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| Fifth Column |
| Counterpoint: Media in the Hip Pocket of Bush Due to Fox News |
| 2003-09-16 |
| article from USA today via Drudge Amanpour: CNN practiced self-censorship CNN’s top war correspondent, Christiane Amanpour, says that the press muzzled itself during the Iraq war. And, she says CNN "was intimidated" by the Bush administration and Fox News, which "put a climate of fear and self-censorship." As criticism of the war and its aftermath intensifies, Amanpour joins a chorus of journalists and pundits who charge that the media largely toed the Bush administrationline in covering the war and, by doing so, failed to aggressively question the motives behind the invasion. On last week’s Topic A With Tina Brown on CNBC, Brown, the former Talk magazine editor, asked comedian Al Franken, former Pentagon spokeswoman Torie Clarke and Amanpour if "we in the media, as much as in the administration, drank the Kool-Aid when it came to the war." Said Amanpour: "I think the press was muzzled, and I think the press self-muzzled. I’m sorry to say, but certainly television and, perhaps, to a certain extent, my station was intimidated by the administration and its foot soldiers at Fox News. And it did, in fact, put a climate of fear and self-censorship, in my view, in terms of the kind of broadcast work we did." Brown then asked Amanpour if there was any story during the war that she couldn’t report. This appears to be a request for a concrete example. "It’s not a question of couldn’t do it, it’s a question of tone," Amanpour said. "It’s a question of being rigorous. It’s really a question of really asking the questions. All of the entire body politic in my view, whether it’s the administration, the intelligence, the journalists, whoever, did not ask enough questions, for instance, about weapons of mass destruction. I mean, it looks like this was disinformation at the highest levels." My mistake Brown was obviously looking for generalities and had no need for specifics. Just kind of a rough feel on how the reporting was done. The jist of things... Clarke called the disinformation charge "categorically untrue" and added, "In my experience, a little over two years at the Pentagon, I never saw them (the media) holding back. I saw them reporting the good, the bad and the in between." Fox News spokeswoman Irena Briganti said of Amanpour’s comments: "Given the choice, it’s better to be viewed as a foot soldier for Bush than a spokeswoman for al-Qaeda." CNN had no comment. No mention of Al Franken’s opinion on this important subject. I wonder why lady he supported. |
| Posted by:Super Hose |
| #16 and is Greta Van Sustern really Clutch Cargo in drag??? ...My God, I thought I was the only one who remembered Clutch Cargo. I still see those...lips....in my nightmares. BTW, did anyone here know that Ms Van Sustren is almost 60? True fact! Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2003-9-17 12:54:42 AM |
| #15 Hahahahahaaa......."foot soldiers at Fox News"....haahahahahahaaaaaa..... Hey Ms. Amanpour! All your phones are tapped! HAAAHAHAHAHAHAAHAAA!!!!!!!!! |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2003-9-16 10:56:18 PM |
| #14 "All of the entire body politic in my view, whether it’s the administration, the intelligence, the journalists, whoever, did not ask enough questions, for instance, about weapons of mass destruction. I mean, it looks like this was disinformation at the highest levels." If you don't ask questions you don't get answers. That is not accepting dis-information, it is not asking if there is information. Which there certainly was, even French and German Intelligence believe[d] in Iraqi WMD. And what's up with being intimated by another news (Fox) agency? Do they carry AK-47's or something? |
| Posted by: John Anderson 2003-9-16 9:30:10 PM |
| #13 Amanpour has officially joined the tin-foil hat brigade. She rightly deserves all the mocking that comes her way! |
| Posted by: debbie 2003-9-16 8:13:47 PM |
| #12 Message for Miss Amanpour: "Your new spine transplant surgery has been moved up to next week since the situation is worse than the doctors first thought." "Your replacement case of Depends(TM) diapers just arrived..." "...and your mommy called and said not to be afraid, she's bringing you your favorite Teddy Bear and night light over this evening." |
| Posted by: Paul 2003-9-16 7:48:51 PM |
