***see updates***

Ok, just got home and have been deluged with e-mails asking for comment and more info on the Drudge Report’s big story tonight about CNN’s X-tra special treatment of Vice President Cheney. It’s seemingly reminiscent of the MSM photo doctoring of Condi Rice’s eyes and the Netscape/CNN.com editors’ post-election photo pranks on images of George W. and Laura Bush.

The Political Teen, as always, has slo-mo video here. (See update below about this clip.)

TVNewser updates the story with a statement from CNN:

“Upon seeing this unfortunate but very brief graphic, CNN senior management immediately investigated. We concluded this was a technological malfunction not an issue of operator error. A portion of the switcher experienced a momentary glitch. We obviously regret that it happened and are working on the equipment to ensure it is not repeated.”

Someone with apparent technical knowledge writes:

The only way it can be a “glitch” is if there was another video source keyed over the Cheney feed that, strangely enough, was animated at around fifteen frames per second.

Standard NTSC video is 30 frames per second. To pull this off, an animation had to be created, striped to tape, and overlayed or keyed over the Cheney feed.

It’s possible it was a mistake. It isn’t likely it was a mistake.

Anyone else in the business care to weigh in?

Here’s background on FCC law and subliminal messages (via Free Republic).

Round-up of reax at All Things Beautiful and from Mary Katherine Ham at HH.com.

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1245am EST update. John L., a tv guy, writes:

Funny I find myself dropping you a note twice in one day.

I’m a television newscast director in Los Angeles. Every day, I work in a live television control room. I’ve been in the business for 10 years, and I’m an expert on how things get themselves on TV.

I can not in good conscience try to say what the X was, but I can tell you what it most certainly wasn’t. It wasn’t intentional. I can guarantee that.

In order for that to get on the screen, a human being sitting in front of a video switcher had to press a button that would put it up there, either intentionally or unintentionally. The person who would do this is referred to in the business as a technical director. I’ve done that job, and I can say with absolute certainty that one would have to be INCREDIBLY stupid to do this on purpose. I don’t care if Michael Moore’s kid is sitting in that control room…if he’s working for an outfit as large as CNN, he’s not going to risk his job for some stupid stunt.

First of all, no one I’ve worked with in the TV industry buys into the idea of sending subliminal messages. Secondly, if you ARE trying to do something subliminally, it isn’t such a great idea to make it blatantly obvious, which is what happened here. Thirdly, it’s just plain stupid. It accomplishes nothing, and it would most likely get someone fired if it was determined that it was done on purpose, even at CNN.

And contrary to the comment you have posted on your site, there are DOZENS of ways something like that can make it into the video stream. There are lots of different sources feeding the live signal on CNN (graphics, ticker, CNN logo, etc.) That’s a lot of buttons to keep track of. And in live TV, mistakes are inevitable. Sometimes they’re more high-profile than others.

Occam’s Razor must apply here…the simplest explanation is the most likely. Is it possible it was intentional? Yes. Probable? In my professional opinon, no.

It would help to know what the black text laid over the Cheney caption says.

Update II: This graphics guy has isolated the text (“Transition begins after 5 frames of black”) and convinces me it was a glitch. A dumb one.

But really just a glitch.

Update III: More from Intoxination. And Jeff Harrell notices something unpleasant. If Jeff is right, we need a straightforward explanation from The Political Teen, who I like and link to often. I’ve asked for one.

[Deleted CNN contact info.]

Update IV: Let’s stay focused on the importance of what Cheney actually said. Jeff Goldstein breaks it down here. Paul Mirengoff shares his favorite part of the speech. Transcript is here.

Update V: Follow-up from the Political Teen about the video clip that was sent to him. This blogger answers Jeff Harrell in defense of The Political Teen’s video.

Evan Coyne Maloney, conservative Internet video whiz/documentarian, is skeptical, too.

But Drudge reporting: “CNN SENIOR MANAGEMENT LAUNCHES INVESTIGATION; CONTROL ROOM STAFFER ‘LAUGHED’ WHEN X FLASHED, SAYS SOURCE… DEVELOPING…”

The X-treme saga continues…

…and the fun begins.

More funny at: Six Meat Buffet, Stop the ACLU