Jordan Leads CNN into No Man's Land

Easongate continues. One must begin to wonder about the basic intelligence and awareness of CNN and Time-Warner executives at this point.

Eason Jordan said American soldiers tortured journalists. Eason Jordan, the top news executive at CNN, a Time-Warner company, claims that American soldiers targeted--murdered--a dozen journalists. And yet somehow CNN and Time-Warner executives apparently think that if they stonewall the incident long enough, that the matter will just go away.

A decade ago, even a few years ago, they may have been able to get away with it. Unfortunately for CNN and Time-Warner executives (and did I mention Time-Warner shareholders?), that was then. They do not comprehend the now.

Media executives remind me of the generals of World War One. They were tangentially aware of new technologies on the field of battle, but were unable to grasp their significance. As a result, they marched troops at a walk across a barren No Man's Land into nests of machine guns firing 600 rounds/minute. The carnage was unbelievable, the casualties catastrophic; and yet the generals, clinging to tactics best suited for the wars of single shot rifles forty years earlier, sent their troops to a grisly, almost certain end, time after time.

We're watched similar slaughters take place in the world of journalism.

CBS News thought they could get away with running a story about George Bush using faked documents. They were mown down mercilessly by the blogosphere within hours, and several prominent journalists with long careers were disgraced. The damage to the integrity of CBS News was immeasurable. It will take years for CBS News to recover their credibility.

CNN is walking across the field into the guns, and doesn't understand the carnage about to ensue. Eason Jordan, CNN's top news executive, essentially accused the U.S. military of the premeditated murder of a dozen journalists. This follows a claim from Jordan months earlier where he stated American soldiers captured and tortured journalists, which follows the 2003 admission that Jordan and CNN turned a blind eye to torture to retain a Baghdad bureau.

The blogosphere has targeted Eason Jordan. 438 blogs with combined daily traffic of over 720,000 visits have placed Jordan and CNN under withering fire. More blogs, as well as elements of the mainstream media, are joining daily. By next week this story will be fodder in every major news outlet. CNN needs to act, and act fast.

CNN must fire Eason Jordan, or forever lose their credibility within the U.S. market.

The old tactic of stonewalling until an issue goes away has passed. CNN and by extension, Time Warner, are walking into the proverbial guns. They can either duck, or be shot to pieces.