Christiane Amanpour diz que CNN praticou autocensura na cobertura da Guerra do Golfo II

A veterana correspondente disse que CNN foi intimidada pelo clima de medo e auto-censura criado pela administração baby Bush e pela Fox News. Veja USA Today.

Said Amanpour: "I think the press was muzzled, and I think the press self-muzzled. I'm sorry to say, but certainly television and, perhaps, to a certain extent, my station was intimidated by the administration and its foot soldiers at Fox News. And it did, in fact, put a climate of fear and self-censorship, in my view, in terms of the kind of broadcast work we did."
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"It's not a question of couldn't do it, it's a question of tone," Amanpour said. "It's a question of being rigorous. It's really a question of really asking the questions. All of the entire body politic in my view, whether it's the administration, the intelligence, the journalists, whoever, did not ask enough questions, for instance, about weapons of mass destruction. I mean, it looks like this was disinformation at the highest levels."

A porta voz da Fox News deu uma resposta grosseira, como era de se esperar...

Fox News spokeswoman Irena Briganti said of Amanpour's comments: "Given the choice, it's better to be viewed as a foot soldier for Bush than a spokeswoman for al-Qaeda. CNN had no comment.

Todo estudante de jornalismo deveria assistir uns 5 minutos de Fox News todos os dias (canal 68 na Net). É o melhor exemplo de imprensa engajada fingindo ser neutra que existe. É a celebração da ignorância.

Ainda sobre a cobertura da imprensa americana na Guerra do Golfo II, vale dar uma olhada neste longo texto do correspondente do New York Times, John F. Burns, publicado na EditorAndPublisher.com com título "John Burns: 'There Is Corruption in Our Business"

There is corruption in our business. We need to get back to basics. This war should be studied and talked about. In the run up to this war, to my mind, there was a gross abdication of responsibility. You have to be ready to listen to whispers.