CNN News Executive Eason Jordan Quits

Eason Jordan has resigned from CNN. Of course, he claims he never meant to imply that the US Military intentionally killed reporters. Well, then why does Jordan not demand the tape of the event be released? That would resolve the issue. I will give Mr. Jordan credit for resigning, some thing Dan Rather should have done. - Sailor

CNN News Executive Eason Jordan Quits

Fri Feb 11, 6:59 PM ET Television - AP


By DAVID BAUDER, AP Television Writer

NEW YORK - CNN chief news executive Eason Jordan quit Friday amidst a furor over remarks he made in Switzerland last month about journalists killed by the U.S. military in Iraq (news - web sites).

Jordan said he was quitting to avoid CNN being "unfairly tarnished" by the controversy.

During a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum (news - web sites) last month, Jordan said he believed that several journalists who were killed by coalition forces in Iraq had been targeted.

He quickly backed off the remarks, explaining that he meant to distinguish between journalists killed because they were in the wrong place where a bomb fell, for example, and those killed because they were shot at by American forces who mistook them for the enemy.


"I never meant to imply U.S. forces acted with ill intent when U.S. forces accidentally killed journalists, and I apologize to anyone who thought I said or believed otherwise," Jordan said in a memo to fellow staff members at CNN.


But the damage had been done, compounded by the fact that no transcript of his actual remarks has turned up. There was an online petition calling on CNN to find a transcript, and fire Jordan if he said the military had intentionally killed journalists.