Re: CNN responds to false footage charge

Now I don't know what to believe?

Dave Farber just reported that the BBC has 
*confirmed* the fake pictures???  Here it is:


At 9/19/01  07:12 PM, David Farber wrote:

>>Date: Wed, 19 Sep 2001 13:54:11 -0400
>>From: Eric Rosenthal <eric@creative-technology.net>
>>>
>>>
>>>There's an important point in the power of press, specifically the power of
>>>CNN.  All around the world we are subjected to 3 or 4 huge news distributors,
>>>and one of them - as you well know - is CNN.
>>>
>>>Very well, I guess all of you have been seeing (just as I've been) images
>>>from this company. In Particular, one set of images caught my attention: the
>>>Palestinians celebrating the bombing, out on the streets, eating celebration
>>>sweets and making funny faces for the camera.
>>>
>>>
>>>Well, THOSE IMAGES WERE SHOT BACK IN 1991!!! Those are images of Palestinians
>>>celebrating the invasion of Kuwait! t's simply unacceptable that a
>>>super-power of communications as CNN uses images which do not correspond to
>>>the reality in talking about so serious of an issue.
>>>
>>>
>>>At the BBC here, we have these footages on videotapes recorded in 1991,
>>>
>>>with the very same images. But now, think for a moment about the impact of
>>>such images. Your people are  hurt, emotionally fragile, and this kind of
>>>broadcast has very high possiblity of causing waves of anger and rage 
>against 
>>>the Palestinians.
>>>
>>>It's simply irresponsible to show images such as those.
>>>
>>>Russell Grossman | Head of Internal Communication  | BBC
>>>
>>>Third Floor | London Broadcasting House | LONDON  W1A 1AA
>>
>>--
>
>For archives see: http://www.interesting-people.org/



At 9/16/01  09:47 PM, Alan Spector wrote:
>Note from Alan Spector:
>
>I sent the following letter to Mr. Eason Jordan of CNN, who, according to
>the posting by Louis Proyect, stated that the rumor about CNN faking the
>Palestinian tapes was false. I decided to send a copy of it to others who
>might have read Mr. Jordan's response.
>
>----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>-----------------------------------------------------------------
>
>Dear Mr. Jordan:
>
>I guess I believe you that CNN did not fake the tapes of Palestinians
>celebrating.
>
>Here is my theory as to why so many people were willing to believe it:
>
>1) Because during the Gulf War, the American public was shown films provided
>by the U.S. government supposedly showing accurate missile hits in Iraq. The
>films later turned out to be ten years old. And filmed thousands of miles
>away.
>
>2) Because, from Panama to Grenada to Iran and Iraq and El Salvador and
>Indonesia and Guatemala and Chile and a hundred other places, the U.S.
>government has repeatedly lied to the U.S. public. And more often than not,
>many news media outlets spread those lies to hundreds of millions of people.
>
>3) Because there also were many Palestinians who were not celebrating. True,
>the media did verbally report that the Palestinian leadership was opposed to
>the September 11 bombing, but the picture of several thousand Palestinians
>celebrating was much more powerful than any verbal disclaimer. There were no
>pictures of the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who were not
>celebrating (perhaps because it was not dramatic). But people have a right
>to be skeptical when the news they get has been biased.
>
>4) Because those of us who travel to other countries are quite surprised at
>how CNN in other countries often reports much more than CNN in the U.S.
>does, leading to the conclusion that there might be serious censorship in
>the U.S.
>
>So Mr. Jordan, I do not mean to question your personal integrity. Only to
>explain to you why such a false rumor could be so easily believed by so many
>people.
