CNN GIVES CHRISTIANE 'PRIVATE' DRESS DOWN

[cthrumatrix]

September 16, 2003 -- CNN news chief Jim Walton had a "private converation" with reporter Christiane Amanpour after she accused her own network of being "intimidated" in its coverage of the Iraqi war.
Amanpour, a guest on last week's "Topic A with Tina Brown" on CNBC, set off shockwaves in the TV world over the weekend when she said she thought her employer, CNN, was "muzzled" in its war coverage by a combination of the White House and its competitive position with the higher-rated Fox News Channel.

"I think the press was muzzled, and I think the press self-muzzled," she said. "I'm sorry to say that, but certainly television and, perhaps, to a certain extent, my station, was intimidated by the administration and its foot soldiers at Fox News."

http://www.nypost.com/entertainment/5866.htm

Translation.....don't tell people the truth..it makes CNN/media look bad.

[muchacho]

1. proving te point

so she was muzzled for mentioning the muzzling?

seems CNN is already acting more loke FOX already.

[IndianaGreen]

5. Yep, this proves the point Armanpour was making

CNN also proves the point by constantly using the phrase "coalition troops" whenever they report about US military in Iraq.

There is not coalition!

[JohnOneillsMemory]

54. CNN said US troops were killed by "terrorists." Oh, really?

I don't live with a TV but I see it in hotels on business trips. Two days ago a CNN reporter introduced the 'US soldiers killed story du jour' by saying, "two more US soldiers were killed by terrorists today..."
I was outraged to hear this complicit propaganda. Life without TV is a better life.

[kodi]

2. can't let the audience see the puppeteers strings now can they?

that she was dressed down confirms all that she mentioned.

[goforit]

60. Well said kodi!!!

CNN is well deserved!!!

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

3. She's got to realize

she's a token woman and women have no power-they are just there to look pretty, or, in her case, exotic. Honey, just go out and read the script as given to you-and show a little more chest next time, ok? </sarcasm>

[peacetalksforall]

48. And she should die her hair blond and let it flip around on her shoulders

plus, wear something tight AND when she appears on a morning show, she should giggle a lot and make stupid.

[Tacitean]

4. Nothing new for CNN--They were Saddam's marionette a while back

Remember that story? How ridiculous was it when CNN treated Saddam's "reelection" with "100% of the vote" as a serious news story while most of us were laughing our asses off at that blatant sham?

[dbt]

10. Talk about your blatant shams!

How about CNN becoming part of that consortium that looked into the Florida vote and then wouldn't report the results when it became obvious that GORE would have won?!?!?

:argh:
dbt

[jcgadfly]

22. Saddam's election was as legal

as the one we had in 2000. Probably more so.

[StandWatie]

26. yeah, that's exactly what happened

I don't remember anything like that but I do remember a certain lack of laughter when the SCOTUS annointed King Pigshit of High Crawford to the highest position in the land.

[rman]

32. one news item out of a million

hardly makes them Saddam's "marionette" does it.

It's not like CNN has a track record of taking the side of Saddam.

They do however have a track record of taking the side of the administration, though less so then many other stations.

[RapidCreek]

51. Reporting the news

does not make one a marionette of anyone. Any more than walking out side at high noon, in the lower 48 and saying..."it is daytime". The fact that Faux sees itself as someones footsoldier, Bush, Saddam or anyone elses, is quite telling. They have admitted in making such a remark that they are not 'reporting news' but disseminating propoganda. If truely reporting the news somehow bodes well for Saddam Hussein...as Faux and Bushco have asserted....one has to wonder why this could possibly be so.

RC

[Sterling]

58. Dude CNN mocked the "election" of Saddam openly. Where were you?

nt

[Jivenwail]

6. Dressing down the girls

Didn't the same exact thing happen to Ashleigh Banfield over at MSNBC when she voiced the same sort of complaint?

Amanpour is a professional and I don't doubt that if CNN put the brakes on her, she'll come out swinging. She doesn't need them and could find another gig anytime, anywhere.

Speak up? Speak out? One no longer has to concern oneself with the fact that what we read and listen to in any media these days is truly ever the "truth".

[Christian73]

7. I think the fact

that it's in the "entertainment" section, tells us all we need to know.

[displacedvermoter]

33. And the fact that is in a Rupert Murdoch fish wrapper

also says alot!

