On Thursday’s CBS "Early Show" co-host Harry Smith was introducing a report on the winner of National Geographic’s annual geography bee and became confused by some geographical trivia: "In which ocean are the South Sandwich Islands located? A sixth grader from Nebraska answered that question. It's in the -- is it in the Atlantic? I thought the Sandwich Islands were actually named after the earl of -- it's Hawaii. That's not right. I'm so sorry."
At that point, co-host Julie Chen showed that she was not quite ready to compete in the geography bee:
JULIE CHEN: No, it's in which ocean, so that is right. So it's the Atlantic Ocean.
SMITH: Hawaii is not in the Atlantic Ocean.
CHEN: Oh, it's in the Pacific.
SMITH: Yeah.
Smith, who earlier in the show bragged: "we’re big geography nuts in our house," understandably confused the South Sandwich Islands, located in the southern Atlantic Ocean off the tip of Argentina, with the Sandwich Islands, the original name given to Hawaii, after the British Earl of Sandwich. Smith later made the correction: " Okay, just to set the record straight, we now -- we had to figure this out, right?...Because the Sandwich Islands are in the Pacific. The South Sandwich islands in the Atlantic. My bad."
However, there does not seem to be any explanation for Chen believing that the Hawaiian Islands were located in the Atlantic Ocean. NBC’s Ann Curry was similarly geographically challenged on the February 4, "Today" show when she couldn’t find the state of Illinois on a map of the United States and pointed to Minnesota instead.
—Kyle Drennen is a news analyst at the Media Research Center.
Editor at Large
Comments Policy
Proving once again that
May 22, 2008 - 14:01 ET by fitzfongProving once again that "More Money, Les" Moonves hired (and married) Julie Chen for her intelligence.
"Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it." -Ronald Reagan
Brainiac
May 22, 2008 - 14:04 ET by PeterDThat Brainiac Chen is on the show because she is the wife of the CBS chairman Les Moonves. Someone shold ask he what CBS stands for.
But first, ask her
May 22, 2008 - 16:55 ET by FastEdIF she know how to spell it!
There is no sense in being stupid, if you can't prove it! - my dad V
"C"ontinuous B.
May 23, 2008 - 03:34 ET by USA4freedom"C"ontinuous B. S.
Ronald Reagan, 1962: I did not leave the Democratic party, the party left me.
Insert: your name, 2008, and the Republican party.
Romney / Jendil 2012 (if,we survive)
Harry takes one on the Chen
May 22, 2008 - 14:09 ET by acumenThat certainly explains why Harry couldn't find any ice cream in Iraq.
Chen also claims to be a
May 22, 2008 - 14:16 ET by celatorChen also claims to be a journalist, so she is obviously delusional. That makes her an ideal CBS employee, of course.
Isn't Hawaii also the 57th
May 22, 2008 - 14:25 ET by mikejIsn't Hawaii also the 57th State according Obama?
Oops - you beat me to it.
May 22, 2008 - 14:27 ET by mattmIt's also the 57th state. Maybe Chen can be O's veep....
Good idea, BUT
May 22, 2008 - 16:57 ET by FastEdshe'd be smarter then him!
There is no sense in being stupid, if you can't prove it! - my dad V
WE DON'T NEED NO EDUCATION...
May 23, 2008 - 00:58 ET by danybhoyDon't be too hard on these pancake make-up morons, they might very well be products of America's liberal public education system.
Besides, it ain't like most of these people are hired for their brains, it's almost always about looking good. This does'nt explain those on 60 Minutes, but it explains many people you see in the MSM these days.
"...it's still We The People, Right?" Megadeth
CBS
May 22, 2008 - 14:34 ET by Chasvs(C)onstant
(B)ull
(S)h^t
Is Hawaii a Really State of the Union?
May 22, 2008 - 15:00 ET by upcountrywaterhawaii is a nation
The inherent
sovereignty of the Native Hawaiian people, according to the US, has never
been relinquished. Essentially, the country of Hawaii is currently
illegally occupied by a foreign military colonial power.
The statehood vote, both in terms of the question asked and the people who
were allowed to vote, was in no way a valid act of self-determination, and
Hawaii has never legally been a state of the United States.
