CNN Finds Itself In An Awkward Spot Over The Taunting Of Its African American Camerawoman

[TroyD]

Just posted at TPM:

CNN Finds Itself In An Exquisitely Awkward Spot Over The Taunting Of Its African American Camerawoman

You’ve probably seen that last night a convention attendee was ejected from the hall for pelting a black CNN camerawomen with nuts and saying the words “this is how we feed animals.” Follow up reports this morning say actually two people were ejected.

Now one of the more interesting things about this story is that it broke on TPM. Actually, not quite. We first saw a tweet from David Shuster and then we got confirmation of what happened from CNN and were the first to run the story. (This morning the RNCC essentially confirmed something rotten had happened.) But you may have noticed that one of the biggest news organizations in the world — CNN — has been remarkably tight-lipped about this.

So it’s worth noting why that probably is. There’s a normal and correct tendency for a news outfit not to want to make itself into the story. But this goes way beyond that and puts CNN in an exquisitely awkward position. CNN has been bending over backwards of late trying to position itself as the last holy beacon of objectivity and fairness in cable news, as Fox and MSNBC play to more clearly partisan audiences. Meanwhile, they’re under almost constant assault from conservatives for alleged (and basically mythical) liberal bias.

AUGUST 29, 2012, 8:58 AM

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2012/08/cnns_exquisitely_awkward_spot.php

[get the red out]

1. They should know better

Last edited Wed Aug 29, 2012, 02:03 PM - Edit history (1)

They should know better than to assign African American employees to a damn KKK meeting.

[JDPriestly]

15. CNN is in denial about what the Republican Party is, what it has become.

[Cha]

19. Really.

[liberal N proud]

2. It wouldn't be awkward if they would stop pandering to the GOP

Start telling the world what the republicans truly stand for and what it would mean if they had full control of the government.

Stop the propaganda and give the facts.

The facts are that Republicans are racist assholes and that is what CNN should report!

[TroyD]

7. CNN anchors are in the tank for Romney

Even David Gergen, who praised Obama in 2008 and used to be more objective, is pro-Romney. Perhaps because Gergen worked at Bain?

[liberal N proud]

11. Therefore it is awkward for them

[Angry Dragon]

3. They should name these people

[RandySF]

4. What objectivity?

Wolf Blitzer is Anne Romney's biggest admirer.

[WI_DEM]

5. It wasn't CNN that ejected those people it was the convention, correct?

and they deserved to be ejected.

[gerryburns]

6. Isn't this assault and harassment?

If I were on the job (or not) and someone threw nuts at me and called me an animal, I would:

a. have the person arrested for an assault and/or file a police report

b. Laugh it off & jump up & down scratching my armpits and hooting

c. Agree with my employer that this incident does not meet the standards for news and take an oath to keep quiet about it in case any reporters try to report this incident as a news story. Sign here______________.

d. ask for a drink with those peanuts

[april]

9. A

[Baitball Blogger]

8. Elephants throwing peanuts. Sounds like something you would read in the onion.

Seriously. They're wearing elephant heads with phallic looking trunks. And now we hear they're throwing peanuts and calling other people animals? WTF?

[GallopingGhost]

17. Very appropriate for this three-ring circus of a convention.

[TroyD]

10. CNN probably doesn't want to upset the GOP

CNN is so afraid of being accused of 'liberal bias' that they probably don't want to call out the GOP for its prejudiced behavior and the type of antics they're allowing to go on at the RNC.

[tnvoter]

12. This needs to be broadcast at the top of the newshour

.... so very typical repugnant behavior from the republicans. They should name names!

[Sheepshank]

13. And the Reps will paint this as an anomaly, unusual, outside the norm......

....and will completely ignore the decades they have spent fostering this type of thought process toward other human beings. Fuckers.

[DallasNE]

14. Bending Over Backwards

To a bully only plays into their hands. CNN should know this. Now what are they going to do about it? Allow themselves to be bullied again and again and again? Soledad O'Brien seems to understand this but nobody else gets it. Bending over backwards always fails so what could CNN have been thinking.

[ailsagirl]

16. Gee, CNN is feeling awkward about its situation

WHAT ABOUT THEIR EMPLOYEE WHO SUFFERED THE UTTER HUMILIATION OF THIS ATTACK?? WHERE IS SHE? IS SHE OK??
Screw your 'image,' CNN, and show even a sliver of humanity!!

[Cha]

18. cnn hasn't been trying at all to cast itself as anything

but a promoter of teabaggers. Why start now? Dawg, they think we're dumb.

[ailsagirl]

20. CNN addresses incident

http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/cnn-goes-on-air-with-story-about-incident