"We Thought We Were Safe ... Then CNN Stepped In"

[Clever Login Name]

From walesonline.com:

‘We thought we were safe... then CNN stepped in!’
Nov 29 2008 South Wales Echo

A SOUTH Wales couple caught in the Mumbai terror attacks claimed last night that CNN put their lives at risk by broadcasting where they were.

Lynne and Kenneth Shaw, of Penarth, warned that terrorists were listening in to the media to pinpoint Western victims.

Mrs Shaw claimed the American cable TV channel had broadcast details of where they were at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel.

She has appealed to the media to be careful with the information it broadcasts because safety could be compromised and lives lost.

The couple flew back into Heathrow yesterday morning on a flight arranged by the British Consulate.

Mrs Shaw had been forced to hide under a table as terrorists stormed the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel.

She and her husband were later rescued by Gurkhas and taken straight to the Australian Embassy for safety.

The couple were at the end of a month-long visit to India and were staying in Mumbai for a few days before heading back to the UK.

From her home in Penarth yesterday, Mrs Shaw said: “We have been asked by the British terror police not to talk to the press.

“But the reason I would not want to talk to anyone is because our safety was actually compromised by CNN, which broadcast where we were.

“The terrorists were watching CNN and they came down from where they were in a lift after hearing about us on television. For that reason I would appeal to the media to be very careful about what they broadcast.

“When we left Mumbai there were still around 100 people trapped there.”

She added: “People talk to one another on mobile phones and that gets broadcast and the terrorists knew from that.”

A spokesman for CNN, said: “CNN has received no complaint from any individual regarding our coverage and their safety. We take such matters very seriously.

“We had CNN and Turner Broadcasting employees staying trapped at the Taj hotel during the attacks, and were vigilant about anything we broadcast that could compromise the safety of those inside.

“We are not aware of the allegedly compromising broadcast, but even in the absence of key details such as when and where, we will continue to check.”

echo.newsdesk@mediawales.co.uk

[Bureau Chief]

Doesnt surprise me a bit and it aint the first time that news has put people at risk for ratings.

[News Is Broken]

Great. First they wreck the economy and now this.

[Kace]

See, everybody watches CNN.

I blame Heidi.

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c178/newduke/200409020008.jpg

[Mighty Dyckerson]

Anderson Cooper will get to the bottom of this. He always keeps 'em honest.

[The Fedora]

dude, leave heidi outta this...


mmmm, heidi. she's a cutie.

[NewsMom]

Hey, Fedora, you do know that Mrs. Fedora reads this forum, as does Mom Fedora.... Where are you sleeping tonight?

[The Fedora]

hey, I ain't dead. She does find other guys cute too you know.

:)

[adam & doctor drew]

when I saw the title, I thought this thread was started by Rob Mic of Ahsaka.

[s'news]

UPDATED: Press Association story falsely accuses CNN of endangering couple (http://www.regrettheerror.com/online/press-association-story-falsely-accuses-cnn-of-endangering-couple)