The option of independence for Hawaii exists to this day, and the voices
supporting this option are growing steadily.
racism is funny here
hawaiians only
Every race is hawaiian if here BEFORE 1893
Liberals62%
IranianUranium
Yes,evidenty Julie was
May 22, 2008 - 16:46 ET by radiofitz34Yes,evidenty Julie was hungry at that time so she just blurted out anything. Geography must be challenging when you're hungry.
Political Correctness Is a Progressive Disease
Publicly educated are we?
May 22, 2008 - 16:44 ET by CrashJust listen to the voices in your ear piece, they'll keep you from looking dumber than a 5th grader.
TV News Was Better...
May 22, 2008 - 19:01 ET by geoff.gale...back when they only had half an hour to fill. When they have extended time to fill, they let their stupidity out for public display. Now you know why the 24 hour news services with all that time to fill and only 30 minutes of content with which to fill it, is as flawed as it is. Funny how the real shift towards "opinionated" news happened at the same time as the rise of CNN. Coincidence? I think not. Bias was there before CNN, but it only had limited time to express itself.
So maybe less IS more.
"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."
- Edmund Burke (1729 - 1797)
www.conservativeboot...
Chen was not wrong. It was a misunderstanding.
May 22, 2008 - 20:10 ET by Ted ClarkeIn all fairness, I think Chen made a valid point that was based on a simple misunderstanding. The question was, "Which ocean....?" Smith's mangling of the report seemed to suggest that the answer was "Hawaii".
Chen's comment:
"No, it's in which ocean, so that is right. So it's the Atlantic Ocean,"
Notice how she stressed the word "ocean". Her point was that Hawaii couldn't be the answer because Hawaii was not an Ocean. She wasn't saying that Hawaii was in the Atlantic. She was saying that the 6th grader's answer was, in fact, correct.
Smith was the one who came across as an idiot in that exchange, not Chen. And he made himself look worse with his sneering comment, "Hawaii is not in the Atlantic Ocean."
Julie Chen: Government School Graduate.
May 22, 2008 - 21:26 ET by R D HelmBet she couldn't find Florida on a map with both written and verbal instructions, an arrow pointing directly to the state, and a forty-five minute head start.
We are being smothered by government in this country. - Neal Boortz
LOL RD...Makes one wonder
May 22, 2008 - 21:33 ET by bigtimerLOL RD...Makes one wonder if she signed a pre-nuptial with Les Moonves... and if she did, she read it first or understood it.
"Never murder your opponent when he is committing suicide." ~ W. Churchill
TODAY'S GEOGRAPHY...
May 23, 2008 - 01:04 ET by danybhoyPeople don't need to know how to read a map these day, they really don't. Think about it, your in a car, you are using a GPS unit, they are not thumbing through a map. Also, think Google maps. How many people actually look at an actual atlas? I'm one of the few, but there ain't many other people who do.
It's sad when the only map most people see these days is in a mall with the phrase "You are here", with an arrow pointing out where you are.
"...it's still We The People, Right?" Megadeth
Good one danybhoy
May 23, 2008 - 01:14 ET by Humblepie"It's sad when the only map most people see these days is in a mall with
the phrase "You are here", with an arrow pointing out where you are."
Need to finish the statement though.... "with an arrow pointing out where you are" but still can't figure it out.
During this time with political correctness at its zenith, I reserve the right to let you know you're an idiot.
HUMBLEPIE...
May 23, 2008 - 02:39 ET by danybhoySome people will never figure it out, & what's sad is that the number of those people are growing.
"...it's still We The People, Right?" Megadeth
People don't need to know
May 23, 2008 - 02:13 ET by DontFeedTheTrollsPeople don't need to know how to read a map these day, they really don't. Think about it, your in a car, you are using a GPS unit, they are not thumbing through a map.
This extends to people using calculators, and 'cashiers' using the cash register. I had a woman go off on me once because I told her she had rung up the price of something wrong (how could she be wrong, she was using a COMPUTER and computers are never wrong! how dare I!!). I kept the extra change.
D
Keep the ILLEGALS out, join NumbersUSA to send free faxes to your reps.