>
>Sincerely,
>
>Alan Spector
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Louis Proyect" <lnp3@panix.com>
>To: "sr" <socialist-register@yorku.ca>; "wsn" <wsn@csf.colorado.edu>
>Sent: Sunday, September 16, 2001 8:18 PM
>Subject: CNN responds to false footage charge
>
>
> > Posted to Marxmail by Jose Perez:
> >
> > [Following the recent spate or repostings of the charge that CNN
> > played decade old video claiming it was Palestinians celebrating the
> > Sep. 11 attacks, a person named Craig Gingold did the logical thing,
> > and wrote CNN. He was immediately answered by the person in charge of
> > newsgathering for CNN, Eason Jordan. Gingold asks that his email and
> > Jordan's response be circulated to all lists where the charge against
> > CNN was aired]
> >
> > [I do not know Craig Gingold, or if I do I don't recall who he is.
> > But I have known Eason Jordan, the executive who answered his email,
> > for more than a decade, at least casually, as well as observed his
> > work, or the results of it, at fairly close range.
> >
> > [I'm sure if we sat down to have a philosophical or political
> > discussion Jordan and I might disagree on countless topics. But on
> > the level of the formal, ethical norms and standards of mainstream
> > journalism, nothing I've ever seen him do or say nor anything I have
> > ever heard about him would raise the slightest question in my mind
> > about taking his probity for granted on an issue like this.
> >
> > [Jordan is a Georgia native who rose through the CNN. He came into
> > CNN in his early 20s and was for five or six years the overnight
> > person on CNN's international desk. At the end of the 1980's, as CNN
> > grew and its international reporting expanded, he was put in charge
> > of the growing international desk, and is especially associated with
> > initiatives like making sure CNN kept a reporting presence in Iraq
> > throughout the Gulf War and resisting significant pressure from the
> > U.S. and its allies in that war to stop reporting Iraq's side of that
> > story.
> >
> > [There would be, undoubtedly, countless things one might criticize
> > from a left-wing point of view about this reporting, but even so, it
> > must be admitted that CNN covered Iraq's side in that war to an
> > extent that was unprecedented in the history of mainstream American
> > journalism. Similarly, he was closely associated with things like
> > CNN's establishing a bureau in Havana, and was the first journalist
> > from a major "Western" news organization to report on North Korea,
> > using a small DV cam to record pictures and reporting about the
> > famine that country was facing 3 or 4 years back. He has stanchly
> > defended CNN's hiring of Palestinian journalists and the airing of
> > their work against a barrage of criticism from the Israeli press and
> > government. Under Jordan, CNN's international desk became much more
> > of a truly international desk, with staff members from all over the
> > world, including many from the third world. A number of people that
> > came in essentially as person-on-the-lowest-rung on the international
> > desk (most famously Christian Amanpour but not just her) have gone on
> > to do some of the better on-screen CNN international reporting of
> > recent years, despite "funny accents," "bad delivery" and "faces made
> > for radio."
> >
> > [Unfortunately, U.S. viewers get very little exposure to this
> > reporting, as the CNN domestic network (the one everyone thinks of as
> > "the" CNN although the truth is CNN International has many, many more
> > subscribers) no longer carries much of this material, unlike several
> > years ago, before Time-Warner acquired Turner broadcasting.
> >
> > [An interesting question for CNN to ponder might be why what is
> > presented as an unsubstantiated rumor was given such credence. I say
> > unsubstantiated rumor because the person who made the charge didn't
> > even CLAIM to have the proof, and there was a strong suggestion in
> > how he wrote about it that he'd never even seen the alleged proof.
> > The person who was said to have the proof was an anonymous teacher.
> > And on the *substance* of the events, there is no dispute that there
> > were initially some expressions of celebration among Palestinians
> > when the first reports on the attacks came through.
> >
> > [I do not believe such a claim would have been as easily accepted
> > say, eight or ten years ago.]