| #11 The problem the more liberal-minded press figures had/have with the Iraq war coverage stems from Pentagon decision to "embed" reporters.The embeds had more exciting visuals,an "I'm right at the action feel,and a more positive,pro-US,pro-troop vibe.Given a choice between showing some reporter asking some PR figure a question or showing footage live from the battlefield,what do you think a news director airs?Once embeds left,network/CNN coverage became more traditional-reporters not knowing what actually happens on ground grilling various civil/military PR types.I wonder if there is any ill-will toward imbedded reporters once they came back home for being too pro-US?I do notice none of the embeds were heavily promoted by networks during war(unless they were killed),and none have been promoted as a rising network star because of work in Iraq. |
| Posted by: Stephen 2003-9-16 7:11:57 PM |
| #10 Does anyone remember a press confab where she stood up and said the press didn't do enough to stop W from getting elected? |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2003-9-16 6:00:50 PM |
| #9 Amanpour: "It’s really a question of really asking the questions." A quote for the ages, right there. |
| Posted by: Jeff Brokaw 2003-9-16 5:44:18 PM |
| #8 According to Drudge Christiane got a "private dressing down" by CNN execs over the interview....ewwwww bad visual, kinda like Sean Ono Lennon cutting the clothes off his caterwauling cretin of a mother yesterday |
| Posted by: Frank G 2003-9-16 5:03:17 PM |
| #7 Aww! So po' wittle CNN couldn't lie and get away with it while FOX was there to call 'em on it? Aww, poor pookie needs a lolly and a kissy to make the boo boo feel better? CNN was obviously counting on their liberal competetors to play from the same "Bash Bush, Bash the war" sheet of music, hoping that they could one-up them on their reputation and hard-laid, er paid, er won, access to the biggies in Iraq. But Fox gave a rounding rendition of "Stars and Stripes Forever", stole the heart of the audience, and smoked their asses. In the end, CNN couldn't do what they wanted to do, because Fox presented itself as a patriotic alternative and would have drawn away viewers that CNN hoped to keep by default. Typical loooooser! "It's not my fault! It's HIS fault!" |
| Posted by: Ptah 2003-9-16 4:19:14 PM |
| #6 Wonder what Christiane Amanpour has to say about CNN and other western networks (not Fox, apparently) paying the Iraqi Information Ministry lots of dollars in fees, bribes, etc. so that they could report from Baghdad whatever their handlers told them to say. Christiane? Hello? Hello? |
| Posted by: Steve White 2003-9-16 4:07:34 PM |
| #5 If Christiane wants lips like Laurie Dhue's, maybe Laurie can drop by the house and kick her in the mouth. ...and is Greta Van Sustern really Clutch Cargo in drag??? Or did Clutch spring for the operation? |
| Posted by: tu3031 2003-9-16 3:19:35 PM |
| #4 From Randal Robinson's blog: The Top 10 Ways Fox News Intimidated CNN 10. Sent Greta Van Susteren to use a little muscle on Aaron Brown. 9. Fox and Friends urged viewers to egg Paula Zahn's house. 8. Neil Cavuto challenged Lou Dobbs to a Financial News Death Match. 7. Sean Hannity snapped Larry King's suspenders and raised a welt. 6. Brit Hume shaved off Wolf Blitzer's beard and held it hostage. 5. Fox anchors kept referring to CNN as the "Commie News Network." 4. Laurie Dhue's makeup tips caused Christiane Amanpour's skin to break out. 3. Geraldo Rivera threatened to nuke CNN's ratings "back to MSNBC country." 2. Painted Fox News helicopters black and had them hover over CNN headquarters. 1. Bill O'Reilly's mean smirks sent shivers of fear throughout CNN. |
| Posted by: Steve 2003-9-16 1:55:36 PM |
| #3 Amanpour is going to jello wrestle Rita Cosby after the next Democratic Presidential Candidates' Debate on Fox. |
| Posted by: Chuck Simmins 2003-9-16 1:37:14 PM |
| #2 More recently, Ms. Amanpour retracted her claims after a chance meeting at Saks with Fox anchor E.D. Hill, who threatened to punch her lights out if she didn't recant. |
| Posted by: Hodadenon 2003-9-16 1:01:01 PM |
| #1 Christiane, wife of former Clinton flack Jamie Rubin, has been a whore for Arab thugocracies for years, which is why CNN is such a good fit for her. Which is also why Bush, Fox et al give her and her ilk such fits. The least they could do is identify her close relations with a former Dem regime here every time she speaks in criticism of Bush (it's called honest disclosure, something CNN has in short supply) |
| Posted by: Frank G 2003-9-16 12:49:15 PM |