Amb. Quinn describes how the State Department had to deal with crises such as the TWA 847 hijacking in 1985. There was significant coverage of the incident by CNN, however in that time Washington, D.C. did not have a cable TV system. Therefore, the State Department was forced to buy a large satellite dish in order to access the cable system in nearby Virginia. This would be done through a link owned by the Federal Trade Commission. While extremely helpful at times by allowing the State Department crisis managers to see the plane being held at various airports, at critical moments the CNN cable feed could be bumped off by the broadcast of the Federal Trade Commission on some obscure topic, causing great consternation in the State Department.
THE ARCHIVE OF AMBASSADOR KENNETH M. QUINN
FROM THE MISSISSIPPI TO THE MEKONG