CNN lawsuit against FEMA-Judge grants injunction-hearing Sat

[JTD]

http://mediabistro.com/tvnewser/

Aftermath: CNN Wins Round One; Judge Grants Temporary Restraining Order
"CNN has obtained a restraining order to prevent emergency officials in the Hurricane Katrina disaster zone from preventing the media from covering the recovery of bodies," a message on CNN's internal wires system says.

"...U.S District Judge Keith Ellison granted a temporary restraining order Friday evening. A hearing has been scheduled Saturday morning to determine if the order should be made permanent."

Quoting the memo that came out this evening:

To: CNN Staff

From: Jim Walton

================

In response to official statements earlier today that news media would be excluded from covering the victim recovery process in New Orleans and surrounding areas on the suggestion that what is reported may offend viewers' or victims' sensibilities, CNN has filed a lawsuit in federal court to prohibit any agency from restricting its ability to fully and fairly cover this story.

As seen most recently from war zones in Afghanistan and Iraq, from tsunami-ravaged South Asia and from Hurricane Katrina's landfall along the Gulf, CNN has shown that it is capable of balancing vigorous reporting with respect for private concerns. Government officials cannot be allowed to hinder the free flow of information to the public, and CNN will not let such a decision stand without challenge.

[Windy]

Yeah, I figured that wouldn't stand. Classic prior restraint case. You can't trump the First Amendment.

[artist]

all I can hope is that do it with dignity fo rthe families sake. burns me up.

[Terry]

I get very nervous when the press is banned. Not that I care to see dead bodies myself, but I do believe that the press needs to be there.

[Thunder44]

Press should be allowed to at least cover the event. They don't have to show dead bodies on any graphic images on tv, but they should be allowed to report what's going on. Otherwise you are going to get claims of a government conspiracy to hide the real death count or stuff like that.

[JTD]

Larry King mentioned this at the top of his show tonight.

It'll be interesting to see how this pans out. I think this is pretty clearly a first ammendment issue though.

[CharleySurvivor]

I totally agree with Thunder44 - cover the event but not show any bodies.

Think about it...what if it was YOUR body out there, would you like the world to see it? I wouldn't.

[GalvestonDuck]

Besides not showing bodies, what about the houses? Loved ones may recognize homes of their relatives and then see the bodies being pulled out. I can't imagine what they would be like.

[mf_dolphin]

Duckie unfortunately the media no longer cares about common decency. Blood and gore sells so they'll show the bodies without regard for the feelings of the families.

[Windy]

Duckie unfortunately the media no longer cares about common decency. Blood and gore sells so they'll show the bodies without regard for the feelings of the families.

That to me is just a silly thing to say. (Real) blood and gore does not sell, any more than showing close-ups of giant piles of poop or puddles of vomit on TV sells. Bodies make people turn the channel, and that's why you don't see a lot of graphic depictions of bodies on TV. If this was a story about prostitution or covering a rash of reports of sex on a nude beach, then yeah, I'm sure they'd find a way to show as many bodies as is possible.

However, it's very important that reporters tag along with rescuers, or, as was said above, there will be people who cry "conspiricy!" if the bodycount is lower than expected.

[tiger dj]

If you really think CNN's concern is about accurate reporting, i.e. tagging along with the rescuers for accuracy sake, then you are naive. This is about ratings and rating equal money, pure and simple. Not being allowed to show the bodies takes away from the story that CNN and other want to put out. They want to show the blood, gore, etc., because it does sell. They know that bodies may make you want to change the channel, but at the same time, they also know that you rarely do.

[vbhoutex]

Press should be allowed to at least cover the event. They don't have to show dead bodies on any graphic images on tv, but they should be allowed to report what's going on. Otherwise you are going to get claims of a government conspiracy to hide the real death count or stuff like that.

Those kind of conspiracy theories abound with each major Hurricane the US has if the death count doesn't reach into the hundreds. Happened with Andrew. Happened with Charley...!!!

[mf_dolphin]

That to me is just a silly thing to say. (Real) blood and gore does not sell, any more than showing close-ups of giant piles of poop or puddles of vomit on TV sells. Bodies make people turn the channel, and that's why you don't see a lot of graphic depictions of bodies on TV. If this was a story about prostitution or covering a rash of reports of sex on a nude beach, then yeah, I'm sure they'd find a way to show as many bodies as is possible.

However, it's very important that reporters tag along with rescuers, or, as was said above, there will be people who cry "conspiricy!" if the bodycount is lower than expected.

We'll have to agree to disagree but if you don't think this is about ratings then you're being niave. The conspiracy theorists are still going to say that the deaths were under reported. It happens in every disaster why should this one be any different.

[greeng13]

Duckie unfortunately the media no longer cares about common decency. Blood and gore sells so they'll show the bodies without regard for the feelings of the families.

That to me is just a silly thing to say. (Real) blood and gore does not sell, any more than showing close-ups of giant piles of poop or puddles of vomit on TV sells. Bodies make people turn the channel, and that's why you don't see a lot of graphic depictions of bodies on TV. If this was a story about prostitution or covering a rash of reports of sex on a nude beach, then yeah, I'm sure they'd find a way to show as many bodies as is possible.

However, it's very important that reporters tag along with rescuers, or, as was said above, there will be people who cry "conspiricy!" if the bodycount is lower than expected.

