Comments on: CNN breaks Saddam execution, nets more cautious

By: tx

tx — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 21:18:59 +0000

Wow, thanks for the excellent information!

By: Safran

Safran — Mon, 01 Jan 2007 02:27:46 +0000

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.

By: Rob

Rob — Sun, 31 Dec 2006 03:54:30 +0000

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.

By: rajesh

rajesh — Sat, 30 Dec 2006 15:57:28 +0000

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.

By: David Westin

David Westin — Sat, 30 Dec 2006 04:09:56 +0000

The guide on my cable DVR reads CNN airing “Happiness” from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m.