Reports shown in German TV about the "staged" Presidential visit in Biloxi on September 1.

The first report can be seen here.

It was broadcasted during the news show "Tagesschau" of the German channel ARD September 2, 2005 between 8:00pm and 8:15pm. The timestamp of the online clip is September 2, 2005, 09:03pm (GMT+2).

The news show Tagesschau is THE prime and prime-time German news show with a regular attendency of 20-25% of TV viewers. On Friday Sep. 2. the attendance was 4.98 million viewers or 20.7% of all TV viewers in Germany at that time.

The station ARD is publicly financed, but independent from administrative and political influence.

The reporter on the ground is Christine Adelhardt, a regular professional ARD correspondent, usually stationed in Washington DC.

My transcript:

Christine Adelhardt stand-up report near Biloxi:

"Here, just two minutes ago, the President drove by with his convoy. But what happened here throughout the day in Biloxi is really unbelievable. Suddenly salvage groups appeared here, suddenly clearing vehicles were here. Those had not be seen here all the days before and this in area where it really would not be greatly necessary to clean up (now) because nobody is living here (now), far and wide, anymore. The people are (now) further inside the city.

The president travels with a press baggage. With this the press baggage has very pretty pictures which thereby are supposed to say the president has been there and the help will come too.

The extent of the natural catastrophe had me shocked  but the extend of the (theatre) staging today does shock me to at least the same level.

With this back to Hamburg."

The second report is from the German TV station ZDF. Also publicly financed and independent like the ARD, the ZDF has its own reporters, finances and is independent of ARD. Its prime and prime time news show is "Heute" and the longer daily "Heute Journal".

The piece was broadcasted on "Heute Journal" on September 2, 2005 at about 09:45pm (GMT+2). The regular reach of "Heute Journal" is some 4.8 Million viewers.

The video is here. (For me it only did work using IE and Media Player - your mileage may vary)

The 5 minutes long report starts with pictures and sound of "hundreds of people shooting `help, help´" and pictures from the NO convention centre showing a person hit by an acute diabetes sugar shock and dead bodies and followed by Ray Nagin's rant and picture of Bush in the area.

The professional, experienced ZDF reporter Claudia Rüggeberg, usually stationed in Washington DC, is on the grounds in Biloxi. The ancor-reporter dialog starts 03:24 minutes into the clip.

The first question from the ancor is how the people reacted to the presidents visit. Rüggeberg reports a positive and a negative voice.

At 03:55 into the clip she says:

Transcript:

"Actually it was such today that this morning suddenly help crew showed up, people who cleaned out the rubble, that searched the houses for dead body. And this exclusively along the route of the president. About two hours ago than, the president left Biloxi and with him all the help crews."

The clip goes on with a question from the anchor of what is available and Rüggenberg reporting nothing is available and nothing has happened except the clean up done that morning by the help crews and a medical emergency outpost is somewhere and nothing else. It smells from rotten corpse, the dead lie in the houses and the help does not arrive she reports.

Don´t miss Billmon's The Potemkin president and the comments to it too.

(I am native German living in Germany and often work with U.S. companies. My transcripts are not professional but usually I get the language, if not the spelling, correct. I blog at www.moonofalabama.org)

Please recommend to get these FACTS out.