CNN journalists resign over Russian story snafu

[Kilgore]

Source: USA Today


Three veteran CNN journalists with impressive investigative credentials have resigned after their story on Russian ties to Trump failed to meet reporting standards, CNN wrote in an unusual editor's note to the public.

CNN said it has retracted the story, taken down online links to it, and accepted resignations from three men who wrote and edited the piece. They are reporter Thomas Frank, a former Pulitzer Prize finalist for USA TODAY; editor Eric Lichtblau, a Pulitzer Prize winner for the New York Times who joined CNN earlier this year; and Lex Haris, executive editor of "CNN Investigates."

The story, published Thursday, laid out the latest in the ongoing reporting saga of President Trump and hotly-contested ties to shadowy Russian officials.

According to the Washington Post, Frank's story asserted that the Senate Intelligence Committee was investigating a wealthy Russian investment fund "whose chief executive met with a member of Donald Trump's transition team four days before Trump's inauguration."

Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/06/27/cnn-journalists-resign-over-russian-story-snafu/430755001/

[TexasBushwhacker]

1. Damn. That's a shame

But just because it doesn't meet CNN's reporting standards doesn't make it false. It reminds me of Dan Rather and that SNAFU.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

17. Precisely... not sure exactly what, if anything, CNN got wrong.

[BumRushDaShow]

2. Der Drumpenfuhrer tweeted about it this morning.

I don't remember reading that story.

[Initech]

12. And the deplorables are going apeshit.

Ugh... The sooner Jack Posobiec and Mike Cernovich go away the better. I hate, hate these fucking assholes.

There's still enough evidence to take Trump down, let's focus on real news, like the healthcare bill.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

18. No worries, the Fuhrer-in-Chief is going to be impeached, just a matter of time... tic toc tic toc.

[FM123]

3. Trumpy is probably going to weaponize this story....

[Sunlei]

23. what haveN'T the asshole & his nutter Republicans "weaponized"?

[pangaia]

4. Knowing nothing at this point,

3 possibilities that I see..

1- The story was wrong, partially wrong, etc., by mistake, for what ever reason and, unlike REAL fake news sites and blatant liars, CNN fired the writers, and shouldn't have.

2- The story was wrong, partially wrong, etc., intentionally( hard to believe), and, unlike REAL fake news sites and blatant liars, CNN fired the writers, and should have.

OR

2- The story is right and somebody with the proverbial gun to the head got to CNN.

[DonCoquixote]

5. I bet my money on three

especially as you know the trumpkins are focusing on Cnn.

[pangaia]

6. That would be my guess as well.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

19. Moi aussi!!

[Javaman]

9. to me it smells like another Dan Rather hit job.

but who knows.

[Pacifist Patriot]

13. I smell a whiff of Nixonian WH tactics.

If you haven't seen this, it's an excellent comparison between now and then. Long read, but well worth it for a glimmer of hope.

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/06/frank-rich-nixon-trump-and-how-a-presidency-ends.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter_axiosam&stream=top-stories

[pangaia]

14. I was 'aware' during the nixon thing.

Vietnam was my 'alarm bell.'

This is much, much worse..

Did I say MUCH....

[Pacifist Patriot]

27. The magnitude is staggering to comprehend.

[pangaia]

32. My BIL knew this was going to happen 20-25 years ago.

Maybe not the exact road map, but he undersood/understands how the world actually works..

[mwooldri]

28. Do I smell another "September Dossier" type episode?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_Dossier

Andrew Gilligan released report stating that the Iraq War Dossiers were "sexed up". Government got unhappy. BBC stood by the story. Hutton Inquiry said Gilligan got it wrong & BBC's investigation into his report was flawed.

Not necessarily any parallels here but it's a possible conclusion I'm drawing... truth is in the middle... my belief is story has some merit but isn't wholly accurate, government ain't happy, CNN bigwigs being leaned on heavily.

[Honeycombe8]

7. Resigning (or being fired) is a bit drastic for a one-time instance, isn't it?

I don't get it.

[pangaia]

15. Exactly. Whether they made a mistake, were lazy, lied, OR ....were right....

It doesn't smell good.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

8. The Madman's going to attempt to Dan Rather this as much as he can.

He's already doing it this morning.

But the Russia story is not going away.

Come out, damned spot! Out, I command you! One, two. OK, it’s time to do it now.—Hell is murky!—Nonsense, my lord, nonsense! You are a soldier, and yet you are afraid? Why should we be scared, when no one can lay the guilt upon us?—But who would have thought the old man would have had so much blood in him?

[spiderpig]

20. My first thought.

More whining from a lying liar who has a solid page of the NYT devoted to his lies (in fine print, too).

[NRaleighLiberal]

10. and it begins.

[Baitball Blogger]

11. What are you seeing?

[NRaleighLiberal]

31. Media intimidation. Retractions. Cowering. Starting.

[pangaia]

16. It 'continues.'

It began... what 40+ years ago .. or more.

[Enoki33]

21. There is a sense of overreaction by CNN here. If that is

correct their reasons seem obvious.

[Sunlei]

22. They are HEROS and now CNN can't be attacked by deplorab* :P. Where is a link to the story please?

*deplorable Lawyers.

looking a bit rough Mr Trump, why can't you finish the damn transition??

[Amimnoch]

24. 6. Controlled Mass Media

The 14 defining characteristics of fascism

6. Controlled Mass Media - Sometimes to media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, is very common.

Notice that no matter how much false and obviously false information is put out by administration sympathetic news sources, retractions do not occur (just think Pizzagate as one of MANY examples). The freedom of the press is under siege.

[OliverQ]

25. Lots of Trump supporters talking about this saying the CNN producer claimed Russian collusion story

is a hoax for ratings.

[Duppers]

26. Jesus, this has just giving them more fodder

For their ignorant positions.

[Sneederbunk]

29. FOX: What are reporting standards?

[Skittles]

33. it's a given that Fox Fucking News is nothing but repuke propaganda

they, like our current "president", *HAVE NO STANDARDS*

[joanbarnes]

30. Too close to the truth, like Dan Rather?

[Justice]

34. Lichtblau Co-authored oct 31 NYT piece that

Threw cold water on David Corn's piece on dossier.

Edited to add link - https://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/11/01/us/politics/fbi-russia-election-donald-trump.html

I've no doubt his reporting is less than stellar. I've been tweeting at him since to ask him to identify sources that told him no links when obviously FBI was investigating all sorts of links.

GOP used this piece as proof David Corn's piece was nothing - when in truth it was everything.