> >
> > [José]
> >
> > *  *  *
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Craig Gingold" <gingold@sierratel.com>
> > To: <change-links@yahoogroups.com>;
> > <bay_area_activist@yahoogroups.com> Cc:
> > <WILPF-news-us@igc.topica.com>; <hopedance@omnipost.com>
> > Sent: Saturday, September 15, 2001 8:00 PM
> > Subject: !b_a_Act: CNN Exec Replies to Phony Video Accusation
> >
> > Over the last several days an extremely alarming email has been
> > circulating on virtually every email list in existence, judging by
> > the number of copies that I have received. The basic charge is that
> > CNN perpetrated a knowing deception of its viewers by airing a
> > 10-year-old videotape of Palestinians celebrating during the Gulf
> > War, but misrepresenting it as showing celebrations of the terror
> > attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. I hardly need explain
> > why this is an extremely serious accusation. The implications -- if
> > true -- are so disturbing that I felt compelled to make an effort to
> > ascertain the veracity of the claim. (The relevant parts of that
> > email are at the very end of this posting.)
> >
> > Given the incredibly wide circulation of the email, and the fact that
> > it is based entirely on the unverified assertions of one individual,
> > I think it is essential to make a serious effort to determine what
> > the basic facts are. Unfortunately, I don't have access to the
> > 10-year-old tapes cited by the man making the accusation. That would,
> > of course, be the most straightforward way to either prove or
> > disprove his charges.
> >
> > The next -- and most obvious -- step to take was to ask for a
> > response to this allegation from CNN. Friday afternoon I wrote a
> > short letter that I sent by email to CNN, which I made a point of
> > CC'ing to the man in charge of news operations, Eason Jordan.
> > Somewhat to my surprise, I received a reply from Mr. Jordan before an
> > hour had passed -- clearly they are rather concerned to be accused of
> > such a blatant deception. His reply is below, followed by my letter
> > of inquiry. (I had intended to send this out immediately, but was
> > prevented from doing so due to computer problems.)
> >
> > Unless somebody comes forward with clear and convincing proof that
> > CNN really used 10-year-old videotapes, I see no particular reason to
> > doubt Mr. Jordan's outline of the facts. In any event, I must confess
> > I don't know why it should have been considered utterly unbelievable
> > that there would have been *some* Palestinians who did, in fact,
> > celebrate the attacks on the United States. Not surprising at all,
> > IMO. And hardly surprising that this would be considered newsworthy.
> > The real questions are, how widespread were such celebrations, and
> > how representative -- or NOT -- were they of overall Palestinian
> > reaction to the attacks? And, of course -- did the news reports (on
> > CNN and elsewhere) make any real effort to make such assessments?
> >
> > I know we can never rule out with *100% certainty* the *possibility*
> > of such blatant electronic fabrications, but I think we should try to
> > avoid the kind of credulous acceptance of unsubstantiated allegations
> > that I've observed in this case. Certainly, we need to be vigilant
> > against all forms of manipulation. But the real problems we face with
> > the mass media are *much* more in the area of framing and context,
> > and the suppression of strongly dissenting points of view.
> >
> > Craig Gingold Midpines CA
> >
> > **  Please forward this post to any other list where this issue has
> > been discussed. **
> >
> > ------- Forwarded Message Follows -------
> > From:               "Jordan, Eason" <Eason.Jordan@turner.com>
> > To:                 "'gingold@sierratel.com'" <gingold@sierratel.com>
> > Subject:            RE: VERY URGENT: CNN Accused of LYING to viewers
> > Date sent:          Fri, 14 Sep 2001 17:00:44 -0400
> >
> > [Message] From EASON JORDAN, Chief News Executive, CNN:
> >
> > The suggestion that CNN used 10-year-old images to illustrate
> > Palestinians celebrating the terrorist strikes in the U.S. is
> > baseless and ridiculous. The videotape was, in fact, shot Tuesday in
> > East Jerusalem by a Reuters TV crew and included comments from a
> > Palestinian praising Osama Bin Laden, who was not a Gulf War player.
> > The more interesting story -- it has the added value of being true --
> > is that Palestinian officials have threatened journalists for taking
> > pictures of these Palestinian celebrations.
