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ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- Media Research Center [2] President Brent Bozell [3] issued the following statement today, in the aftermath of shocking revelations made last week by CNN Executive News Chief Eason Jordan. Mr. Jordan revealed CNN withheld a great deal of information about the regime of Saddam Hussein and the plight of the Iraqi people in order to maintain its access to officials in the Hussein regime.
CNNs credibility is crushed. From Peter Arnett during Gulf War I to CNNs promotion of anti-war protests in Gulf War II; and from the Operation Tailwind non-story scandal to CNNs shameless pro-Castro reporting from Havana, CNN correspondents have been willfully parroting the propaganda of dictators while withholding vital information from the American people.
For CNN, access is more important than the truth. One simply cannot believe what CNN especially when its foreign bureau is under the thumb of a watchful dictator. If this network wants the American people to ever again believe anything it says it needs to do two things:
First, CNN must immediately disclose any information withheld by any of its correspondents based in other countries run by dictatorships. This includes Cuba, Syria, Iran, North Korea and anywhere else CNN correspondents are based.
Second, if CNN knows it cannot report freely from any country of interest to the United States then it must remove its correspondents from that country and publicly declare it is doing so and why. The truth is more important than access.
One guest column mea culpa in the New York Times is not enough. CNN has many bridges to rebuild in order to be credible again with the American people. The sooner the better.
To schedule an
interview with Mr. Bozell, or another MRC spokesperson,
please contact Katie Wright at 703-683-5004 ext. 132
