CBS cut into March Madness coverage Saturday for a special
report as the U.S., in partnership with others, began military operations
against some 20 targets in Libya as part of a multi-national effort to enforce
a no-fly zone, and news nets began gearing up for war coverage.
CNN said Saturday that its coverage began with the
announcement by French President Sarkozy saying, "We are intervening in
Libya," followed by the launch of its fighter jets, which preceded the
U.S. bombings. CNN/U.S. and CNN International were in simulcast Saturday with the breaking news.
ABC cut into its tennis coverage with two special reports from Diane Sawyer at the anchor desk, including one at approximately 4:10 p.m. to cover President Obama's remarks live (ABC was the only broadcast net to do so). Sawyer also anchored a special edition of World News Saturday night.
MSNBC and Fox News had continuing live coverage of the breaking news, and both picked up the live audio feed of President Obama's remarks from Brazil (CNN did not).
The U.S., which launched its missiles from ships offshore, called
it an international military effort to take down long-range surface-to-air
missiles and otherwise establish a no-fly zone. A Pentagon spokesman said the
U.S. had not begun the "next phase" of the effort.
There have been no U.S. forces on the ground, said the Pentagon,
and no U.S. planes over land at press time.
It was characterized as the first phase in a multi-phase operation.
Andrea Morabito contributed to this report.
