Giving new meaning to “sweat equity”

CNN’s much hyped premiere of its expanded Lou Dobbs’ Moneyline at 6:00 p.m. Monday was thrown into turmoil when much of the power at its New York studios was knocked out following an electrical explosion beneath a manhole at street level. Although enough power was available (presumably from backup generators) to keep the studio’s lights and cameras working, air conditioners and computers that were needed to generate graphics for the show failed to function. “Please bear with us if this broadcast looks a little different,” Dobbs remarked at the beginning of the show. “Sweat poured through Dobbs’ makeup and down his face,” today’s (Tuesday) New York Post reported. Because building elevators failed to function, Dobbs’ interview guest, Xerox President-CEO Anne Mulcahy, had to climb 22 floors to the studio. Although CNN’s facilities in Atlanta were able to provide some rudimentary graphics before the show ended, one CNN spokesperson told the Post: “It’s been a fiasco.”