CNN's response to Michael Moore-

In response to a letter Michael Moore wrote about CNN's reporting on his documentary "SiCKO," a CNN spokesperson released the following statement:

"It's ironic that someone who has made a career out of holding powerful interests accountable is so sensitive to having his own work held up to the light by impartial journalists, as we did in our examination of 'SiCKO,' " the spokesperson said.

"In our original report, we made one mistake, which we apologized for and corrected on air and online six days ago, despite Mr. Moore's claim yesterday in his letter to us. Further, the e-mail Mr. Moore released in an effort to cast doubt on our reporting does no such thing.

"We appreciate Mr. Moore's attention to the important subject of health care and have featured him on CNN four times to discuss his movie and our reporting on it. While Mr. Moore may want to continue the discussion in order to drive publicity to his movie, we have presented the facts and are comfortable letting the viewers judge for themselves.

"We have zero vested interest in shading the numbers to tell a certain story. Suggesting otherwise, of Dr. Gupta or of CNN, just doesn't hold water," the spokesperson concluded.

CNN has always prided itself on balanced reporting of claims made by special-interest groups. Moore's documentary "SiCKO," which makes an impassioned case for a complete overhaul of the U.S. health care system, was not exempt from that reporting.

Moore recently posted and open letter and two so-called "Truth Squad" statements on his Web site. This document responds to the specific points Moore lays out:

POINT NO. 1: >>>>>>snip......................
http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Movies/07/15/moore.gupta/index.html?eref=rss_topstories


OK....this just crap.......

he clearly stated that news was a business in his interview with Michael Moore.

"Moore appears to be creating an issue where none exists."

this quote seems to be one of their favorites.

They lost me right there. There is no balance for unimpeachable facts other than blatant lying and slander. And I think we know which side of the fence CNN falls on.

they are a business... it's in their nature and their interest

Some people also say Dr. Gupta paid $50 to a company with just a P.O. box for his diploma.

Not me, you understand, but some people.

I think we need to ask these questions. The hard questions. For the good of America.

Some people also say that Wolf Blitzer is into diaper sex with hookers.

--p!

I had not heard that. :evilgrin:

Not me.

I deeply honor all ordained physicians.

Deeply.

Yes, I do believe that Dr. Sanjay Gupta, MD, is a devout man of science, committed to the scientific pursuit of scientific science -- not a cynical faker who purchased his medical degree at some diploma mill, and then used his family's business connections to bribe his way to a prestigious and successful position at America's most trusted news source.

Nor do I believe that back in India, he ever raped 22-year-old graduate student Rekha Chakrabarty and then had his father pay her off to keep her silence, only to threaten to kill her after the Uttar Pradesh police got involved because of that narcotics connection.

Some people say that; I DO NOT.

Then there are the stories that he was abducted by UFO people who made him their god. That's just silly. But some people believe it -- I certainly don't.

I won't even comment on the diaper hooker sex scandals. Some people might, but not ME.

And as for Wolf Blitzer -- you should hear what some people are saying about him.

But America has a Right to Know. We have a Right to Know the number of pimples on Katherine Harris' ass last Friday (45) as well as the nickname Lou Dobbs' boyfriend calls him by ("Honey Hiney").

Some people would say that there are some things that should stay private. But I believe in Truth, Justice, and The Public's Right To Know.

To ask the hard questions.

--p!

PS:

Naturally, nothing I wrote is true in the least, or in any imaginable context.

I generally like Gupta. He is usually "on our side" and has, funnily enough, argued for many of the things that Moore and many of us are working for. I believe that he was instructed to do a hit piece on Moore, and probably did such a piss-poor job deliberately.

But the CNN "some people" technique and its "insinuendo" has GOT to stop.

As to Wolf, Lou, and Kathy, though -- well, you know what some people say.

Some people say it does!

(yeah, I knew where you were coming from.)

Or are they saying that they are not going to accept money from these companies henceforth?

Otherwise, what they just said makes no sense at all.

