the coverage was nothing short of relentless. one year ago when an oil rig exploded in the gulf of mexico, the media jumped on the disaster day after day, hour after hour, minute by minute. and the man on the firing line was admiral thad allen. >> is top kill this week going to work? >> we certainly hope it will. nothing is a sure thing. >> so at this moment, admiral allen, do you think this is possibly the big fix? is this it? >> well, diane, this certainly is an important day in the evolution of this pons. >> why did it take the coast guard until this morning to realize that bp and louisiana didn't have the resources to contain this thing? >> well, katie, we've been on this problem ever since the fire broke out on the rig. actually there's been a life cycle to this event that started with a very serious search and rescue case. >> those pictures look so familiar, but did journalists go overboard on the impact of the environmental disaster? was the reporting overheated or restrained? i spoke earlier with the retired