nancy, hold on. Let`s let him respond.
FERGUSON: Unless you put a crime -- unless you put a crime rim around the entire city of New Orleans, journalists are going to get the pictures they want. They`re going to get the pictures of people on the bridges that have died, in the water, on the side of the road, wherever it may be. They`re going to get those pictures.
I think what they`re trying to do is make sure that families don`t see an up-close-and-personal picture of their loved one for the first time on the front page of a newspaper or on TV.
(CROSSTALK)
HAMMER: Well, what FEMA is saying, though, Ben, what FEMA is saying, they don`t want to see dead bodies at all.
So, Nancy, why don`t you pick it up?
SKINNER: Yes, that`s right. They don`t want pictures of dead bodies at all. And it`s just like they don`t want to show the flag-draped coffins coming home from Iraq.
(CROSSTALK)
SKINNER: No, let me finish, Ben. Let me finish now.
HAMMER: Ben, let her finish.
(CROSSTALK)
HAMMER: Can we cut him off a second? I want Nancy to finish. You had your opportunity, Ben.
SKINNER: My point is this: You cannot manage -- you cannot have government managing the news and putting regulations on the media. That`s Soviet-style government.
When they say, "We`re going to put regulations on the media," they can`t -- there are no security risks here. This is not like they need to be embedded for their own safety. This is America. And journalists and free press needs to tell the American people what happened, the tragedy that happened there.
FERGUSON: And, Nancy, there`s a huge difference between war and tragedy. There`s a huge difference between showing bodies that have happened in a war, because that`s what war is, and a tragedy.
We`ve seen the tragedy. We`ve seen the bodies. And I think there`s a big difference between taking a close-up and being a responsible journalist and shooting that from far away.
Those pictures are still going to get out there. And I think major news organizations have done a good job being responsible, but there`s a lot of people down there that I don`t think know that line. And I think it`s a good thing to protect families from seeing their loved ones for the first time on the front page of a newspaper.
SKINNER: It`s not the government`s position to draw the line, Ben.
(CROSSTALK)
HAMMER: That`s a good...
(CROSSTALK)
SKINNER: Do you understand there`s a First Amendment here? And the government can`t go -- first of all, there hasn`t been these close-ups. I haven`t seen one close-up. I haven`t seen people exploiting...
(CROSSTALK)
FERGUSON: Have you not seen the Internet?
(CROSSTALK)
HAMMER: Guys, I`ve got to wrap it up right there. I`m out of time. But what it sounds like, basically, is we`re agreeing on one thing. If we do it responsibly and we use our proper sense and empathy, as we have employed in the past, it`s a good idea.
FERGUSON: Absolutely.
HAMMER: I want to thank you both for joining me, Nancy Skinner and Ben Ferguson.
FERGUSON: Thanks for having us.
HAMMER: We appreciate you being with us on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
And our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT "Question of the Day" is just that. Katrina coverage: Should TV news show dead bodies? Keep voting at CNN.com/showbiztonight. You can write with more comments at showbiztonight@CNN.com. Your e-mails at 54 past the hour.
BRYANT: "American Idol" is putting on a concert for hurricane relief this weekend. And Bo Bice will be there.
Today, Bice announced he`ll return for the final performance of the season for a summer tour of "American Idol." He had been sidelined due to emergency surgery on his intestines back in August. Bice will sing a new song he wrote after Hurricane Katrina hit. The song is called "We Can`t Change This World."
And the "American Idol" tour was scheduled to end this Saturday, but producers scheduled one more show, with all of the proceeds going to the American Red Cross.
HAMMER: Season four "American Idol" winner Carrie Underwood will headline that Katrina benefit concert. I had the chance to sit down with Carrie yesterday, and I asked her how and why the idols got involved with the relief effort.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CARRIE UNDERWOOD, "AMERICAN IDOL" WINNER: Yes, I mean, Simon Fuller asked us if we would be interested in doing something to help. And of course, everybody, you know, is excited about it and definitely wanted to do whatever we could. So, you know, we got that under way and decided to - - you know, what`s one more concert?
