As anyone who watched last week’s news coverage of the Boston bombing tragedy knows, journalism as a profession, has a very bad week. Many networks struggled with how to explain to readers what was happening and how to responsibly stay abreast of the continuing results. But CNN – due to their insular staffing and a win at all costs stance on ratings – self-destructed and lost credibility with readers across the country.
Realizing how bad CNN’s perception now is, John King issued a mea culpa of sorts, and tried to smooth away the idea that his network values fiction over facts. The problem is, he did it on a radio show. For such a major black eye, he needed to devote an entire segment of his show to explain how it is that such a deplorable thing can happen in the first place. By doing it on a radio show he can point to his detractors and say, "see, we're taking responsibility," when in reality, they are doing the opposite. This was a major mistake and any apology needs to be broadcasted with the same energy as the original transgression. Otherwise, it barely registers.
Media reporters and comedy networks have been laughing at CNN’s continuously sloppy news coverage of the Boston bombings, which began on Wednesday when the overeager network erroneously reported the arrest of a “dark-skinned male.”
On Tuesday, CNN chief national correspondent John King — a Boston native — addressed the network’s blunder, telling D.C. radio station WTOP, “The one thing you have to do is look straight in the camera and say, ‘We were wrong.’”
