CNN breaks Saddam execution, nets more cautious
Steve Safran December 29th, 2006
CNN was first to report the execution of Saddam Hussein, with reporter Aneesh Raman breaking the news from Baghdad at 10:07 p.m. EST. Raman quoted Arab news services, which had the story first. Fox News and MSNBC also relied on the reports from the Arab channels. While I was flipping around channels, TV Newser Brian Stelter caught the quick NBC News special report at 10:14, making NBC the first net to break in. CBS News followed at 10:19, with a report hosted by Katie Couric. While ABC News was third among the nets, it had the longest coverage, with Elizabeth Vargas changing gears while hosting 20/20 to devote the rest of the hour (which had been about celebrity culture). Over at TV Newser, Stelter quotes an ABC News source as defending the decision to hold off on the announcement (ABC was last, breaking in at 10:25 pm): “While ABC was last to get on the air with a report on Saddam’s execution, we were FIRST to air official independent confirmation” from the U.S., an ABC insider says. “Seconds before the special report took to the air, Jonathan Karl had just gotten off the phone with a senior U.S. official who confirmed what all the others were hanging on unconfirmed Arab media reports. This was a deliberate decision made by wise managers in New York.” There is a legitimate point here - and I’m interested in what the LR Faithful think about the choice. The media gets criticized when it reports stories too quickly, without attribution. The nets reported this story well after the cable channels. So, were the nets practicing better journalism?
5 Comments Add your own
1. David Westin | December 29th, 2006 at 9:09 pm
The guide on my cable DVR reads CNN airing “Happiness” from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m.
2. rajesh | December 30th, 2006 at 8:57 am
Fyi, the CNN reporter is Aneesh Raman, not Rahman. “Raman” is a hindu name while “Rahman” is a muslim one. One letter, but big difference.
3. Rob | December 30th, 2006 at 8:54 pm
I noticed that last night AP didn’t carry the story for a good half hour after CNN made the first announcement.
Typically we use AP as our first ‘confirmed’ source for news content, but since everyone - AP, MSNBC, ABC and CBS - were behind the power curve on releasing the news, I posted a pre-written obit and independently confirmed from what for us was other non-traditional sources (Sky News and al-Arabiya).
What exactly is official independent confirmation? Does official mean ‘from the US government’? When another independent news agency confirms something is it not reasonable to go with the story just because the US government hasn’t confirmed the story itself?
I don’t think it irresponsible to go with the story just because the US government or another traditional news source - such as the AP - doesn’t have it yet, especially when the news comes from a location where those traditional sources don’t have the resources, coverage or access of the local / regional news organizations.
4. Safran | December 31st, 2006 at 7:27 pm
CNN did exactly the right thing. They reported what the Arab media outlets were saying. CNN didn’t say “Saddam is dead.” They said that the various media outlets there were reporting that.
So you report that and once you get confirmation that you are comfortable with, you cite that as the confirmation.
And sorry about the Aneesh misspelling. I’ve changed it.
5. tx | January 18th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
Wow, thanks for the excellent information!
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