HAMMER: Obviously, not everybody can make it to Syracuse, New York, to buy a ticket to be at the show so the money will go to the Red Cross. What can people do, if they`re not able to make it to Syracuse on Sunday?
UNDERWOOD: Of course, if people want to donate money to the Red Cross, they can call 1-800-HELP-NOW and donate money that way. Or they could go to www.redcross.org.
HAMMER: Any particular images that resonate personally with you?
UNDERWOOD: I just, you know -- just the destruction to people`s houses and stuff like that that was shown, and people looking for family members. I mean, that has to be the worst thing in the world, not knowing where your kids are, not knowing where your parents are. I can`t personally imagine that, and I honestly hope I never have to.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: And, once again, the "American Idol" tour Katrina benefit is going to be this Sunday in Syracuse, New York.
BRYANT: The stars are rallying to help the hurricane relief effort. Jennifer Lopez is getting involved in a very specific way. She tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT all about it. That`s next.
HAMMER: Plus, a moving tribute to the victims from singer Aaron Neville. I caught this last night. You won`t want to miss this performance.
BRYANT: His voice is beautiful.
HAMMER: Unbelievable. It`s coming up within moments.
BRYANT: And as the anniversary of the September 11th attacks approaches, we`ll take a look at a new TV show that gives a chilling look at what happened on "The Flight that Fought Back." That`s coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BRYANT: The devastation of Hurricane Katrina has inspired scores of Hollywood heavyweights to assist in the relief efforts. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s David Haffenreffer is back with us again, and he talked to Jennifer Lopez about her involvement -- David?
DAVID HAFFENREFFER, CNN HEADLINE NEWS CORRESPONDENT: And, Karyn, Lopez told me that she`s been deeply affected by the images of all the children displaced by Hurricane Katrina. When I sat down with her, she talked to me about her charity, the Children`s Health Fund, rapper Kanye West`s recent comments about President Bush, and her own political views.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HAFFENREFFER: As an objective observer, as you turn on the news every night, and you see what`s going on in the Gulf Coast down there, so many people have lost so much.
JENNIFER LOPEZ, SINGER AND ACTRESS: Yes.
HAFFENREFFER: What goes on in your mind, as you see all this devastation?
LOPEZ: Well, just like anybody -- my husband and I have been watching this, obviously, even though he`s been on tour. We`re on a bus many hours a day and night.
And so we have been actually privy to tons of coverage of it. And it has touched us deeply. I don`t know how anybody can watch it and not be touched by it.
One of the things that occurred to me -- and maybe because I`ve been involved with other children`s charities -- is, like, what about the children? What`s going on with that, you know? And I`m sure there`s orphans, and sickness, and all kinds of things going on down there, and I did some research.
HAFFENREFFER: With the Children`s Health Fund.
LOPEZ: With the Children`s Health Fund, because one of the things that they do need down there desperately is health care. And this is a mobile -- these are mobile units that go down there.
I mean, there`s 90,000 square miles of affected area. And so there`s going to be so much, especially with the water in New Orleans, with the toxic sludge. There`s going to be all the infectious diseases and dysentery. And the people who are going to affected the most are the weak, elderly, and the children.
And this organization, the money goes directly to that, to just providing health care, getting these people better.
And also a second step, which I find very interesting and was very happy to hear about, is that so many people are going to be -- go through psychological trauma with this type of thing, as well. And they`re going to provide that for the children, as well, some help in that area.
HAFFENREFFER: Kanye West caused quite a stir when he criticized the president.
LOPEZ: I`ve heard about this. I haven`t seen it, so...
HAFFENREFFER: He basically said that President Bush doesn`t care about black people. My question to you is, during crises like this, do you ever feel a spark of political activism come up, or are you more than happy to stay on the sidelines politically?
LOPEZ: You know, I`ve never been one to discuss politics too much or to get into all of that stuff. For me, it`s a human issue. It`s about human beings.
And one of the beautiful things that I have seen during this whole thing, if there has been anything beautiful about it, is that people have pulled together. Whatever the government`s doing, whatever all the politics involved in all of the different things, and whether it has to do with race, whatever it is, people, at the end of the day, care about other people, and they do pull together.
