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Sun. Feb 06, 2005

Jordan Cries Wolf

I’ve been one to suggest that portions of the blogosphere have gotten too big for their digital pants (and likely will continue to) ... not all of it, and not all of the time, but enough to be irksome. Call it Self-Hype-ola. However, there are times where the circumstances pretty well live up to the hype.

In fact, this one seems tailor made for it. At a public session of the World Economic Forum, with media and even a couple of Senators in attendance, it fell to the official weblog of the W.E.F to bring a disturbing assertion to light:

During one of the discussions about the number of journalists killed in the Iraq War, Eason Jordan asserted that he knew of 12 journalists who had not only been killed by US troops in Iraq, but they had in fact been targeted. He repeated the assertion a few times, which seemed to win favor in parts of the audience (the anti-US crowd) and cause great strain on others.

Due to the nature of the forum, I was able to directly challenge Eason, asking if he had any objective and clear evidence to backup these claims, because if what he said was true, it would make Abu Ghraib look like a walk in the park. David Gergen was also clearly disturbed and shocked by the allegation that the U.S. would target journalists, foreign or U.S. He had always seen the U.S. military as the providers of safety and rescue for all reporters.

Eason seemed to backpedal quickly, but his initial statements were backed by other members of the audience (one in particular who represented a worldwide journalist group). The ensuing debate was (for lack of better words) a real “sh—storm”. What intensified the problem was the fact that the session was a public forum being taped on camera, in front of an international crowd. The other looming shadow on what was going on was the presence of a U.S. Congressman and a U.S. Senator in the middle of some very serious accusations about the U.S. military.

To be fair (and balanced), Eason did backpedal and make a number of statements claiming that he really did not know if what he said was true, and that he did not himself believe it. But when pressed by others, he seemed to waver back and forth between what might have been his beliefs and the realization that he had created a kind of public mess.

The World Economic Forum Weblog: “Do US Troops Target Journalists in Iraq?”

The chief news executive at CNN claims “he really did not know if what he said was true, and that he did not himself believe it,” yet felt compelled to spill his guts about it at a well known forum with an international audience?

This is the public face and manner of the chief news executive of CNN?

To use my perennial example, one might say the same thing about Eason Jordan having carnal relations with goats. I don’t know if it’s true, and I do not really believe it, myself. I have no facts or evidence to offer at all. But, hey, it’s possible, a few people on this planet do have sex with goats, so let’s throw it out there from our bully pulpit, just to see what happens.

But of course, for me to say that would be irresponsible, even from my wee bully pulpit here. I might even get sued for such a libelous claim, if I could not support it with facts and evidence.

Who will sue Mr. Jordan?

You could say the answer is, “not his media peers,” to judge from the reaction so far. Bloggers have been all over it, while the so-called “main stream media” has so far been silent … with a couple of exceptions you could argue aren’t exactly “mainstream.” First, we have the close of a column from Jack Kelly in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

The scandalous remarks of Eason Jordan, CNN’s top news executive, last week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland (where Europe’s elite goes once a year to sneer at the United States), and the failure of the major media to report them suggest the distortions are deliberate.

Jordan’s slander has created a firestorm in the blogosphere, but has yet to be mentioned in the “mainstream” media. Gee, I wonder why not.

Jack Kelly: The impotent insurgents

And then we have this from the Moonie Times:

In any event, it’s an assertion Mr. Jordan has made before. In November, as reported in the London Guardian, Mr. Jordan said, “The reality is that at least 10 journalists have been killed by the U.S. military, and according to reports I believe to be true journalists have been arrested and tortured by U.S. forces.” This is very serious stuff, if true. Yet aside from Mr. Jordan’s occasional comments, there’s no evidence to support it. Mr. Jordan’s almost immediate backpedaling seems to confirm this. In a statement to blogger Carol Platt Liebau, Mr. Jordan said, “To be clear, I do not believe the U.S. military is trying to kill journalists in Iraq. I said so during the forum panel discussion. But, nonetheless, the U.S. military has killed several journalists in Iraq in cases of mistaken identity.” He added, “three of my CNN colleagues and many other journalists have been killed on purpose in Iraq.” He didn’t elaborate by whom.

According to information on CPJ’s Web site (www.cpj.org), between 2003 and 2004, 12 journalists were killed as a result of U.S. fire. None was from CNN.

The Washington Times: “CNN’s line of fire”

These are incredibly serious accusations to be made by someone in Jordan’s position, at the head of a journalistic force like CNN. One would think his competitors would be on it like bulldogs.

Especially in the face of such ridiculously contradictory statements. Mr. Jordan first says U.S. military had targeted and killed 12 journalists in Iraq, then said he didn’t believe that was true, even though he admitted saying so at the forum, and has on previous occasions as well. Then he says the U.S. military has killed journalists accidently, and oh, yeah, “three of my CNN colleagues and many other journalists have been killed on purpose in Iraq” ... though www.cpj.org says there are no facts to back up even one CNN death. Never mind “on purpose.”

Are CNN’s competitor’s frozen because they don’t know where to start tearing apart Jordan’s absurd cycle of claims, denials, and contradictions? It’s a tough job, but somebody’s got to do it.

Because, rumor is, by mid-week a video of Jordan’s statement at the forum will be propagating around the blogosphere. Through no footwork of a single one of CNN’s competitors. And the mainstream media will have been scooped over one of their own, simply due to complete inertia the first 7 days the story was out in the open.

The most visible CNN employees in the past month or so have been Mr. Jordan, and Jonathan Klein, the man who put pajamas on the blogosphere, and who recently bragged that CNN’s tsunami coverage “flooded the zone.”

Perhaps CNN’s executive staff should leave public utterances to their on-air professionals.