CNN's Sloppy Reportage Needlessly Panics Nation

Thanks to CNN's overactive imagination, news consumers experienced a brief dose of 9/11 nostalgia panic as a routine Coast Guard training exercise magically transformed into a touch-and-go bit of terrorist interdiction on the high seas! It's September 11, 2009, and everyone is bored and bloodthirsty.

Here's the breathless account from CNN, all 100% panic-induced fantasia:

The U.S. Coast Guard tried to prevent a boat from entering a security zone on the Potomac River not far from the Pentagon Friday, where President Obama had been at an event commemorating the Sept. 11 attacks.

There were reports on police scanners that the Coast Guard fired 10 rounds of ammunition, but those reports could not immediately be confirmed. It was not immediately clear from the reports whether they referred to warning shots.

The incident took place between the Memorial and 14th Street bridges, in a zone that had been blocked off because of the ceremonies.

The timing of the incident was not immediately clear, but President Obama had departed the Pentagon shortly after 10 a.m. ET. Reports of the incident came in shortly after 10 a.m. ET.

When contacted by CNN, the Coast Guard Command Center said it had no immediate information.

WATCH:

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But Michael Roston, writing over at True/Slant, flags a concurrent report from the Associated Press that managed to get it right AND to actually include contacting the Coast Guard for response, which CNN couldn't seem to manage:

The Coast Guard was conducting a training exercise in the Potomac River moments before President Barack Obama and his motorcade crossed a nearby bridge.

Coast Guard Chief Keith Moore said Friday no shots were fired as part of the exercise. Media reports suggested shots had been fired in the river.

Roston goes on to point out that CNN went right ahead, insanely escalating the story:

Already, CNN, who manufactured this fake story, is quoting President Bush's hyperpartisan former Homeland Security adviser Fran Townsend as saying that this was "felony stupidity." When the "Air Force One" fly by in Lower Manhattan occurred, hundreds if not thousands of people bore witnesses to something that tremendously freaked them out - there was video and photos taken that showed what a freak out incident it really was.

Via DCist, here's a picture of the training exercise. You'll note the incredible lack of similarity to the lower Manhattan Air Force One fly-by.

Jake Tapper reports that White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs assigned blame for the panic to CNN and more or less scoffed at the notion that the Coast Guard should be held responsible:

The White House spokesman said the Commander-in-Chief would not "micromanage" the Coast Guard's decision to hold the exercise, and he chastised the press -- in honor of those who died on 9/11 and the future victims of terrorrism -- telling reporters to tell themselves "We may not get this first, but we may be the first ones to get it right."

Asked if 9/11 was an appropriate day for such a training exercise, Gibbs said, "I tend not to question law enforcement trying to keep the nation safe."

He said media should "check before reporting" such events, and suggested other training exercises are likely going on right now that we don't know about, and rejected any comparison with the Air Force One flyover of Manhattan.

This whole matter calls to mind a comparison that was easily made between cable and local news back on September 11, 2001. On that day, I recall CNN anchors breathlessly reporting all sorts of insane rumors including one about a bomb at the State Department. That was when I changed the channel to my local ABC station whose reporter, with perfect timing, was saying, "I am standing outside the State Department right now and everything is fine."

That's how CNN managed to propagate a fake panic across the news wires today. There was a silver lining, however, as CNN's report forced MSNBC to cover the story as well, briefly interrupting their traditional "September 11 Terror Porn Screensaver" that they run every year, and which they really, really, really need to stop doing.

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Comments

[OldHick]

CNN is quite good, so a few hickups now and then, in the flurry of daily excitement is "normal", I would think. The confusion here, was real, and CNN was just doing its job.

[mamacat]

CNN is reporting that they checked their sources, twice, before running with the story. If so, that might absolve them of some of the blame, if they actually believed what they were reporting.
We can only hope that they didn't callously ignore reality in a bid to gain ratings.

[hapiday]

This all sounds suspicious. We don't know what the coast guard was doing. If it was training exercises why weren't other security agencies contacted. It it was a training exercise and it took place when the president's motorcade came through. Exactly what were they training in the event of what happening?
If CNN wants to save face they need to get their reporters on what the coast guard was up to. This sounds fishy. I don't know what agencies some of these tea partiers are working in.

[AlexTahoma]

Despite CNN's obvious history of respectability there is never an excuse for sloppy reporting that results in fears spread throughout homes in America. It is CNN's job to report the news and if they are not absolutely sure of what they are reporting there is no reason to reporting it. Reporting this story had no benefit, simply the fear in people's heart that something wrong was happening. This "mishap" reminds me of an occurence in Washington state when the news reported a tornado in Maple Valley when in fact they meant Marysville. This caused widespread panic in Maple Valley where the people had no clue what was happening. In either case there is no excuse for falsely reporting news accidental or otherwise.

[eblue562]

I normally very much like CNN, however I was there watching when the "felony stupidity" comment and all the mess that happened after (including a press conference by the COAST GUARD), and I just shook my head. It all seemed like a little much, and it was.