And that has been evident, I think, in Americans during this time. And that has been a beautiful thing, and I`m glad for that.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAFFENREFFER: Lopez hits the big screen this weekend in the new movie, "An Unfinished Life." She plays a battered woman who turns to her father-in-law, played by Robert Redford, for help. The two had been estranged since her husband`s tragic death two years ago. Lopez told me the role is different than what her fans are used to seeing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HAFFENREFFER: Did this role itself push you as an actress? And if yes, how?
LOPEZ: Yes, absolutely. I mean, one of the reasons I took it is because I wanted to kind of delve into something a little bit more serious, a little bit more dramatic than I had been doing.
I think I had just finished "Main in Manhattan," if I remember correctly, because this was a couple of years ago this thing has been done...
(LAUGHTER)
This thing. This, actually, this lovely little film.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAFFENREFFER: "An Unfinished Life" is in theaters today -- Karyn?
BRYANT: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s David Haffenreffer. Thank you very much.
HAMMER: This Sunday is the fourth anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks. Over the next year, we`re going to see several movies based on the events of that day.
"The Flight That Fought Back" is one of the first. It airs on the Discovery Channel this Sunday. It tells the poignant story of the 33 passengers and seven crew members on United Airlines Flight 93. That was the plane, of course, that went down in Pennsylvania, after passengers fought hijackers on their way to Washington.
Phil Craig is the executive producer of the film, joining us now live.
Thanks for being with us, Phil.
PHIL CRAIG, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: It`s a pleasure.
HAMMER: Well, first of all, this is a very powerful movie. And there`s a clip that I`m not ashamed to say brought me to tears earlier today. And I`m going to play that clip in just a moment.
But obviously, this is an open wound for a lot of people, people who were directly affected. Me as a New Yorker, I feel it. Did you ever, at any point while making the film, feel maybe it`s too soon?
CRAIG: Well, I don`t think we could have been -- we wouldn`t have been allowed to make the film by Discovery unless we had a large number of family members on board. That was the first thing.
And I don`t think I would have wanted to make the film unless I was satisfied that they wanted it made. We began the whole process doing a long research project where we met with about 200 people in a series of public meetings, just about every single family we contacted.
A couple of them didn`t want to know. They didn`t want to get involved at this stage. It was still too raw. But about 37 of the families did. And I think it`s not a question so much of the media deciding it was time to tell the story. It`s a question of people deciding that they themselves want to share things with us.
And if you interview people for a living, as I do, you know, now and again, you get those special moments where you`re sort of leaning in, and you can just sense somebody saying something that they haven`t really said before, that they`re sharing something that`s been very personal and very painful. And I think the film is full of those moments.
HAMMER: And what`s so unique is you include the family members in the film, and you include some audio that has, if not never been heard before, rarely been heard before. In fact, I want to play this clip right now, which features the actual voice of one of the hijackers -- I assume recorded from the flight recorder -- and we also hear a voice mail message.
Let`s roll that clip.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, this is the captain. Would like you all (INAUDIBLE) there is a bomb and we are going back to the airport to have our demands met. Please remain quiet.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, baby, you have to listen very carefully. I`m on a plane that`s been hijacked. I`m calling from the plane. I wanted to say I love you. Please tell my children that I love them very much, and I`m so sorry.
I don`t know what to say. There are three guys who`ve hijacked the plane. I`m trying to be calm. We`re trying to be calm. I`ve heard that there are planes that have been flown into the World Trade Center. I hope to be able to see you again.
OK, baby. I love you. Bye.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: So incredibly difficult to hear and watch.
CRAIG: Indeed.
HAMMER: I understand you actually had the opportunity to screen the film for some of the families beforehand, and that clip, certainly one of the more powerful moments in the film, wasn`t originally scheduled to be there.
CRAIG: No, it wasn`t. And this was one of the -- I mentioned earlier that we tried to work very closely with the families as we developed the project, and we tried to involve them in every stage.
