Re: CNN responds to false footage charge

   Take a look at the below and compare to the indymedia post
which also has all in CAPITAL LETTERS the same charge. In a moment
I'll forward or Lou will amessage I just saw in my e-mail from
the Brazilian student that posted that to Indymedia. His professor
retracted the charge. Michael Pugliese
>From: Jay Fenello <Jay@Fenello.com>
>To: Alan Spector <spectors@netnitco.net>
>Date: 9/19/01 5:00:22 PM
>

>
>
>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
>> >
>> >
>
>+++
>
>Jay Fenello, Internet Coaching  
>http://www.Fenello.com ... 678-585-9765
>http://www.YourWebPartner.com ... Web Support
>http://www.AligningWithPurpose.com ... for a Better World
>-----------------------------------------------------------
>"A new civilization is emerging in our lives, and blind men

>everywhere are trying to suppress it."  -- Alvin Toffler
>
>