http://www.regrettheerror.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/pressassociation-150x23.gifPoynter’s Amy Gahran has an interesting post (http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=31&aid=155003) up about a false report from the Press Association that moved its way around the web:
On Nov. 29, the story ran in Wales Online: “We thought we were safe… then CNN stepped in!” said the headline. As of this writing you can still find it listed in the site’s own search results (http://www.walesonline.co.uk/search.cfm?cof=FORID%3A11&q=we+thought+we+were+safe&cref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.walesonline.co.uk%2Fgoogle_c oop.xml&client=pub-6059318011805114&sa=Search#2114) — but the story itself is no longer available on Wales Online. According to excerpts of this mainstream news report that appeared on several (http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2140568/posts) sites (http://scaredmonkeys.com/2008/12/01/mumbai-hotel-terrorist-massacre-loose-lips-sink-ships-british-couple-claims-cnn-endangered-their-lives-by-reporting-location/), the now-vanished Wales Online story began:
“A South Wales couple caught in the Mumbai terror attacks claimed last night that CNN put their lives at risk by broadcasting where they were. Lynne and Kenneth Shaw, of Penarth, warned that terrorists were listening in to the media to pinpoint Western victims. Mrs. Shaw claimed the American cable TV channel had broadcast details of where they were at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel…”
Apparently, this particular claim of media irresponsibility wasn’t true. But when it first ran, even Tobin Harshaw of the New York Times repeated the allegation (http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/01/media-culpa/) — although he did correct it this morning. That’s because the editor of Wales Online sent a note to Harbin (and conservative commentator Michelle Malkin (http://michellemalkin.com/2008/12/01/cnn-reports-you-run-for-cover/), who harshly criticized CNN for it’s alleged misstep) which said:
“The story was taken from the Press Association news agency, who have since stated: ‘Press Association would like to make clear that the interviewee’s allegations that CNN broadcast details compromising her and her husband’s safety have since been clarified by the interviewee’s husband to Press Association as not valid.’ I would be grateful if you could post the above clarification. I should also let you know that the article has now been removed from WalesOnline.co.uk…”
Today Turner Broadcasting posted a CNN press release (http://news.turner.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=4098) refuting the allegation. And Mediabistro’s TVNewser (http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/cnn/couple_accuses_cnn_of_compromising_their_safety_wh ile_trapped_in_mumbai_101966.asp) also ran updates with CNN’s refutation and the Press Association’s retraction.
According to CNN spokesperson Nigel Pritchard, when the Press Association contacted CNN for comment on the Shaw’s allegations, CNN issued a “holding statement” while they reviewed all their broadcast and streamed video from the relevant parts of the crisis. In the meantime, the Press Association account ran. When CNN found nothing to corroborate the Shaws’ alleged statements, they contacted the Press Association to refute those allegations. Shortly afterward, the Press Association story was retracted.
Instead of updating its article with the retraction, Wales Online simply removed the original story. Poof! Nothing to see here.
“Right now, the key media organizations involved are acting as if this never happened — to varying degrees — by making information about this story-gone-awry hard to find,” writes Gahran. “This is likely to confuse or frustrate Internet users, bloggers, and social media users who try to track down the truth, thus encouraging the spread of misinformation.”
This is an example of why scrubbing is such an unethical and fundamentally unprofessional practice. On the web, you can’t just pretend that a mistake never happened. It’s already been cached, blogged, linked… Wales Online and especially the Press Association have to make an effort to spread the correct information. That’s journalism.
Gahran also makes the point that CNN should do everything it can to make the correct information easily available:
Why not run a CNN.com story clarifying what the rumor was, that it is demonstrably false, and what CNN did to disprove it? Something that would be easy to find and link to? Pritchard says CNN has no plans to do this: “It’s not up to us to respond to false allegations.”
…That may have been true in an earlier era. But these days if you want to stop a rumor, your correction or refutation must be easily findable and linkable — because the rumor certainly will be.
UPDATE Dec 3: Amy Gahran added this information to her post today:
When I originally posted this story, I reported “Wales Online simply removed the article from their site. As far as I can tell by searching their site, they have not yet published a correction or explanation. It’s simply gone, and inbound links to it are now broken.” Since then, Wales Online posted this correction (http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/cardiff-news/2008/12/02/lynne-and-kenneth-shaw-91466-22386346/) at a different URL. As of this writing, the URL of the original story still remains blank, with no forwarding to or indication of the correction. Also, I received e-mails from Wales Online editor Tim Horton and Press Association editor Jonathan Grun — both of whom simply confirmed that the Press Association story was “not valid” and had “been removed.” As of this writing, the Press Association site still appears to bear no mention of the story or the retraction.
These organizations are trying to disappear a mistake as if they’re some kind of news junta.



By Craig Silverman (http://www.regrettheerror.com/author/craig/) on December 3rd, 2008 in Online (http://www.regrettheerror.com/category/online), Wire service (http://www.regrettheerror.com/category/wire-service) Tagged cnn (http://www.regrettheerror.com/tag/cnn), press association (http://www.regrettheerror.com/tag/press-association), retractions (http://www.regrettheerror.com/tag/retractions), wales online (http://www.regrettheerror.com/tag/wales-online) |

[Kace]

Okay, Buckpasser that's your cue.

Clever, incoming!

[Clever Login Name]

Interesting ... thanks, s'news.
And Kace, why would buckpasser care about this? It's not about Republicans.

eta: How much checking did the Wales Online people do ... or should they have done ... before running with the couple's story?

[Kace]

And Kace, why would buckpasser care about this? It's not about Republicans.

GW Bush supporter...posting article that makes some media entity look bad hastily...blahblahblah... Just trying to give a heads up in case it happened, 'cause I remember Buckpasser doing the same thing with Diplomat back in October.

Unless you see this as a bad thing. :(

[Clever Login Name]

GW Bush supporter...posting article that makes some media entity look bad hastily...blahblahblah... Just trying to give a heads up in case it happened, 'cause I remember Buckpasser doing the same thing with Diplomat back in October.

Unless you see this as a bad thing. :(

"Hastily"? I posted it in a J-forum, thinking it would spark discussion, making no comment on the merits. And it still should ... except that now we should debate whether Wales Online was sufficiently thorough in its reporting, and not whether CNN acted improperly.