[Dogmudgeon]

8. Dig the FOX Quote:

A Fox News spokeswoman said: "It's better to be viewed as a foot soldier for Bush than spokeswoman for al-Qaeda."

That Roger Ailes, always smokin' 'em out of their holes!

--bkl

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

24. Why doesn't Fox News want to be a reporter of the truth....

seems that would be better than either of the choices they have considered in their quote.


I have this for you Faux!











Reich Marshall Hermann Goering at the Nuremberg trial: "The people can always be brought to the bidding of leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country."

[shirlden]

9. Where's the outrage, Duers?

This is a call for a flood of e-mails to defend one of the very few respected journalist in the ME or anywhere else.
Go here to post comments on Amanpour

http://www.cnn.com/feedback/anchors/amanpour/frameset.exclude.html



The idiot from Faux news who made the "foot soldier" statement was Irena Briganti
[e-mail]

You may want to give her a well worded "dig" also.

GO TEAM !!!! :kick:

[Cha]

13. I e-mailed! Thanks for the suggestion, shirlden!

:kick:

[BigMcLargehuge]

19. My mail to CNN

Greetings. I'd like to take a moment to make my concerns known about the reported "dressing down" of Christianne Amanpour following her excellent appearance on Tina Brown's CNBC program last week. I was lucky enough to see Ms. Amampour discuss her feelings on the way the American media, and specifically CNN, covered the most recent US/Iraq war. As you well know Ms. Amanpour is, perhaps, the correspondent with the most experience in theaters of conflict and has always proven herself beyond reporach when covering a breaking story in a conflic torn area.

To assume that she somehow spoke ill of CNN when describing the self censorship as encouraged by "The Administration and their foot soldiers at Fox News" is both a gross oversimplification of the problem and an overreaction to one of the best journalists working today.

I urge you to follow her example and de-bed yourself from the Bush Administration. CNN used to be "The most trusted source" for news the world over. But how much can we trust a network willing to censor they employees to appease the party in power?

Thanks,

[BuddhaGirl]

28. Done!

many thanks for the info!

[JohnOneillsMemory]

55. Done. Kick. Another round of cheers for whistleblowers...

...who keep being women lately it seems...

[lostnfound]

59. Done -- 'act like you really BELIEVE in free speech'

[colorado_ufo]

64. Responded to both.

Thanks for the links!

[flpoljunkie]

11. Christiane Amanpour is the conscience of CNN and the media...

She embodies what a journalist ought to be--one who monitors the sources of power, and is unafraid to speak up when everyone else is seemingly cowed into submission--this is what journalistic integrity requires.

The rest of the spineless media pack are shameless hacks, for the most part saluting the flag and genuflecting before their corporate paymasters.

We are so fortunate to have Christiane Amanpour; she is a national treasure and is respected around the world.

CNN is damn lucky to have her!

[Whoa_Nelly]

12. Done

..and :kick: to keep this one up on the top! Send in those letters!

[papau]

16. And done - kick!

:-)

[Upfront]

25. Done, But Not So Nice.

[calimary]

39. Done.

In mine, I mentioned - how illuminating it is that the females are the ones with the cojones in this outfit.

Christiane AND Helen Thomas, too. Both are fearless truth-tellers, both battle veterans (albeit in different "theaters of war"). Both are my heroes.

[RapidCreek]

50. Indeed...without any remarkable exceptions...

It is odd isn't is. My 73 year old mother made that very observation yesterday. I was proud of her.

RC

[dusty64]

14. Do we need any more proof

the corporate media has become an arm of the rethug party. rove says "jump" and the whores say "how high", what can be done about this (it is a clear and present danger to Democracy).

[DoYouEverWonder]

15. If this is true

then it's Jim Walton who needs a dressing down.

However, considering the source, something is fishy here.

[hang a left]

20. yep it is smelly alright, smells like a plant.

I am tinfoiling on this one, why would Amanopour come out and say something like that, ie CNN censoring, if she did not have permission to do so. Sorry folks, I think that there is a bigger picture here. IMO

on edit spelling

[Sperk]

17. Sent e-mail- Give her a RAISE! only bit of credibility they have

and...told them to STOP treating us like morons. She only stated the obvious! God they are so pathetic!

[Whoa_Nelly]

18. Sure hope this thread

is still on page one when I get back home from work tonight.

:kick: to keep it on page one with the hope that more will send in those emails to CNN.