And we did something that I`ve never done before as a filmmaker. We showed the film in a rough cut, in an unfinished form, to about 123 people in three separate screenings across America. And one of them, Ceci Louser`s (ph) family, attended.
And they came up to a colleague of mine afterwards and said that actually they would like to share this tape with us. And we weren`t even aware that it existed. And I don`t believe it`s been shown on television before. And, actually, there were several tapes like that in the film that have not been shared before.
HAMMER: So did you sense that it was almost a form of therapy for the family to be able to participate, to be able to help out?
CRAIG: I wouldn`t say -- I mean, I`m not an expert in the rhythm of human grieving. All I can say is that, I know from my personal experience, some of these family members, they have decided to trust us with stories that they haven`t shared before outside their own circle.
And when we showed the film in Washington a couple of days ago to 500 people there, including about 40 family members, at least two people afterwards said that they were anxious about including these stories, and that they were worried that they`d gone too far, but when they saw it in context, they were pleased that they did it. And that actually made my night.
HAMMER: I want to ask you quickly about one thing you did work into the film. For the first time, we learned more about one of the hijackers, because you actually spoke to the people that taught him to fly the plane.
CRAIG: I know.
HAMMER: What was the most startling thing that you learned when you spoke with him?
CRAIG: I think, generally, the most amazing thing to me is -- I think I knew a little bit about the victims of Flight 93 beforehand, but discovering the subtly and the cleverness of Al Qaeda`s plot, this mixture of shock, and fear, and misinformation, it just makes you realize how amazing it was that these strangers in 30 minutes managed to get together, overcome their fear, work out what was going on, and take action.
When you look at the detailed planning that they did -- and you think, here are four guys who are trained, they`re fanatics, they`re soldiers in a war that they think will last 10,000 years. And this is the great day where they`ll begin this war.
And who`s up against them? Forty people like you or I, ordinary guys, ordinary women, an incredible mixture of regular people who were not trained to be soldiers, who had no passionate ideology guiding them. But in half an hour, they found enough unity to come together to form an army. And that`s amazing.
HAMMER: It`s a powerful film. And, you know, what more can I...
(CROSSTALK)
CRAIG: That`s very nice of you to say.
HAMMER: Phil Craig, we appreciate you joining us on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
CRAIG: My pleasure. Thank you.
HAMMER: Once again, "The Flight That Fought Back" will be premiering this Sunday, September 11th, on the Discovery Channel -- Karyn?
HAMMER: There is still time for you to vote on the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT "Question of the Day." Katrina coverage: Should TV news show dead bodies? You can vote at CNN.com/showbiztonight or write us at showbiztonight@CNN.com. Your e-mails are coming up live, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: We`ve been asking you to vote online on our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT "Question of the Day." We appreciate you sounding off on Katrina coverage. Should TV news show dead bodies?
The vote so far, 48 percent of you say, yes, the news should show dead bodies, 52 percent of you say, no, so a pretty even split.
Among the e-mails, one from Ray in Texas who writes, "Finding out a loved one is dead by seeing their corpse is TV would be one of the most horrific, traumatic things a person could go through."
Trish from Wisconsin writes, "The world needs to see the real picture for it to react the right way."
Keep voting at CNN.com/showbiztonight.
BRYANT: That does it for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I`m Karyn Bryant.
HAMMER: I`m A.J. Hammer. Stick around for the latest from CNN Headline News.
BRYANT: But first, we leave you with some remarkable scenes from this past week and the sounds of the amazing Aaron Neville, performing the song "Louisiana 1927" he performed on "LARRY KING LIVE."
HAMMER: This is a song that Randy Newman actually wrote about the great Mississippi flood of 1927, but, obviously, it`s become appropriate as a soundtrack to these days. We`ll see you Monday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AARON NEVILLE, MUSICIAN (Singing): It rained real hard and rained for a real long time. Six feet of water in the streets of Evangeline. The river rose all day, the river rose all night. Some people got lost in the flood. Some people got away all right. The river have busted through cleared down to Plaquemines. Six feet of water in the streets of Evangeline.
Oh, Louisiana...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
END