> > ____________________________
> >
> > [Reply to a followup question:]
> >
> > The videotape was shot on Tuesday, not Wednesday, during daylight
> > hours (late in the day but before nightfall). CNN is a responsible
> > news organization committed to accuracy and fairness. The sad
> > reality, which is indisputable, is some Palestinians celebrated when
> > they heard about this horrific tragedy.
> >
> > @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Craig Gingold [mailto:gingold@sierratel.com]
> > Sent: Friday, September 14, 2001 4:49 PM
> > To: cnn.feedback@cnn.com; Jordan, Eason
> > Subject: VERY URGENT: CNN Accused of LYING to viewers
> >
> > To: Responsible individuals at CNN:
> >
> > In case you have not yet seen this, I am forwarding for your
> > *immediate* attention an email post which is being very widely
> > circulated on a large number of email listserves. (This was
> > originally posted on the Indymedia website at the URL shown below.)
> > The accusation of deliberate and knowing deception on the part of CNN
> > is extremely grave. Judging by the positive responses that have been
> > posted, and the alacrity with which this post is being forwarded to
> > yet other email lists, it is clear that the vast majority of readers
> > are giving these allegations uncritical acceptance -- undoubtedly
> > because it confirms widespread perceptions of bias and manipulation
> > on the part of the mass media.
> >
> > I urge you to take this matter very seriously, and I hope you will
> > undertake an *immediate* investigation of the specific allegation
> > that has been made. Most importantly, CNN needs to issue a detailed
> > factual response to this accusation AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. A failure to
> > to so will only lend more credibility to the allegation.
> >
> > I hope to hear from someone at CNN some time later today - Friday -
> > to confirm that you are in fact undertaking to investigate this
> > matter.
> >
> > Sincerely,
> >
> > Craig Gingold Midpines CA (209) 742-6802
> >
> > +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
> >
> > To: Recipient list suppressed <Recipient list suppressed Date:
> > Thursday, September 13, 2001 7:35 AM Subject: "CNN USING 1991 FOOTAGE
> > of celebrating Palistinians"?
> >
> > At work on Wednesday we were discussing this. They were showing
> > images of the West Bank, of people celebrating in bright sunshine
> > when it should have been evening there, if it in fact were live.
> >
> > ================================
> > http://indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=63288&group=webcast
> >
> > CNN USING 1991 FOOTAGE of celebrating Palistinians to manipulate you
> >
> > (english) by Marcio 10:32pm Wed Sep 12 '01 . I'd like to add some
> > ideas from here, down south. There's an important point in the power
> > of press, specifically the power of CNN. All around the world we are
> > subjected to 3 or 4 huge news distributors, and one of them - as you
> > well know - is CNN. Very well, I guess all of you have been seeing
> > (just as I've been) images from this company. In particular, one set
> > of images called my attencion: the Palestinians celebrating the
> > bombing, out on the streets, eating some cake and making funny faces
> > for the camera.
> >
> > Well, THOSE IMAGES WERE SHOT BACK IN 1991!!! Those are images of
> > Palestinians celebrating the invasion of Kuwait! It's simply
> > unacceptable that a super-power of cumminications as CNN uses images
> > which do not correspond to the reality in talking about so serious an
> > issue.
> >
> > A teacher of mine, here in Brazil, has videotapes recorded in 1991,
> > with the very same images; he's been sending emails to CNN, Globo
> > (the major TV network in Brazil) and newspapers, denouncing what I
> > myself classify as a crime against the public opinion. If anyone of
> > you has access to this kind of files, serch for it. In the meanwhile,
> > I'll try to 'put my hands' on a copy of this tape.
> >
> > But now, think for a moment about the impact of such images. Your
> > people is hurt, emotionally fragile, and this kind broadcast have
> > very high possibility of causing waves of anger and rage against
> > Palestinians. It's simply irresponsible to show images such as those.
> >
> > <snip non-germane material>
> >
> > Márcio A. V. Carvalho State University of Campinas - Brazil
> >
> > --
> > Louis Proyect, lnp3@panix.com on 09/16/2001
> >
> > Marxism list: http://www.marxmail.org
> >
> >

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