calling bullshit: on Anderson Cooper (and the rest of the corporate media)

As a former journalist, I applaud this post. I'm very disappointed with the Obama administration though. What the hell are they thinking?

What you, Cooper, and Greenwald are saying, without having the guts to say it, is that the "safety" portion of the 20-meter "safety zone" is a lie. Can you provide any evidence that shows that the safety zone is, in fact, an "overreaction" as another journalist put it? "I want to be there and take pictures" is not a compelling argument if there is, in fact, a safety concern - and with the number of people trying to get up close and personal to take those Pulitzer-winning shots, I don't readily doubt that the safety issues are, in fact, real, imminent, and compelling. Until there's actual evidence that there's a political motivation behind the safety zone, I'd say there are a whole lot of butthurt journos whining and aiming Tea Party-worthy claims of conspiracy, but not a whole lot of reason.

Very well said MaryAnn.

I agree on calling bullshit on Cooper and CNN. They talk a game but when it comes time to put their asses on the line they run away.

Journalistic integrity would mean something if A) reporters did their damn jobs to report, B) reporters stopped sucking up to power players who merely use the media for their own propaganda, C) reporters upheld the TRUTH and ignored the wingnut cries of "ooo liberal bias."

/signed by UF Journalism grad (Class of '92).

CNN, show some bravery?

Hee! Perhaps you are not familiar with the modus operandi of CNN.

This is way more compelling evidence of the death of journalism than the LeBron James/ESPN thing.

In fact, Anderson Cooper getting arrested on TV is exactly the sort of thing that might make CNN relevant again. But no, CNN has once again confused milquetoastishness with objectivity.

Abso-fucking-lutely!

I may be too much of a cynic, but I wonder if CNN would be tucking in their tails & running if this had happened under the Bush administration. I can't help but think not.

Seeing as the Hati story broke late Sunday, that being the story that almost none of the money given in donations is actually going to the rebuilding of Hati, I would say Anderson Cooper, CNN and the major media are completely justified in "relocating" to cover a different, but just as equally important story. It's not as if CNN won't have teams still in the Gulf, and it's not like Anderson Cooper and the CNN camp are not trying to fight these new restrictions, they simply made a decision to move their focus elsewhere. If Anderson Cooper cant "get up close", which is his trademark, then it makes little sense for Anderson to be in the Gulf while the media and the government fight over these rules. Instead he is simply focusing his attention to a story where he can actually do some investigative reporting. No one wants to watch Anderson Cooper or any other media personality bitch for weeks about how they should have closer access, and CNN of all networks cant afford the dip in ratings that would be caused by it. (Yes I realize that news networks really shouldnt be concerned with ratings, but hey thats just the reality of the times)

Seeing as the Hati story broke late Sunday, that being the story that almost none of the money given in donations is actually going to the rebuilding of Hati, I would say Anderson Cooper, CNN and the major media are completely justified in "relocating" to cover a different, but just as equally important story.

But see, that story involves people of color and the media doesn't deem us and our problems worthy of attention unless we're famous rich sports stars (See: LeBron James) or they can accuse us of acting negatively (see: the lack of coverage of Oscar Grant's trial, but the surplus of coverage of the "riots" black people were going to cause over the verdict).

I guarantee this Haiti coverage would have been put on the back burner had the government not blocked up-close coverage of the spill.

It's not over yet. The spill is still spilling and it's been said Cooper is only going to be in Haiti for two days. Who's to say he's not going to go back to Louisiana and confront this thing head on. He's only one man, he can only do so much.

And risk losing his job at CNN, having a felony on his record and becoming a public spectacle? Why? He is established and works for one of the biggest news networks in the world. If you want to know why he doesnt "go where he's not suppose to go," go look at Geraldo Rivera's career. Once one of the biggest investigative journalists in the world, he is now one of the biggest jokes in news, and he got that distinction by not knowing when to stop. Thats what you get for doing something like that. Its probably much easier to criticize his actions from a far and say you would do something different when it's not your career and reputation on the line.

He reported the story, he can follow up on the story from Hati, and he and CNN can fight these rules through the proper channels rather than doing something that isnt going to help overturn this decision. In fact he may do more harm to the general media's complaint as his actions would probably give the government an example in courts that media always goes to far to get a story and that they may do more harm than good to the enviroment trying to get close ups of the disaster, simply because the media does not know when to stop, and thus the government needs to step in and set boundries for the enviorment's protection. And before I am labeled, I actually do agree that the government denying the media some form of controlled close access is bullshit.

Yeah, I've been a full-time staff reporter/writer for almost 12 years and know investigative reporting has been de-fanged. Know what? Spineless mananging editors have a lot to do with it -- and the owners who don't want to spend a cent defending themselves from bullshit lawsuits.
These aren't the days of Hearst, when reporters were rewarded for breaking rules and spending a night in jail could enhance your street cred.

@Chris:

There's a humongous difference between Geraldo's buffoonery and Anderson Cooper making a stand for freedom of the press. You're comparing idiocy to courage.