An average guy named Rony who made a blog post at a Switzerland conference about a CNN executive who lied caused an eruption in the blogosphere which led to this news man’s unemployment Friday.
The lesson: Bloggers are forcing truth to prevail.
This particular story all started with a blog post by Rony at the Forumblog.org website.
Here are some excerts from the original post …
“This fiery topic became a real nightmare today for the Chief News Executive of CNN at what was an initially very mild discussion at the World Economic Forum titled “Will Democracy Survive the Media?”.
…During one of the discussions about the number of journalists killed in the Iraq War, Eason Jordan asserted that he knew of 12 journalists who had not only been killed by US troops in Iraq, but they had in fact been targeted. He repeated the assertion a few times, which seemed to win favor in parts of the audience (the anti-US crowd) and cause great strain on others.
Due to the nature of the forum, I was able to directly challenge Eason, asking if he had any objective and clear evidence to backup these claims, because if what he said was true, it would make Abu Ghraib look like a walk in the park. David Gergen was also clearly disturbed and shocked by the allegation that the U.S. would target journalists, foreign or U.S. He had always seen the U.S. military as the providers of safety and rescue for all reporters.
Eason seemed to backpedal quickly, but his initial statements were backed by other members of the audience (one in particular who represented a worldwide journalist group). The ensuing debate was (for lack of better words) a real “sh–storm”.
…Here is another challenge, and this one is for the CNN and the BBC: What the hell happened? Is Eason right or is he wrong? Good journalism calls for digging into and revealing all of the facts (or was everything that was said in the mild part of the discussion about fair coverage and seeking the truth just verbage?).”
Now skip to tonights AP story …
“NEW YORK – CNN chief news executive Eason Jordan quit Friday amidst a furor over remarks he made in Switzerland last month about journalists killed by the U.S. military in Iraq.
Jordan said he was quitting to avoid CNN being “unfairly tarnished” by the controversy.”
In my mind, this is another win for the blogs. Here is some reaction from bloggers and the press …
Larry Kudlow, National Review
“This tawdry tale has been reported, for the most part, only on the blogosphere, again pointing out just how strong this alternative Internet medium has become. The blogosphere is relentless: It rightfully hammered Eason Jordan and CNN from day one and refuses to stop. We’ve seen this before, of course. Easongate comes only a few months after Rathergate, the blogosphere-led campaign that ensured the dismissal of producer Mary Mapes from CBS and Dan Rather’s hasty departure.
The blogosphere has gained near immediate influence and credibility with its ability to widely disseminate alternative media coverage. (These days, “alternative” more often than not means “true.”) Powerhouse bloggers such as John Hinderaker, Glenn Reynolds, and Hugh Hewitt, among many others, have flexed their muscles and badly bruised CNN on this story.
…Seeing as the blogosphere’s reporting has moved into the upper reaches of the U.S. Senate, it is unlikely that CNN will succeed in its attempted cover-up. Freedom of the press is the best disinfectant for public corruption. Bloggers are doing their duty.”
Little Green Footballs
“I have to believe this sudden resignation means Mr. Jordan’s superiors had a chance to review the World Economic Forum video and realized (especially after Rathergate) that their position was untenable, and that further stonewalling could be disastrous.
I’d still like to see the video.”
ProfessorBainbridge.com
“This looks like a classic example of the power of blogging: Though many of Jordan’s critics have been politicians and journalists, as best I can tell the mainstream media initially paid little attention to the story. In an earlier era, it may have died from lack of attention, if it weren’t for the bloggers’ talking about the story, and making it hard for people to ignore.”
Redstate
“So much credit is due so many, expect a massive link round up in the morning. If you’d like to be included – email me your posts at mkrempasky at geemail dot com.
Update [2005-2-11 21:34:49 by Erick]: Sources from the newsroom at CNN tell us that as of 5pm today, no one was talking about, let alone thinking of a resignation. “It’s what the Clinton Adminstration taught everyone,” said one. “Bury the news on Friday night and no one hears about till Monday.””
Captain’s Quarters
“CNN announced the resignation of Eason Jordan this evening as CNN’s chief news executive, sending “shock waves” through the news organization as the blogosphere has imposed accountability on the mainstream media.
The moral of the story: the media can’t just cover up the truth and expect to get away with it — and journalists can’t just toss around allegations without substantiation and expect people to believe them anymore.”
HughHewitt.com
“In Thursday’s WeeklyStandard.com column I detailed how the blogs beat MSM on the story like a bongo drum. At this hour, if you type “Eason Jordan” into the search engine of the Los Angeles Times, there will be no matches. None.”
There is lots of other great information at the Easongate blog.
This story is just another example of how blogs are becoming the media.
murdok is the CEO of murdok which publishes over 200 websites and email newsletters.
Rich also publishes his blog WebProBlog which focuses on internet business and marketing trends.
