Eason Jordan, Executive Vice President and Chief News Executive at CNN
I know, I know...who's Eason Jordan, right?
Jordan is the Chief News Executive at CNN. While attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Mr. Jordan asserted that U.S. troops were deliberately firing on journalists in Iraq.
In response to a question by Congressman Barney Frank, Eason charged that the American military had deliberately targeted and killed twelve journalists in Iraq. He then clarified, saying he was simply emphasizing that journalists were not "collateral damage" or just caught in the crossfire.
I know, I know...this shouldn't surprise me. Jordan is a member of the Media Spin Machine. He's also made the claim before. In November of 2003 while speaking to the London Guardian, Eason Jordan said, "The reality is that at least 10 journalists have been killed by the U.S. military, and according to reports I believe to be true journalists have been arrested and tortured by U.S. forces."
Oh, really?
You know, as someone who has worked in the news business for a long time, you'd think that Jordan would know that he ought to have some evidence to back up his outlandish claims. Isn't that the primary job of any reporter chasing down a story? Even then, you'd think that his contemporaries in the MSM would run with such a story, wouldn't you? I mean this kind of thing would be damning to the Bush Administration if it were true.
Although the event was video taped, no video has been released by the World Economic Forum.
Jordan himself has backtracked and has now said he doesn't believe that the U.S. military intended to kill journalists.
Reuters put a half-hearted attempt out there in reporting the story. It talks more about Jordan's bio than anything else, really.
The Washington Times really came closest to the mark in an Op-Ed piece, but really they're the only ones. They also have a more conservative slant than the rest of the media outlets.
This story has really been carried through the Blogosphere and, at this writing, there are initial reports that Eason Jordan may have resigned today---but nothing has been confirmed.
Ultimately, Jordan should know that the U.S. military has brave men and women in their ranks who stand ready to defend America and Eason Jordan's right to smear their name. They are not assassins, nor are they carrying out summary executions.
Besides, if they had targeted journalists, I don't think there would be any question. He'd know.
William Smith
ConservativeBlogger.com
