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February 4, 2005

The Fourth Rail Wants YOU . . . to keep CNN honest

Bill Roggio at The Fourth Rail needs your help. He wants CNN to release a tape or transcript of the recent remarks of Eason Jordan, who has accused the US military of deliberately targeting journalists. From the fourth rail:

Like many other bloggers, I have received the “canned” reply from CNN, attempting to clarify Mr. Jordan’s statements:

Eason was attempting to speak out on an issue that is important to news organizations all over the world. Unfortunately, he was not clear enough in explaining his assertion. He was responding to an assertion that all 63 journalists killed in Iraq were "collateral damage." While the majority of the 63 journalists killed in Iraq have been killed by insurgents, the Pentagon has acknowledged that the U.S. military on occasion has killed people who turned out to be journalists. Mr. Jordan emphatically does not believe that the U.S. Military intended to kill journalists and believes these accidents to be cases of "mistaken identity."

I have sent the following reply, which I copied to several bloggers:

Hello CNNia Administrator,

Release the videotape and a transcript of Mr. Jordan's comments at Davos, and I will be convinced. Until then your apologetic is unconvincing and insulting. Several bloggers in attendance heard otherwise, and based on Mr. Jordan's history, I am inclined to agree with them.

Mr. Jordan has a long history of demeaning the US military and accusing them of targeting journalists. As a former soldier I am personally insulted. Perhaps CNN should launch an investigation into his statements. Your association with Mr. Jordan can be very damaging to your credibility and reputation.

I have suspended citing CNN as a source of material in my weblog, which is viewed by over 1,500 people a day, until I am convinced CNN is honest in getting to the bottom of this story. My readers typically follow the links through on my posts to read my sources. I have copied other bloggers in an attempt to convince them to do the same. Hopefully this will create a noticeable impact on your site hits and give your advertisers pause.

Also, I have begun to compile a list of CNN advertisers and will put together a letter to make them aware of this situation unless I see results.

We demand the transcript of Davos and nothing less.

Kindest Regards,

Bill Roggio

UPDATE: Events like those at CNN and with Eason Jordan seem to come more and more often as we witness the death spiral of the Fourth Estate. Via RealClearPolitics:

We’re in the midst of spectacle, and many people aren't even aware of it.

Not every watershed event in history is marked by explosions, walls tumbling, or changes of government. We’re experiencing a sea-change, the type that political science textbooks 50 years from now will describe in apoplectic terms to wide-eyed students, who will have difficulty believing we actually used to live this way.

I’m talking about the intellectual near-disintegration of the mainstream media, or "MSM." (That its new moniker is a dismissive acronym is telling in itself.) It’s been in the works for a number of years, but we’re seeing the start of real momentum in the avalanche.

UPDATE 2: The Fourth Rail is gathering momentum. It just received attention from National Review's Kerry Spot. Remember, you heard it here first. Also, I'd vow to never link to CNN until this is cleared up, as some other bloggers have, but I never link to them anyway. Don't ever watch the ole Communist News Network either. Heh.

Posted by Chester at February 4, 2005 1:16 PM

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