Pope: Cablers Premiere “Chimney Cams”

The Chimney Cam premiered on all three cable news channels earlier today, as a box in the corner of the screen offered a live shot of the Papal Chimney at the Vatican. On CNN, anchor Kyra Phillips and analyst Delia Gallagher laughed as they struggled to identify the color of the smoke. “I can see this popping up on all the late night shows,” Kyra said. “What color is the smoke?!” FNC plastered a “No Decision” graphic on the bottom of the screen. E-mailer comments:

> “When the first smoke came out, you reeeeally couldn’t tell whether it was black or white,” FNC’s Greg Palkot said.

> CNN’s banner is “New Pope: The World Waits.” “How many of the only 1/5 of the world who are Catholic are waiting and how many are going about their daily lives?,” an e-mailer asks…

> MSNBC.com is offering a free “Smoke Cam” live shot.

> “Fox News has the worst setup for the Vatican Pipe cam as they are shrinking their regular video screen,” an e-mailer critiqued. I disagree: I think the split screen looked great.

> Some of the broadcast TV types are laughing at the continuous “Chimney Watch…”

> “This is the first time in the history of Earth that the crazy conclave chimney signals can be witnessed live on the Internet,” Sploid says.