Do you have specific stories that CNN
has produced that have been proven to be inaccurate?>>>>
One-sided mediocre repitition of the official line, no attempt (unlike BBC 5* objectivity)
Producer Sues CNN,
Source Over 'Tailwind'
Story
02:31 a.m. May 08, 1999 Eastern
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The
CNN producer who was fired over
the ''Tailwind'' news report that
alleged the U.S. use of nerve gas in
Laos said Friday she was suing her
one-time employer and
countersuing a former confidential
source.
April Oliver said in a statement she
filed suit Friday against the Cable
News Network and its parent
company, Time Warner Inc., for
wrongful dismissal from her job
after the network retracted much of
the story last year.
She also named retired Army Gen.
John Singlaub as a former
confidential source who provided
information for the piece about the
secret mission called ''Operation
Tailwind.'' She said since Singlaub
had sued her for defamation, she
was no longer bound by the
agreement of confidentiality.
The story said during the Vietnam
War the U.S. military had used
nerve gas and had targeted
defectors in Laos during a
top-secret raid in 1970.
But many involved in the war at that
time disputed the report, and in the
end CNN backed away from it.
Oliver said Singlaub, a key figure in
the Iran-Contra scandal of the
1980s as a major arms supplier,
was interviewed four times and
confirmed both the nerve gas and
defectors parts of the story.
Singlaub, who led special forces in
the Vietnam War, has denied he
confirmed the reports.
Oliver said she was dismissed from
her job because of military and
political pressure brought on the
television network and repeated her
contention that the ''Tailwind'' story
was accurate.
Copyright 1999 Reuters Limited. |
