(Tom Merkle) writes:

If you don't have access to NASA TV and your only insight to the
briefings is what CNN shows, it gives you a really smarmy impression
and the self congratulation really does appear to be flowing, because
nobody at CNN understands what really is so exciting, so that's what
they show. But that's what CNN shows. I got a chance to watch a
webcast an hour ago and that was far different.

I've watched all the news briefings (and no CNN) and I found that just
after each landing the news briefing was considerably too self-
congratulatory, giving the impression that they though all the news
people came there to clap for them rather than to gather news. I can
tolerate the staged hugging (though most men didn't hug each other in
my formative years) in the NASA-TV "commentary" sessions, but I think
they should avoid thanking each other and their families in news
briefings. (I have no doubt that the "mission control" TV is staged
because I saw one of the bosses start some "spontaneous" applause as
an obvious response to some wispering in his ear from the TV floor
director, in a TV wide shot not aimed at them.) Especially before the
craft has barely begun it's real mission. But it's not a big deal,
and perhaps they deserve the praise from themselves to make up for the
lack of praise they should be getting from elsewhere. And it probably
doesn't hurt anything but some of the less geeky reporters who I
really don't care about anyway, as long as it doesn't impact badly on
their reporting, which it probably doesn't. Never mind.... I guess
I've been too empathetic with the reporters and not enough with the
MER people.