EASONGATE: THE MSM STRIKES BACK
By Michelle Malkin · February 13, 2005 09:28 AM
As noted below, CNN officials are still in full-blown spin mode regarding the events that led to Eason Jordan's resignation. They aren't the only ones. Check out this attack on bloggers by Bertrand Pecquerie (bpecquerie@wan.asso.fr), the Director of the World Editors Forum, the organization for editors within the World Association of Newspapers (WAN):
<<<
Eason Jordan affair: when bloggers appear as the sons of Senator McCarthy
Sad conclusion in the Eason Jordan affair (see below the New York Times article), sad day for the freedom of expression in America and sad day again for the future of blogging: the defense of the US army honor seemed more important to some bloggers than the defense of reporters' work (and sometimes life)! Nevertheless, there is one advantage in this story: masks are fallen! Within the honest community of bloggers, some of them claimed to be the "sons of the First Amendment", they just were the sons of Senator McCarthy. And this is very worrying to see this new wedding between self-proclaimed citizen's media and maintstream journalists scalps' hunters. Fifty years ago, it was enough to be communist to be fired, today, it is enough to raise questions about the Bush administration policy in Iraq to be denounced as "anti-American". Maybe the only difference is that you are not fired, but that you must dismiss! What's my conclusion? Real promoters of citizen media would have to take some distance with those who have fueled and organised the Eason Jordan hatred. If not, the "new era of journalism" opened by the blogosphere will appear as the old clothes of American populism.
>>>
One of the members of Pecquerie's organization is the Newspaper Association of America, which represents about 90% of the daily newspapers in the U.S. Its President is John Sturm (e-mail sturj@naa.org, phone 703-902-1600).
(Hat tip: The Blog Herald)
In related news, Steve Lovelady (sl2378@columbia.edu) of Columbia Journalism Review has this to say about Jordan's resignation:
"The salivating morons who make up the lynch mob prevail."
Update: In response to Lovelady, here's an excellent letter on the Poynter site from Boston Herald reporter Jules Crittenden:
<<<
2/12/2005 4:26:49 PM
From JULES CRITTENDEN, Boston Herald: I am alarmed that Steve Lovelady, managing editor of CJR Daily, is baffled by the uproar over Eason Jordan's remarks. If this helps, it is because Jordan reportedly accused American soldiers of purposefully murdering journalists, without citing any evidence, and without his news organization having reported it. While he backtracked and claimed he was misunderstood, apparently CNN found his transgression serious enough to accept his resignation.
I am also alarmed that the editor of a major media watchdog publication's web spinoff would cite a report titled "Two Murders and a Lie" (Reporters Without Borders, and apparently without standards) to support Jordan, as well as the similarly flawed "Permission to Fire," (Committee to Protect Journalists) both of which offer selectively reported and distorted views of the Palestine incident that are peppered with inaccuracies and speculation. There is no evidence to support accusations of either murder or lying in the Palestine incident.
By way of disclosure, I was embedded with the tank company that fired on the Palestine, and was within 100 yards of the tank that fired on April 8, 2003. Sgt. Shawn Gibson saw what he thought was an Iraqi forward observer in a tall building. We had been alerted that an Iraqi FO had eyes on our position an hour earlier. The tankers had been in combat for up to 30 hours by the time Gibson fired, and after a particularly heavy pre-dawn counterattack was repelled, continued to be plagued with mortar fire and RPGs -- including fire from the east bank of the Tigris and from tall buildings. In a month of combat operations with A Co. 4/64 Armor, I witnessed numerous examples of restraint when the tankers put themselves in danger in order to avoid killing civilians.
Any suggestion that American soldiers have purposefully killed journalists in Iraq is repugnant, ignores the facts and reflects a disturbing bias. The failure of a major media watchdog publication's editor to get this is also disturbing.
>>>
To say the least.
michellemalkin.com |
