Thursday
Jul302009
Media Mischief: The Return of #CNNFail on Iran?
Thursday, July 30, 2009 at 11:00
The Latest from Iran (30 July): Memorial Day
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UPDATE 1033 GMT: Our closing question has been answered. CNN has just gotten a feature in ahead of the 1130 GMT memorial, although it has reduced the political and religious significance of the story from a rally for all martyrs of the 20 June demonstrations to "Iran: Memorials planned to mark Neda's death".
We mentioned in our first update today that, while the BBC was featuring the story of today's memorial, CNN had yet to wake up to it. (Al Jazeera also was asleep, but now has the story as its website lead.) This is what subsequently happened via Twitter:
0726 CNN iDesk: "Checking on latest reports from inside Iran that some Iranian Opposition Leaders plan to attend a memorial demonstration today" [Those reports, of course, first appeared on Monday. The latest could be checked within five minutes by glancing at websites linked to Mousavi or Karroubi --- see 0745 GMT.]
0840 sayahCNN "Karoubi's website: Both Karoubi & Mousavi to be at Neda's gravesite 4pm Iran time." [Reza Sayah, who covers Iran for CNN, figures out how to discover the news.]
0747 SaeedCNN "Ghalamnews.ir (Moussavi's website) confirms: Both Moussavi & Karroubi plan to attend today's mourning ceremonies for #iranelection victims" [Saeed Ahmed, CNN's wire editor in Atlanta, figures it out as well.]
0843 CNN iDesk: "We'll be on the #iranelection #neda story all day on CNN International." [Oh, you teases. Still nothing on the CNN website.]
0956 SaeedCNN "Here's the story about Iran's opposition leaders' plan to attend ceremonies for #Neda." [And there it is, posted at 0953 GMT: "Iran’s opposition leaders to attend ceremonies for Neda". Except it's not a story on CNN's main page. Or its World page. It's a blog entry on the CNN Wire, "Latest Update on Top Stories". Which is kinda funny since, as we have just noted, this is still not even a Bottom Story.]
So half-joking, half-serious, we ask: Will CNN actually get around, being "on the story all day", to noting the memorial service before it begins at 1130 GMT?
Receive our latest updates by email or RSS SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FEED
Buy Us A Cup of Coffee? Help Enduring America Expand Its Coverage and Analysis
UPDATE 1033 GMT: Our closing question has been answered. CNN has just gotten a feature in ahead of the 1130 GMT memorial, although it has reduced the political and religious significance of the story from a rally for all martyrs of the 20 June demonstrations to "Iran: Memorials planned to mark Neda's death".
We mentioned in our first update today that, while the BBC was featuring the story of today's memorial, CNN had yet to wake up to it. (Al Jazeera also was asleep, but now has the story as its website lead.) This is what subsequently happened via Twitter:
0726 CNN iDesk: "Checking on latest reports from inside Iran that some Iranian Opposition Leaders plan to attend a memorial demonstration today" [Those reports, of course, first appeared on Monday. The latest could be checked within five minutes by glancing at websites linked to Mousavi or Karroubi --- see 0745 GMT.]
0840 sayahCNN "Karoubi's website: Both Karoubi & Mousavi to be at Neda's gravesite 4pm Iran time." [Reza Sayah, who covers Iran for CNN, figures out how to discover the news.]
0747 SaeedCNN "Ghalamnews.ir (Moussavi's website) confirms: Both Moussavi & Karroubi plan to attend today's mourning ceremonies for #iranelection victims" [Saeed Ahmed, CNN's wire editor in Atlanta, figures it out as well.]
0843 CNN iDesk: "We'll be on the #iranelection #neda story all day on CNN International." [Oh, you teases. Still nothing on the CNN website.]
0956 SaeedCNN "Here's the story about Iran's opposition leaders' plan to attend ceremonies for #Neda." [And there it is, posted at 0953 GMT: "Iran’s opposition leaders to attend ceremonies for Neda". Except it's not a story on CNN's main page. Or its World page. It's a blog entry on the CNN Wire, "Latest Update on Top Stories". Which is kinda funny since, as we have just noted, this is still not even a Bottom Story.]
So half-joking, half-serious, we ask: Will CNN actually get around, being "on the story all day", to noting the memorial service before it begins at 1130 GMT?
tagged CNN, Iran, Iran Elections 2009, Neda Agha Soltan, Reza Sayah, Saeed Ahmed in Uncategorized
CNN, Iran, Iran Elections 2009, Neda Agha Soltan, Reza Sayah, Saeed Ahmed in Uncategorized
Reader Comments (2)
CNN has been awful after the first week. They are entertainment news all about Michael Jackson. What is really sad is their "Chief International Correspondent" Christiane Amonpour. She has been silent for the past month. SPINELESS
Just a thought - if you're already getting your information from here at Enduring America...does it really matter what CNN is covering?