[getoffmedz]

CNN lowers the image and expectations for MSM, once again.

heckofajob

[nonofyabusiness]

CNN...."EW­E LYEEEE!!!!

[toxicbrainpoison]

Lets not forget that on Sept 11th 2001 there was a training drill and no one eralized we were actually being attacked. Did the coast guard really fire shots yesterday? If so why didnt they know what was going on?

[questionator]

Gotta keep that terror alert level high. Can't let the people get too complacent. Might let our guard down. False flag! False flag operation! Maybe a dry run!

[msgirlintn]

"The most trusted name in news", "the best political team on television", Bush terrorism experts? Yea, right! CNN is fastly becoming another Fox. The only anchor that is worth watching on CNN is Rich Sanchez.

[Fenderbender]

"Reportage!" No such word. How about 'reporting?" Good grief.

[DixieMelody]

No such word?

[Fenderbender]

I stand corrected; albeit a clumsy word.

[yankees]

What's the problem DC? When Obama had his Jet exercise over NYC without telling anybody, everyone thought it was funny out of our area.

[cbeenthere]

WDC did not have the problem, CNN did. That has been proven. WDC'ers are used to having Federal and Tri State law enforcement around, no problem.

[dems08]

President Obama... jet pilot

who knew?

[NC4Obama]

You mean when the guy who Bush put into place, did something stupid and quit afterwards?

[Patri]

Gee, I wonder if CNN is trying to make sure Americans remain in a state of panic so we can escalate Afghanistan and consider giving in to the push for attacking Iran? We can choose between the following:

A. Everyone at CNN are complete IDIOTS
B. They want to boost the panic in the country for reasons stated above.

From all their spin and purported "news", I choose B. Whaddaya think, huh?

[dems08]

cnn wants President Obama to fail

[nonofyabusiness]

Answers

A. That Explains Lou Dobbs
B AgainThat explains Lou Slobbs

[thistooshallpass]

When the Coast Guard eventually came out with information that it had been a training exercise, officials said a training frequency was used for communication. Currier said the transmissions generally begin with an announcement that it is a training mission, but said he did not know if that was done in this case.

Other agencies were not notified of the exercise in advance, including the Secret Service, which protects the president.

The Secret Service said Obama was back at the White House by the time reports surfaced of possible shots fired in the area.

[thistooshallpass]

Coast Guard vows review after training incident triggers security scare
Posted: 02:09 PM ET
WASHINGTON (CNN) — The U.S. Coast Guard promised a “thorough review” Friday after what was meant to be a “normal” and “low profile” training exercise triggered concerns about the security of the president on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.

“We are going to take a good hard look at what we did here today and ensure that if we need to modify procedures, if we need to modify communications, we will do so in the future,” Vice Adm. John Currier of the Coast Guard said.

The exercise involved a Coast Guard vessel on the Potomac River apparently trying to stop a boat from getting past it. It took place near the Memorial Bridge, where the president’s motorcade was crossing after a 9/11 commemoration event at the Pentagon.

As part of the training, there were reports on police scanners saying that the Coast Guard fired 10 rounds of ammunition. Officials later explained that no shots had actually been fired, and the radio traffic is a standard part of the exercise.

When CNN called the Coast Guard immediately after those reports, the Coast Guard Command Center initially said it had no immediate information.

Later, Coast Guard officials told CNN they were looking into the possibility that it may have been a training exercise.

[thistooshallpass]

According to the 10:34 article the


Posted: 10:34 AM ET
WASHINGTON (CNN) — A security incident Friday on the Potomac River was prompted by a “training exercise,” two sources in the Washington police department said the Coast Guard told them.

A source in the FBI also told CNN it was a training exercise.

The Coast Guard told CNN it was looking into whether it was a training exercise.

So it is true that the Coast Guard was looking into it, but the Washington Police said the Coast Guard told them it was a training exercise and the FBI also told CNN it was a training exercise according to CNN's own news service

. CNN did not mention this in their later news flashes. I would be nice to know what was being said on TV At 10;34, this morning. It would be nice to know if they ever mentioned that the FBI and two sources at the Washington Police had told them it was a training exercise at 10:34.



September 11th, 2009

[thistooshallpass]

September 11th, 2009
Coast Guard to review ‘training incident’
Posted: 11:18 AM ET
WASHINGTON (CNN) — The U.S. Coast Guard announced Friday it will review a training incident along the Potomac River that triggered security concerns about the president on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.

“We are still gathering information of how this training event might have been misconstrued as an actual incident. We will conduct a thorough review of this incident,” the Coast Guard said in a statement.

It added, “The best way that we in the Coast Guard can remember Sept. 11 and our security obligations to the nation is to be always ready and this requires constant training and exercise. To ensure the appropriate readiness posture we conduct training scenarios across the nation on a daily basis.”



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September 11th, 2009
Federal agencies unaware of training exercise, source says
Posted: 11:15 AM ET
WASHINGTON (CNN) — Federal agency emergency operations centers were not aware of a Coast Guard training exercise along the Potomac River on Friday, and began making contingency plans when word broke of what seemed to be a security incident, a federal source told CNN.