I know exactly what the problem is. I major corporation. Email memos are being sent to all employees of corporations that are anti-Sicko. These memos are nothing more than talking points, composed by the insurance company that is 'contracted' to cover the employees of that company, to counter any points made in the Sicko movie. I guarantee you that CNN has a major corporate insurance carrier, probably an AETNA, CIGNA, or Blue Cross Blue Shield, that has sent this memo via their human resources office or PR unit too all of their employees. I was done to me. It is being done in companies that have federal contracts. I know this for a fact. I think it is illegal. It is pushing an political agenda in companies that use our tax dollars.:dem:

If so, why the statement that "While Mr. Moore may want to continue the discussion in order to drive publicity to his movie, we have presented the facts and are comfortable letting the viewers judge for themselves"?

If no, then why the point-by-point response of the kind you'd see from message board amateurs (and of an even lower quality)?

Is it just me, or is CNN a bit desperate?

to seem "reasonable" and "balanced". Michael will be able to tear this apart.

Yes, they do seem desperate and also on the defensive.

I saw no real apology either.

already done so..

www.iatrogenic.org

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/iatrogenic/message/1451

Lakewood, Colo. (July 27, 2004) – An average of 195,000 people in the U.S. died due to potentially preventable, in-hospital medical errors in each of the years 2000, 2001 and 2002, according to a new study of 37 million patient records that was released today by HealthGrades, the healthcare quality company.

The HealthGrades Patient Safety in American Hospitals study is the first to look at the mortality and economic impact of medical errors and injuries that occurred during Medicare hospital admissions nationwide from 2000 to 2002. The HealthGrades study applied the mortality and economic impact models developed by Dr. Chunliu Zhan and Dr. Marlene R. Miller in a research study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in October of 2003. The Zhan and Miller study supported the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) 1999 report conclusion, which found that medical errors caused up to 98,000 deaths annually and should be considered a national epidemic.

They would be boarded up and their executives would be sent to prison, that is what!

.. or any other corrupt biased news channel?

Boycott!

but only to hear Michael Moore on Blitzer and Larry King.

It presents a inaccurate view of the world.

accused CNN of being a Bush lap dog during the run up to the Iraq Invasion.

I'm waiting for their defense of that bit of cheerleading for needless death and dangerous foreign policy.

........disagreement over said sourcing. Why act like children and accuse him of "fudging" the facts. Why not point out there MIGHT be legitimate disagreement among adults? Furthermore, why even bring up the 37th versus 39th issue AT ALL if it wasn't an issue? CNN brought it up, not Moore. They did it in their "gotcha" segment and then act like the injured party when Moore calls bullshit?

I know the answers.

When it comes to statistics there are often disagreements. CNN could have put its numbers forward as alternatives and compared its sources with those of Moore. Let consumers decide which source/which numbers they trust for themselves.

Moore had to arbitrarily choose one number or the other for his movie. That is because it is a movie, not a forum for discussing statistics. Gupta was out of place in calling Moore's use of different statistics from different sources "errors." "Errors" is a pejorative term intended to cast doubt on Moore's truthfulness. Moore did not err, he chose legitimate numbers.

CNN is recalcitrant and should be called on their inability to admit error themselves as to Moore's numbers AND AS TO THE IRAQ WAR REPORTING WHICH WAS REPREHENSIBLE. Doesn't CNN get the fact that it was complicit in a great war crime?

All of the MSM knows it was 100% wrong in its handling of the pre-Iraq war information. It's just a game of dare. The network that flinches first and fires the journalists who broadcast lie after lie without reporting any any other point of view will be blamed. That's why they can't tell the truth on this.

I wish I could find the interview that Dan Rather had with Saddam Hussein just days before Bush's invasion into Iraq. The real reason that Dan Rather was set up and fired is because in that interview, Hussein very clearly and believably stated that he had no WMD. That interview is the most damning proof that Bush lied. After that interview, Bush should have reviewed his evidence before sending the troops in. He could have saved so much pain -- including pain to himself.