I have to say I agree with mf on this one. As for piles of poop and puddles of vomit...have you ever seen MTV's Jackass? That showed a dumb ($$$) umm-person...diving into raw sewage for instance and the ratings for that show were pretty much through the roof...also there is the video series "Faces of Death"--which i believe also shows real deaths and is rented quite frequently by some...

I think this song sums it up--and combine that with "Gangsta Rap" which is also a good seller in today's society (for some unknown reason)


Dirty Laundry Lyrics
by Don Henley
[ Download Don Henley Ringtones ] [ Send to a friend ]

I make my living off the evening news
Just give me something, something I can use
People love it when you lose, they love dirty laundry

Well, I could've been an actor, but I wound up here
I just have to look good, I don't have to be clear
Come and whisper in my ear, give us dirty laundry

Kick 'em when they're up, kick 'em when they're down
Kick 'em when they're up, kick 'em when they're down
Kick 'em when they're up, kick 'em when they're down
Kick 'em when they're up, kick 'em all around

We got the bubbleheaded bleach-blonde, comes on at 5
She can tell you about the plane crash with a gleam in her eye
It's interesting when people die, give us dirty laundry

Can we film the operation? Is the head dead yet?
You know the boys in the newsroom got a running bet
Get the widow on the set, we need dirty laundry

You don't really need to find out what's going on
You don't really want to know just how far it's gone
Just leave well enough alone, keep your dirty laundry

Kick 'em when they're up, kick 'em when they're down
Kick 'em when they're up, kick 'em when they're down
Kick 'em when they're up, kick 'em when they're down
Kick 'em when they're stiff, kick 'em all around

Dirty little secrets, dirty little lies
We got our dirty little fingers in everybody's pie
Love to cut you down to size, we love dirty laundry

We can do the innuendo, we can dance and sing
When it's said and done, we haven't told you a thing
We all know that crap is king, give us dirty laundry

[stormie_skies]

All I am going to say is I am glad CNN challenged. The American people deserve to see the truth of the matter if they so desire.

[greeng13]

All I am going to say is I am glad CNN challenged. The American people deserve to see the truth of the matter if they so desire.

absolutely. i believe in the First Amendment very strongly. I was not even trying to flame anyone with my last post. Just stating "the obvious" (at least obvious to me). I personally have no desire seeing dead bodies removed from houses, etc. however, in a way, the press is almost like an independent agency in that they can "oversee" the recovery process to "ensure" that the death tolls are not downplayed. (not that it still won't be possible for the gov't to do so if they want to.)

TV Ratings=Sex sells, death sells, blood & gore sell, etc. "Give us Dirty Laundry" .. it's unfortunate but some people want to watch that stuff.

[CentralFlGal]

Lawsuit or not, I stopped watching all coverage last week. Anyone with deductive reasoning skills understands the extent of destruction and devastation in the affected areas. The first amendment debate is a handy hit-and-run tactic to get one's way - whether that way appears to be noble or not. There is no reason to sit there and watch bodies being pulled out of homes. If that is what is desired, then one needs to go volunteer to help with the task.

Let the officials do their jobs and the residents attempt to piece back together their lives - if they are fortunate enough to do so. My family returned to Long Beach, MS, yesterday to do just that.

[JTD]

From the link above:

Aftermath: Govt. "Abandons" Restrictions On Coverage Of Victim Recovery
Following up on yesterday's lawsuit: "Rather than fight a lawsuit by CNN, the federal government abandoned its effort Saturday to prevent the media from reporting on the recovery of the dead in New Orleans," CNN.com says.

"Joint Task Force Katrina 'has no plans to bar, impede or prevent news media from their news gathering and reporting activities in connection with the deceased Hurricane Katrina victim recovery efforts,' said Col. Christian E. deGraff, representing the task force."

I am ambvialent on this but I just found it extraordinary that a news organization would sue the federal government. I wonder if this has ever happened before (outside of access to information requests) etc.

[CentralFlGal]

From the link above:

Aftermath: Govt. "Abandons" Restrictions On Coverage Of Victim Recovery
Following up on yesterday's lawsuit: "Rather than fight a lawsuit by CNN, the federal government abandoned its effort Saturday to prevent the media from reporting on the recovery of the dead in New Orleans," CNN.com says.

"Joint Task Force Katrina 'has no plans to bar, impede or prevent news media from their news gathering and reporting activities in connection with the deceased Hurricane Katrina victim recovery efforts,' said Col. Christian E. deGraff, representing the task force."

I am ambvialent on this but I just found it extraordinary that a news organization would sue the federal government. I wonder if this has ever happened before (outside of access to information requests) etc.

Perhaps JTFK is allowing CNN to set itself up to appear ghoulish in its desire to broadcast the dead worldwide.

[greeng13]

Lawsuit or not, I stopped watching all coverage last week. Anyone with deductive reasoning skills understands the extent of destruction and devastation in the affected areas. The first amendment debate is a handy hit-and-run tactic to get one's way - whether that way appears to be noble or not. There is no reason to sit there and watch bodies being pulled out of homes. If that is what is desired, then one needs to go volunteer to help with the task.

Let the officials do their jobs and the residents attempt to piece back together their lives - if they are fortunate enough to do so. My family returned to Long Beach, MS, yesterday to do just that.

are you from MS or CentralFL?---just wondering...I hope all is well in MS--or at least "better than expected".