[SamG]

One thing I wondered is HOW CNN allegedly did this? Did they say "One couple is hiding under a table in the banquet room"? This whole thing rang false from the beginning. After all, how would CNN (or any media outlet) know where ANYONE was? Sure cell phones, but if I'm in a hotel with terrorists shooting up the place, the media would be the LAST call I make.

[Kace]

It's okay, Clever. :hug:

[News Is Broken]

From her home in Penarth yesterday, Mrs Shaw said: “We have been asked by the British terror police not to talk to the press.


Wait, wait, wait... hold up...

The British have "terror police"? :eek:

What's the deal, do they jump out at you and yell "BOO" if you're speeding or something?

[buckpasser]

"Hastily"? I posted it in a J-forum, thinking it would spark discussion, making no comment on the merits. And it still should ... except that now we should debate whether Wales Online was sufficiently thorough in its reporting, and not whether CNN acted improperly.

PUH-HA HA HA HA HAAAA!!!!!


Clever...you might want to check your boots. You came into the house of Medialine after stepping it. Now you've dragged that crap all over the carpet.


Like Diplomat, I've got to step in and rub your nose in it like you do to a little puppy.


South Wales Echo, Clever? Seriously? Michelle Malkin? AGAIN??? Stilll haven't learned your lesson, hey little puppy?

My favorite part of the post is where Clever claims he posted it without commenting on it's merits. Umm...Clever...if you are posing ANOTHER thread where you cry about the sniffle...sniffle...liberal mee-deee-uhhh, you are commenting on it's merits.

You thought is was legit. You got caught like Diplomat did with his famous "B Girl".

And like Dip's "B Girl" the South Wales Echo will follow you around for as long as I want it to.

Holy crap you guys are like the gift that keeps on giving, but better. It's like the lottery that keeps on giving.


Two people who claim to be journalists are so easily taken. Why? They wanted to believe a story because it made them feel better emotionally. Clever let his emotions get the best of him.


Diplomat never really admitted a mistake, either. He simply pretended his mistake didn't exist. Clever did the same, but not very well.

"Hey I'm just sparking a discussion...i didn't really believe it guys! Seriously!!!"

Puh--hA HA HA HA HA HA HA....

Sides...hurting...

[Produce man]

One thing I wondered is HOW CNN allegedly did this? Did they say "One couple is hiding under a table in the banquet room"? This whole thing rang false from the beginning. After all, how would CNN (or any media outlet) know where ANYONE was? Well, one thing we know for sure. CNN knows ALL ABOUT hiding under tables. They learned it from the Gulf War.

[Clever Login Name]

PUH-HA HA HA HA HAAAA!!!!!


Clever...you might want to check your boots. You came into the house of Medialine after stepping it. Now you've dragged that crap all over the carpet.


Like Diplomat, I've got to step in and rub your nose in it like you do to a little puppy.


South Wales Echo, Clever? Seriously? Michelle Malkin? AGAIN??? Stilll haven't learned your lesson, hey little puppy?

My favorite part of the post is where Clever claims he posted it without commenting on it's merits. Umm...Clever...if you are posing ANOTHER thread where you cry about the sniffle...sniffle...liberal mee-deee-uhhh, you are commenting on it's merits.

You thought is was legit. You got caught like Diplomat did with his famous "B Girl".

And like Dip's "B Girl" the South Wales Echo will follow you around for as long as I want it to.

Holy crap you guys are like the gift that keeps on giving, but better. It's like the lottery that keeps on giving.


Two people who claim to be journalists are so easily taken. Why? They wanted to believe a story because it made them feel better emotionally. Clever let his emotions get the best of him.


Diplomat never really admitted a mistake, either. He simply pretended his mistake didn't exist. Clever did the same, but not very well.

"Hey I'm just sparking a discussion...i didn't really believe it guys! Seriously!!!"

Puh--hA HA HA HA HA HA HA....

Sides...hurting...

I see li'l buckster is still laboring under the false assumption that I care what he thinks about me or says about me ... it will follow me around "for as long as (you) want it to"? Should I start shuddering and wimpering now or wait 'til that awful, dark hour in the future when you post something that refers back to this thread? Oh, the horror! How ever will I live with myself knowing that bucky is going to "rub my nose" in my "mistake"?

Do you actually believe half the garbage you post, or are you 100% delusional? I'm guessing the latter ... post away, bucky-boy!

[buckpasser]

If I wrote for the South Wales Echo, would you believe me?


Ohhh!!! Make it stop.

Make.

It.

Stop.

Milk.

Coming.

Out.

Nose...