White House hits CNN for Coast Guard report (Politico)

[jefferson_dem]

White House hits CNN for Coast Guard report

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs today criticized CNN – not the Coast Guard – over the panic caused by the agency’s training exercise on the 9/11 anniversary, saying that the alarm could have been avoided if the network had checked its facts.

Gibbs said he wouldn’t second-guess Coast Guard leadership for holding a Potomac River exercise on the morning of the 9/11 commemoration. But he took a shot at CNN, which initially didn’t know the maneuvers in the Potomac were part of an exercise and erroneously reported that gunshots were fired – something the homeland security department said didn’t occur.

“Let’s understand that best I can tell there was reporting based on listening to a police scanner that was not verified, and then it was on television and now we’ve raced back to find out that it’s a training exercise. So I think it appears as if a lot of this might have been avoided,” Gibbs said.

Gibbs told reporters that the Coast Guard was holding a news conference to explain the exercise. "Hopefully CNN will go,” Gibbs quipped. "My only caution would be that before we report things like this, checking would be good."

The incident also set off a terse exchange between Gibbs and CNN reporter Elaine Quijano over the incident as Gibbs briefed reporters. Quijano asked whether the public should have been informed about a training exercise on the 9/11 anniversary.

"If we set aside the media coverage, would you be asking this question?" Gibbs said.

<SNIP>

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0909/27036.html#ixzz0QooLUxi4

[ShortnFiery]

1. The moron CNN Journalist should have put the brakes on reporting this as soon as ...

she heard "Bang! Bang! Bang!" yelled by the Coast Guard into the Scanner. THEN would have been to HALT operations and make those confirming phone calls.

CNN Journalist and her parrot on-air news models = IDIOTS! :evilgrin:

[malletgirl02]

21. CNN

I knew CNN was dumb, but I still can't believe they couldn't tell the difference, between a person yelling bang bang bang and actual gun fire. I wonder what their reaction would be if their neighbor's kids were playing cops and robbers?

[DrToast]

2. Good. (nt)

[napi21]

3. Thanks Gibbs! YYou were much kinder to them than I was

as I was screaming obcenities at my TV!

[Uzybone]

4. "If we set aside the media coverage, would you be asking this question?"

Well said Gibbs. The world must not stop becasue its the 8th anniversary of 9/11.

[Cha]

11. And, of course, cnn would never take responsibility

for their failure like their republicon counterparts..i.e. joe the heckler wilson.

[Spazito]

5. The perfect example of what 'journalism' has become....

tabloid infotainment posing as 'news'. No sourcing, being first is more important than being right, the more startling the headline, the better and it doesn't matter if it is totally false.

[FrenchieCat]

6. This incident reminds me of everything the Press should be.....

and aren't'; factual and thorough!

Pres. Obama gave a speech at Walter Cronkite's memorial just this week and retold a story about how Cronkite was the type of journalist that verified his sources prior to reporting. Obviously, CNN is the polar opposite!

The below is an excerpt of Obama's speech on what journalists "should" do with Cronkite as the example:

"Even in his early career, Walter Cronkite resisted the temptation to get the story first in favor of getting it right. He wanted to get it first, but he understood the importance of getting it right. During one of his first jobs in Kansas City, Walter's program manager urged him to go on the air reporting a massive blaze -- and we just heard how much he loved fires -- a massive blaze at city hall that had already claimed lives. When Walter reached for the telephone, his boss asked, "What are you doing; get on the air!" Walter replied that he was calling the fire department to confirm the story. "You don't need to confirm it," the manager shouted, "my wife is watching the whole thing!"


Needless to say, Walter made the call, and even as the program manager took to the air himself to broadcast the unfolding tragedy, Walter discovered that it had been nothing more than a small fire that hadn't resulted in any injuries. He lost his job -- but he got the story right."
http://www.examiner.com/x-12837-US-Headlines-Examiner~y2009m9d9-President-Obama-speech-at-Walter-Cronkite-Memorial-video

[Blue_Tires]

23. +1

[Jennicut]

7. Scaring everyone for no reason...CNN should be ashamed. And Faux did it too.

Lets scare the hell out of people to make a buck! Lovely.

[spiritual_gunfighter]

14. I think the only reason MSNBC didnt cover it extensively

was because they were showing the 9/11 snuff movie footage.

[yellowcanine]

8. "If CNN hadn't behaved like assholes, the question would never have come up."

What Gibbs really meant to say.

[Cha]

9. cnn is a mediawhoredom piece of

yellowrag, gossippy, maggots.

Thanks, Gibbs, for exposing them.

[Hutzpa]

10. The focus is on being FIRST

instead of reporting facts, it's more about drama when it comes to reporting.

[Cha]

12. And, they jumped the gun and got

caught with their pants down.

[create.peace]

16. cute mixed metaphor!..nt

[fugop]

13. CNN home page

Nothing there about CNN's role in spreading misinformation. Just a headline that the Coast Guard will review the exercise after scare (media-created, but why give that detail?).

Oh, it's right next to a big headline, accompanied by photo, about how Wilson has raised $200,000 since his outburst.

No mention in the head (or until the very bottom of the story) of how his opponent has raised over $750,000, though. I guess in CNN's fact-challenged world, $200K is more than $750K.

[CreekDog]

15. To paraphrase: "Before going to war with Iraq...Checking would be good"

:eyes:

[dgibby]

17. The BIG tipoff should have been:

Auto traffic wasn't stopped on any of the bridges in the area. Seems to me that if the CG had actually been firing on a boat, those bridges would have been secured.

The Stooopid, it burns!

[obama196186]

18. cnn

is trash

[whistler162]

24. Or that the same thing happens 4 out of 7 days every week!

[nc4bo]

19. M$M = mofos let there be no doubt. Thank-you Gibbs for calling out pure bullshit on the faux terra.

It should happen more frequently.

[Clio the Leo]

20. The GIBBANATOR!!!!!!!!!! LOVE it!!!! NT

[malletgirl02]

22. "Mouse who roared"

For some reason this reminds me of the movie "The Mouse who Roared". Nothing against the Coast Guard, but it seems that someone yelling bang would cause a big blow up is absurd.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mouse_That_Roared