Thursday, October 19, 2006

Brave, very brave

Other bloggers have already made similar points, but I just had to briefly chime in: under what rationale does CNN decide to show videos of snipers shooting American troops, but not images of cartoons mocking Mohammed?

"CNN has chosen to not show the cartoons out of respect for Islam."
Does it follow then that showing the video displays a lack of respect for the military? A few days later they offered a more detailed explanation:
"CNN is not showing the negative caricatures of the likeness of the Prophet Mohammed because the network believes its role is to cover the events surrounding the publication of the cartoons while not unnecessarily adding fuel to the controversy itself."
I guess they have no concern that showing sniper attacks on troops might, oh, I don't know, "add fuel" to any controversy about the war?

The point I want to make is not whether or not they should have shown the video today. Rather, I wanted to highlight that decision in the context of the earlier cartoon call.

CNN - they will speak truth to power. Unless, of course, the power threatens to kill them.

1 comment:

Øyvind said...

OK, so I normally do not have much of a grudge towards CNN, but that was pathetic.

So it's all right to bother victims of tragedies with phone calls asking for interviews; to set up camp on the lawn of someone who's lost a child to murder; to broadcast again and again the footage of 9/11 and other catastrophes, despite the terrible psychological impact it has on victims... I could go and on. We all could.

But a caricature? Nah, let's be respectful. Sigh.

Not to mention that they're adding to the controversy by showing the rioting Muslims. If they really were to not add to controversy, they'd have to shut the whole network down.