"it's a business."

'nuff said.

walking on the ragged edge of disaster. This is almost a
'throwing down of the gauntlet', daring Moore to go after
the media next.

"impartial journalists." - Lie.

"we made one mistake, which we apologized for and corrected on air." - Lie. There was more than one lie and Wolf did not apologize.

"We appreciate Mr. Moore's attention to the important subject of health care..." - Lie.

"we have presented the facts" - Lie.

"balanced reporting" - Lie.

... running in the background when they air this claim. "Cialis may cause dishonesty, pandering, neglect of essential truth and quivering in the face of a CEO.

Ask youself this..

How often have you seen hard-hitting investigative pieces on NBC about MILITARY SPENDING?

How often have you seen any investigative peices about DISNEY's "issues" on ABC?


There is a good-ole-boy thing here too. Each "knows" the other's Achille's heel, but dare not go too far, for fear that there would be retribution..

They pussyfoot around the edges from time to time, but they ALL know which side of the bread has the butter.

If CNN claims to be "fair und balanced" , then perhaps they would give Michael Moore his OWN "show"..a la "The Situation Room" and turn him loose.. :)

scandalous feature of the American health-care system, namely:

"Patients may be satisfied in America, but not everyone gets to be a patient. Forty-seven million are uninsured and are rarely patients -- until it's too late. In the rest of the Western world, everyone and anyone can be a patient because everyone is covered (And don't face exclusions for pre-existing conditions, co-pays, deductibles and costly monthly premiums)."

To simply claim that Moore was making a controversy where none existed is truly shocking.

But anyone who remembers CNN's utterly grotesque coverage of Clinton's "trial" and impeachment, with its permanent Goebbels-like ribbon screen-heading during newscasts, to the effect that President Clinton was on trial, can only laugh out loud at their claim:

"CNN has always prided itself on balanced reporting of claims made by special-interest groups."

Well, if the neocons aren't a special-interest group, I don't know what would be! Nice ambiguity in the word, "interest" too, in the light of the massive shift of the country's wealth from the people to themselves, not without much aid and comfort to the neocons from CNN.

undies in a wad over this. gupta should have never used the word "fudged". It was a rather simplistic word to use. If you watch his interview with Michael Moore on larry king afterwards, he uses much more sophisticated descriptive words. Words that stupid amurkans can't understand but they definitely understand the word fudge.

commercials you run every 5 minutes cost? Maybe the AMA runs that hokey, bullshit ad for free?

Go get 'em Michael! Truth Squad the hell out of 'em.

LAME response.

American's no longer take care of their fellow human beings. We just throw than out into streets when people are used up.

Bottom line, maybe they do not care to see the point or the point is just over heads, I have no idea other than its just money that makes them tick. It is just sick(o), CNN is lead by a bunch of idiots.

They should have STFU.

CNN used figures from 2004 to compare US and Cuban spending ($6096 vs. $229). Moore used figures from the 2006 for the US vs. figures from 2003 for Cuba. ($$7,092 vs. $251). I think CNN's approach was more fair.

What a sorry bunch of liars.

A 4th grader could have made up a better excuse than that.

CNN- poster children for media divestment and re-regulation.

Any Joe or Jane Blow who actually live SICKO every day of their lives will not be siding with CNN on this or much of anything else anymore. CNN has relegated itself to background noise in airports and nursing homes.

That's about the long and short of it.

It must be embarrassing for people to admit they work there.

Tee hee.

That was on the Larry King show. I couldn't believe he thought his accusation held any water. I thought Moore's numbers were from more credible sources than Gupta's were.

...Michael Moore spanked us with facts and we don't know how to deal with it....

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!

CNN is so full of it. Their defensive posture is clear in their responses. CNN clearly wants to discredit Moore. All you have to do is see the movie and know CNN's arguments (and Gupta's) are meant to deceive and confuse the American public.

See post #33. On life expectancy, CNN was right.