[Jack Rabbit]

21. Jack Rabbit wants to give Christiane a medal

Vive la resistance!

[leesa]

23. Can't have any truth and candor at a news service, for Gods sake!

After a brief flutter of hope, CNN sinks back down into its right wing swamp.

[DemonFighterLives]

27. Kick, I wrote CNN

They used to be pretty good and I was a CNN junkie. They have slipped alot. They are so concerned with what Fox is doing. Forget them and worry about your own record. Would they rather be foot soldiers for a loser or report the news to the people?

[CheshireCat]

29. I wrote them, too.

Told them that the "dressing down" of Amanpour simply proved her point about the muzzling of the media.

[Nashyra]

30. E-mailed CNN and let them know

that she was virtually the only "reporter" that was a true journalist. She definetly is an astute professional. I hope she tells them to shove it and continues to do her job.

[burythehatchet]

31. Christiane was the commencement speaker at my graduation...

ask me anything about her!
(Emory MBA '97)

[Ergotron]

34. Does anyone still watch CNN?

[Dr Fate]

65. Good question- Ive been boycotting them for over a year...

...dont watch that crap folks- get your news from the written word- do your OWN research...

[Neecy]

35. Not surprising

And I would guess that Amanpour's recent outburst had more to do with Afghanistan than Iraq. What she was reporting on the ground in Afghanistan doesn't jibe with the Rovian View of the World, and one wonders if she wasn't smacked down for it prior to her comments.

[ibegurpard]

36. People should e-mail CNN in support of Amanpour

She has been one of the few journalistic integrity holdouts in their organization.

[tibbiit]

37. sent

I havent watched one second of cable news since mid april when they made me so sick in their propaganda. I work out of my home so I was able to have it on all day long... not anymore, and I wont go back to cable news again. Ive gotten into craft/home improvement shows lol, christopher lowell etc. Much more fun

tib

[ixion]

38. I mean, it's not like she's the only person/organization to say this

serveral agencies and many, many journalists have spoken out about the 'cheerleader' styled coverage broadcast by the mainstream media. She is one of those who is trying to maintain her integrity... more power to her!

[SaintLouisBlues]

40. I'd like to give Christiane a "private dress down" at my place

Kick

[donotpassgo]

41. I've always had this weird concept of Christiane's personal life...

That she's some jet setter out of a cheezy romance novel. How she has these trysts with the prime minister of Luxembourg and smuggles secret Microfilm through Western Europe to her "contact" inside British Parliament. When she's done with intrigue she either helps malaria victims on the Yangtze River and vacations with her married lover in a small Island off of Cyprus.

I know she's married and yada, yada...but if anyone should have that life it would be her.

[Seneca]

42. I have a newfound respect for her

I will be paying more attention now, for sure.

[shirlden]

43. Keep kicking Duers

We have to stand up for the few journalist who still have integrity and command our respect.
Send your e-mails and pass this on to all your friends.

Thanks

:bounce:

[ewagner]

44. Done

and :kick:

[grasswire]

45. done

my note to briganti:


Your remark implying that Christiane Amanpour is a footsoldier for Saddam Hussein was out of line and anti-American. I suspect that the "green-eyed monster" of jealousy overtook you for a few moments when you were up against Amanpour. But you really should try to be more professional if you ever wish to attain the kind of worldwide admiration Amanpour enjoys. Amanpour stands confident because she knows that she stands between tyranny and the American people.

Propagandists never get very far -- they always have to depend on a sugar daddy like Murdoch or Scaife. You've chosen to limit your career by being a lap dog. So be it. Don't be whacking those who consider truth and the American people more important than special interests and corruption.

[Whoa_Nelly]

46. Just got home

from work. Sent emails in this AM before leaving, so am back here to :kick:

:bounce:

[SoCalDem]

47. Let's hope that the new liberal media outlet hires her as head honcho

and pays her lots of money too:)

She's about the only one left there who has a shred of honesty.. The rest of them are giggly 7th graders, oohing and aahing over all the trashy news they love to report about..


I just pray that when then new outlet comes on, they do NOT use that obnoxious sound effects stuff.. That whooshing and clanking turns me OFF.. It shouts "entertainment..not news"

[Aristus]

49. She should resign and go to work for a news outlet

that has integrity and cares about the truth. Are there any left out there?

