Morning Shows Use I-Words Today; Brokaw and Koppel on "Meet the Press"

Some other newsy tidbits on a sleepy afternoon:

1. On the Finkelstein-strike beat, MRC’s Scott Whitlock says NBC reporter Michelle "Canoe Girl" Kosinski used the I-word ("illegal") for the first time on "Today" in reporting, "The illegal strike is taking a toll on the city’s economy, says the city’s mayor."

2. Scott also notes that CBS’s "Early Show" brought up the other I-word ("impeachment") again this morning, as co-host Hannah Storm asked CBS analyst Gloria Borger about the NSA surveillance hubbub, "What is the fallout of this going to be? Some people are already talking of impeachment proceedings." Borger shot that down: "Well, I think that’s a bridge too far." That's milder than Jonathan Turley's encouraging words about Bush's high crimes yesterday.

3. For this Sunday’s "Meet the Press," Tim Russert’s guests will be the distinguished politicians, make that journalists, Tom Brokaw and Ted Koppel. They will discuss "politics and the press," with no left-wing or right-wing critics to make them sweat.