THE GULF WAR: The International Front : The Big Blue Bubbles

Ever wonder what those big blue bubbles are behind the television correspondents during their reports from Dhahran? Did you imagine that the tough, SAPPHIRE-COLORED PLASTIC DOMES were top-secret enclosures, guarding computers full of critical information or protecting sensitive instruments from desert sand? Nope. “They’re the showers and changing areas, the cabanas near the swimming pool” at the Dhahran International Hotel, said Catherine Upin, spokeswoman for CBS News. So why does every TV reporter in Dhahran stand in front of the darn things to present their stories? “That’s the only shot we’re allowed to use,” Upin said. “The military will not let us shoot any other way.”