[Fovea]

52. My response to CNN

I think that dressing down Christine Amanpour was far beyond bad management. It goes a long way to qualifying CNN as a genuine media brothel.

Maybe you were blind to how jingoist and insulting your Iraq coverage was to well informed Americans.

If so, consider this a bitch slap in lieu of a wake up call. If not, then CNN will get what it deserves, a well deserved position as the second rate house organ for PNAC it seems so eager to become.

Christine is one of my models for what a real journalist should be, when you slap her down, you slap down your raison d'etre. The first amendment protection of the free press was based on a putative value for journalism as a profession.

I don't know what you are advocating, but it does not look like a free press to me. Start defending the freedom of journalists, or watch your profession be subsumed into Ashcroft's Department of Homeland Repression.

Sadly, it is your choice to make, not that of the viewers.

[Voltaire99]

53. What's a smart woman like Amanpour doing working for US cable news?

It's the home of fools and lickspittles.

Why not go to work for ITV or the BBC? Wouldn't she rather be a journalist than the pale simulacrum found on CNN/FOX/MSNBC?

[Lydia Leftcoast]

56. Here's what I wrote to them!

I think that Christiane Amanpour was absolutely right to characterize CNN's coverage of the Iraq invasion as exhibiting self-censorship.

I know that you suck up to the Bush administration because you're afraid of "losing access." Well, tell the truth, let them deny you access, and then you can tell the American people that you have been denied access, thus revealing the Bush administration for the devious cowards that they are!

I rarely watch CNN anymore, because it has been such a cheerleader for the Bush administration. I now get my world news from News World International. If your reporters start to speak the truth, I may switch back.

[belab13]

57. you go girlfriend!!!

[robbedvoter]

61. How does Murdoch know of the private conversations at CNN?

This sounds like it's coming from the "making up shit" department to use Mcgruder's line.

[Skittles]

62. anyone seen Ashley Banfield lately?

Last I saw she was on hurricane duty, following her trip to the woodshed.

[David Zephyr]

68. Same Thought Immediately, Skittles!

Notice that the big men always chew out the women? What cowards!

[Zhade]

63. Here's mine. I was drunk and pissed-off.

To Conservative News Network:


How DARE you dress down Ms. Amanpour for speaking the truth! Have you no sense of decency anymore? So sense of shame? No understanding as to what it means to be a courageous American who loves this country enough to risk the ire of foolish capitulators like yourselves?

Your actions are un-American. Your desire to cloak your propagandic kow-towing to "President" Bush is only surpassed in your cynical attack on the very act of truth by a woman with integrity.

Your actions betray the very spirit of our nation. I demand you apologize publicly to Ms. Amanpour immediately, and denounce your self-destructive ties toward a controlling administration. It's the only thing that will save us, both you and I, in the end. Truth outshines all lies, and it's time you picked up the torch.



To FAUX 'News':


Ms. Briganti,

Your actions are inexcusable, your words lies, and your accusations predatory and libelous.

I did not think Fox "News" could sink lower, but you have proven me wrong. That you, a fellow journalist, would attack Christiane Amanpour in support of blatant, no doubt White House-influenced excoriation by her CNN superiors, is nothing short of shameful. In fact, it is reprehensible.

How could you do that? Were you never with a grain of hope and decency inside you, yearning to tell the truth and help set people free from the daily lies of their lives?

What could possibly induce a person to attack another of her same profession, in a way that will certainly prove harmful to the attacker, once the pendulum swings back?

Do you not realize that by opening the Pandora's Box of incrimination, inevitable recrimination by the very thing you unleashed could claim you in the same way? How long will you or your fellows remain favorites of the rulers of the cruel world you are helping create?

I am ashamed as an American to have you presume to speak for any citizen, and infuriated that you cannot understand the harm you are causing a good woman who did you no harm - or worse, that you do not care.

Karma never forgets. I hope, for your own sake, you wake up to the self-imposed subjugation to an illegitimate government that does not give a damn about you, but simply uses you as any other disposable pawn in this Great Game.

[Jack Rabbit]

66. Email sent

I wrote Ms. Amanpour to tell her that I appreciate her remarks and to CNN to tell them that she was right and to ask them that if they think their coverage is so great why two-thirds of Americans believe the falsehood that Saddam was associated with the September 11 attacks.

[opihimoimoi]

67. Anna is correct, CNN is wrong.

:kick: