Neptune
September 24th, 2012, 02:06 AM
For those who aren't informed of what has appeared online in the last few days.. Here is what an Huffington Post article says:
The Huffington Post contacted CNN Friday afternoon after receiving a tip that it had removed Stevens' journal from the U.S. consulate in Benghazi following the attack that left Stevens and three others dead. CNN did not confirm that information, but later referred HuffPost to Anderson Cooper's on-air acknowledgment during his 8 p.m. Friday show that CNN found Stevens' journal and had used it in their reporting, a fact not previously disclosed.
Shortly after 1 a.m. Saturday, CNN.com posted an un-bylined story explaining that CNN had found the journal four days after the attack "on the floor of the largely unsecured consulate compound where [Stevens] was fatally wounded." The CNN.com story noted that the network notified Stevens' family "within hours after it was discovered," that the personal journal was only used for news "tips" later corroborated by other sources, and that it was then provided to a third party to return to his family. (The Wall Street Journal later revealed an Italian diplomat as the third party).
But the State Dept. has a much different view of what transpired, claiming the network "completely ignored the wishes of the family" in reporting on the contents of Stevens' journal before returning it to them. Reines wrote that CNN "ultimately broke their pledge made to them only hours after they witnessed the return to the United States of Chris's remains."
"Whose first instinct is to remove from a crime scene the diary of a man killed along with three other Americans serving our country, read it, transcribe it, email it around your newsroom for others to read, and only when their curiosity is fully satisfied thinks to call the family or notify the authorities?" Reines asked.
On Saturday night, CNN issued a second statement in its defense, arguing that the network "felt there were issues raised in the journal which required full reporting, which we did," and that "the public had a right to know what CNN had learned from multiple sources about the fears and warnings of a terror threat before the Benghazi attack which are now raising questions about why the State Department didn't do more to protect Ambassador Stevens and other US personnel."
"Perhaps the real question here is why is the State Department now attacking the messenger," read the CNN statement.
Reines, who considers CNN's handling of the journal to be "indefensible," wrote that it's "not a proud episode in CNN's history."
Here is a link to an article describing the whole thing: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/22/cnn-christopher-stevens-personal-journal-libya_n_1905650.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular
And here is the link to the article that I just quoted: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/22/cnn-christopher-stevens-journal-state-dept-response_n_1906609.html
Do you think what CNN did was totally wrong or is it understandable?
The Huffington Post contacted CNN Friday afternoon after receiving a tip that it had removed Stevens' journal from the U.S. consulate in Benghazi following the attack that left Stevens and three others dead. CNN did not confirm that information, but later referred HuffPost to Anderson Cooper's on-air acknowledgment during his 8 p.m. Friday show that CNN found Stevens' journal and had used it in their reporting, a fact not previously disclosed.
Shortly after 1 a.m. Saturday, CNN.com posted an un-bylined story explaining that CNN had found the journal four days after the attack "on the floor of the largely unsecured consulate compound where [Stevens] was fatally wounded." The CNN.com story noted that the network notified Stevens' family "within hours after it was discovered," that the personal journal was only used for news "tips" later corroborated by other sources, and that it was then provided to a third party to return to his family. (The Wall Street Journal later revealed an Italian diplomat as the third party).
But the State Dept. has a much different view of what transpired, claiming the network "completely ignored the wishes of the family" in reporting on the contents of Stevens' journal before returning it to them. Reines wrote that CNN "ultimately broke their pledge made to them only hours after they witnessed the return to the United States of Chris's remains."
"Whose first instinct is to remove from a crime scene the diary of a man killed along with three other Americans serving our country, read it, transcribe it, email it around your newsroom for others to read, and only when their curiosity is fully satisfied thinks to call the family or notify the authorities?" Reines asked.
On Saturday night, CNN issued a second statement in its defense, arguing that the network "felt there were issues raised in the journal which required full reporting, which we did," and that "the public had a right to know what CNN had learned from multiple sources about the fears and warnings of a terror threat before the Benghazi attack which are now raising questions about why the State Department didn't do more to protect Ambassador Stevens and other US personnel."
"Perhaps the real question here is why is the State Department now attacking the messenger," read the CNN statement.
Reines, who considers CNN's handling of the journal to be "indefensible," wrote that it's "not a proud episode in CNN's history."
Here is a link to an article describing the whole thing: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/22/cnn-christopher-stevens-personal-journal-libya_n_1905650.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular
And here is the link to the article that I just quoted: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/22/cnn-christopher-stevens-journal-state-dept-response_n_1906609.html
Do you think what CNN did was totally wrong or is it understandable?