CNN Anchor Threatened By Mumbai Mob (VIDEO)

via Mediabistro:

In the second day of the siege in Mumbai, some members of the media are finding themselves in the middle of local anger. CNN's Sara Sidner is the network's New Delhi correspondent. Sidner was reporting about the situation at the Taj Hotel when several locals began interrupting her live shot. Sidner would later report, "As we were standing outside a large group of people came around, many of them young, with the smell of alcohol on their breath, frankly. They were standing very, very close and suddenly chaos erupted."

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Comments

[yduee]

You got to be real desperate to grope this woman... Its part of work deal with it. Its her choice to go report on a war like situation and this kind of reaction is expected in those situations. She can find an other job is she feels uncomfortable dealing with this. I heard the KATU weather folks have a few jobs open.

[KoolBreez]

The following is why people were upset with CNN:

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/cardiff-news/2008/11/29/we-thought-we-were-safe-then-cnn-stepped-in-91466-22368124/

[AmericanDesi]

This recent attack just breaks my heart again (2006, 2005, 1993...) My family is from Mumbai, and I was born in America. As a child, I would spend monsoon summers in that amazing city, entirely perplexed by the kinds of lives that are lived there. I would ask "why do people live in slums with color TVs" or "why does our taxi driver turn off his car at every red traffic light"¦
I have been taking lessons on Indian differences my entire life. So, I can see why CNN"s Sidner was frustrated that a crowd developed, because it seemed unruly with somewhat rakish overtones " counterintuitive to American behavior (which is to step away so as not to burden emergency services). But, in Mumbai, with 18+ million people, you must speak up to be heard + speak fast before you get interrupted. To translate the Hindi/English intent, IMHO, two men questioned why, during a horrific attack to their city, should a foreign journalist expect the police to secure a spot for the media, when they, Mumbaikers, could be needed to actually 'help' (if Indian forces became too taxed)?
While I think Sidner tried her best to report a 'professional' story, I think she missed the real one. If I have learned anything, is that all human beings are deserving of honest, direct questions about the differences between our lives. She should have asked something obvious, like, "why are you ALL gathered here?" It's that simple.

[donveylindsey]

donvey lindsey they will get what they deserve

[rajeshjnp]

The local public might have reacted unexpectedly because of the growing tension and hatred and melee - the one that is quite obvious for the situation like that.

[Drummaboy]

Do a report in the midst of psychotic people....expect psychotic things to happen!!! It's simple Logic for a very illogical environment.

[DK6400Brian]

She could have me for breakfast without any complaints

[abbadabba]

Why would you, or CNN, leave the muffed explicative of this journalist at the end of the first cycle. I'm sure she didn' say "Mumbaikars." Bad idea to go into a dangerous area without preparation for violence and crowd control. I'm talking about CNN, not Mumbai's security force.

[samaire]

She is a very brave lady, are you sure this is not a scene at the local walmart?

[triplbee]

She should get out of Dodge while she can.

[riafern]

Okay since I speak Eng & Hindi ,the guy was saying why should the media -Sare get to stand there while they were not allowed ,they were reacting to what she said ,she made a mistake of adding they were celebrating ...their behaviour was rude ,but not a mob event ...too much was made out of it ..for news coverage .Later when she had to duck I think during the day she did agree that the media & people were too close to the hotel & that in US the whole area would have been cordoned off ...Pls guys Indians will learn from their mistake of how they have handled this ...like we learnt from 9/11
Do not spread hate ...a emotional dumb grp does not mean My Mumbai is filled with all bad people ,think of those who protected or died foreigners on duty at both hotels ...pls pray for their flys
Lots of Americans .Brits & people from all over the world live in India ,do not forget .

[DK6400Brian]

Thank you for translating and clearing it up.

[riafern]

this post is senseless ,a few people were behaving badly so all Indians are bad ???should I remind you all how an indian was shot dead in mesa Arizona after 9/11 ,someone thought he was an arab but he was a sikh store owner ...did we call all americans crazy ??looks like some haters are using this post to bash asians ...some tolerance ...did you all forget ,lots of indians lost /risked their lives for those foreighners ...BTW has America emerged as a super power without birth pains??
what about the civil war ,hatred against blacks ,chinese ,irish & italians ....etc
This is a 200 yr old country so people tend to forget their past
yet I love America & Americans & I am willing to believe the nasty comments are from a small grp of people just like that grp in B'bay ...My apologies to Sara ....

[bioluminescence]

I watched the Mumbai tragedy for many hours on CNN. Sarah Sidner gave no useful background information that would have helped frame the story. She kept referring to the Taj as "big". I had to go online to find out that the hotel has 565 rooms. She could have done the same. Instead, I got the impression she was more interested in positioning herself as a reporter on the front lines of a battle: "I can hear the gunfire, I can see the smoke..." And as the inevitable mob of people gathered, there was no reason given for her setting up her report from the middle of those understandably angry, grieving people except as a voyeur to portray their anguish. She showed poor judgment when she began to video them.

CNN appears to be slipping into a cult of would-be news celebrities with fewer and fewer good reporters.

[Independent007]

Agreed. While no one likes to see another reporter in danger, this was all on Sarah. And she suffered the consequences. She did not have to set up where she did. At least the Indians with her should have shown more sense than to set up in the midst of an angry mob. Ridiculous. She should have felt this as well. She wanted the angry mob shot, and she got what she deserved, an angry mob.

[Antonia1]

I can see how something like this happened and I do not blame the angry mob for their reaction at all. The reporter was just after a story . I think many Americans forget they are American ( there's some hostility towards Americans right now) we cannot just burst onto foreign soil and expect to be welcomed and respected without giving back that respect first. If you look at what happened in Mumbai, westerners; Britons and Americans were targeted. The few that were killed did not amount to the lives of Indians that had been taken. They probably don't want to loose many of their own at the cost of a few American lives. I'm asssuming a majority of Indians will not welcome Americans as long as we are the prime targets of these terrorist attacks. The mob obviously had something to say or express but because of their culture it is quite complicated for Indians to express themselves so openly especially with cameras going. The reporter should have put the camera down and heard the concerns of the people. She was on their soil their homeland. I think her and her crew owed more empathy and respect towards Indians with all they have been through. Instead she made it look like a lousy Jerry Springer show, it was all about getting the story in other words.

[Metoyer]

"I do not blame the angry mob at all." LOL...if I were a cop you would NOT be my partner. You do make some points I agree with, though. Just got done listening to this evening's NPR news and there was a weepy chunk about the Rabbi and wife's death.

[2351]

CNN nees to give her an award. I watched her as the people became angrier and she never appeared to be afraid. Hell, it was all over and just watching it made me afraid for her. Boy, they must have really wanted that news bad.