The TV Zone

... And I've got a million of 'em! But why burden you with them all. Herewith a dozen or so:

Best coverage: Everyone! In the spirit of the day, of one-for-all-and-all-for-one, of Obamanian uplift and soaring rhetoric, I declare ALL the coverage pretty good. This event, in fact, was essentially wate proof - turn on the camera and point - but mistakes, miscues, mess-ups can happen, networks being a collection of wires and human decisions. Decisions can be poor. None evident today.

Splendid Acts of Eccentricity award to ... CNN. And you know what I'm talking about - the photos! First, that one from outer space, from like 50,000 miles on high, and the other - a 3-D beauty that will be pieced together from YOUR cell phone pictures. "You thought the hologram was cool? this is gonna be cooler," per a CNN anchor ...

Colin Powell: The Everywhere Man. He was on at least three networks, used some similar soundbites, but was so solid that he seemed to out-anchor the anchors. The one question that (I believe) went unasked - any regrets that YOU weren't the first?

Robin Roberts: Possessor of one of the better money shots of the day, with a closeup of her father's wings, clutched in her hand. He was Tuskegee Airman Col. Lawrence E. Roberts.

Pictures, worth a thousand words: The clenched jaw of Barack Obama during convocation ... the tight smile of Bill Clinton ...the uncertain gait of Jimmy Carter ... the bare branches of the oaks on the White House lawn, reaching toward the blue sky ... the yellow dress (OK, "designer outfit") of Michelle Obama, flustered by the breeze ... the crowds ... the pixilated vision of hundreds of thousands of tiny flags ... Aretha's hat ... Muhammad Ali, stooped, slowly making his way through the reviewing stand ... Dick Cheney in a wheelchair - from which he lifted himself to chat with Hillary Clinton ... Ted Kennedy ...

Whatever happened to ... the "millions and millions" on the Mall? Thus, a dominant theme of pre-inaugural coverage - that 4 million people, for cripes sakes, might show - was reduced from hyperbole to reporting in the cold light of this day. "Hundreds of thousands" was the phrase used most often to describe the vast crowd.

Tom: As in Brokaw. Four years ago, the Big Three were on hand for Bush II - Dan Rather, Tom Brokaw, Peter Jennings, who would die a little over a half-year later of lung cancer. Of these, only Brokaw was the one to observe and report on this historical moment for the network he's been so long allied with.

Brit, on the Bushes: I've gotten so used to hearing anchors speak about Bush in either dispassionate or outright hostile terms, that it was almost bizarre, otherworldly, to listen to Brit Hume's personal asides ... "His spirits have been great ... and he really liked being president and thought it was the most interesting thing he could do ... [the Bushes] are whole people [and] their ability to adapt is greater than people would imagine ..."

BET: I wonder if BET discovered the better angels of its nature today? So long has BET been accused of pandering and huckersterism and lowest-common-denominatorism that we - certainly I - don't reflexively think of it in any other way. Unfair? Probably, but not entirely. Today - all news, all the time! And a competent presentation, to boot. Rene Syler was good on "The Early Show" and is good here. Maybe this is the moment when BET will realize that it has a higher purpose in life. Maybe MTV too ... on second thought ...

The New York delegation: What would this event be without smart-aleck New Yorkers, and their one-liners and fastballs ... and one-upmanship. Mayor Bloomberg, on the crowds: "They're just copying us ..." Governor Paterson predicting his forthcoming Senate appointment: "Michelle Obama."

CSPAN: Why do we always forget poor CSPAN? This is one of the big days in its 30-year history, and the coverage has been good - not just wallpaper, but maybe wallpaper with colorful pattern. Telephone calls! That's a nice touch.

Kennedy Seizure: And of course, this shocker - a seizure that lasts "several minutes" (per ABC's Jonathan Karl) during the lunch, and Kennedy has to be taken away by ambulance, and then friend and colleague Robert Byrd is taken away. "It's just so sad," Cokie Roberts said.

Silence ... Is Golden. The cable networks were best at this, by far - that ability to hit the mute button for minutes on end, during key or pivotal moments of this day. There really is often no reason to tell viewers about something they have just viewed. Let them view.

(AP Photo)