CNN, Please Stop!

Just a few thoughts on the cable news media here in the US (and the delightful possibility of its extinction after the dust settles on all of this).

Please stop claiming the brave young men and women whose videos and images you are broadcasting as your "iReporters."

Please stop saying that your videos are "unverified." Iranians are risking their lives way more than your reporters would have done if they had been allowed to stay.

Please stop parading pundits who represent the infighting factions of the LA Iranians as experts on the situation.

Please stop parading any pundits, period. They must be tired of being driven from studio to studio.

Please stop telling the Iranians in Iran to post on your website. Most of them cannot access it; stop fooling the rest of us here that they can.

Please ask Christiane Amanpour to stop moaning about how she and her journalistic fraternity were kicked out and how she now has to rely on these "unverified videos." The contempt in her voice is discernible as she says, "We are being forced to rely on these home videos and other messages." (Ms. Amanpour, these videos are helping keep your network on air and you in business right now.)

Please realize that the brave Iranians who chant "Allahuakbar" every night are fighting religion with religion and there should be no room on your network for eager Shah supporters who are salivating at the prospect of their possible return.

Please try and not create catchy headlines. Mousavi most probably did not say "Iran is going to the slaughterhouse" on his Facebook page; his FB page is ALSO being used by hackers and the state apparatus to create even more chaos.

Please stop the "Stupid White Men" (ask Michael Moore what that means) of DC from speaking for the people of Iran.

Please realize that what the savviest internet generation ever (and that would be the Iranians IN Iran) are doing is showing us the future of reportage when it is free of punditry and just reports as it sees.

How about doing just as they and their videos do?
How about reporting what you see and hear and as you were surely taught to do?

Follow Parvez Sharma on Twitter: www.twitter.com/parvezsharma

Comments

[GHARDY]

thanks for this story, it was point on.

[OliverTwist]

I noticed that the "crown prince" was trotted out and that US news speaks of "a return to thirty years ago" when the Shah installed by the UK and US was tyrant in Iran.

Mix in the opportunist Republicans and it's enough to make a person sick.

[blood1]

Your point is well said and we all admire you for reminding the media that they are NOT responsible for making the NEWS.

None the less, we Americans do care and do appreciate all the Iranians who are risking their lives to assure that their message is getting into our media outlets!

It is ironic that CNN et al. are so full of CYA on this...yet drank all the koolaid that GWB put on the table that led us to war in the Middle East.

[winningticket]

CNN is still living in the Bush era where they feel America is entitled to meddle in the affirs of others without impunity.

[rightfromwrong]

this was well said.
"Excellent point!! I would just add a few things to this debate!!!
I didn't see this much curiosity from CNN (or from our MSM for that matter) when a total of 1500+ people got murdered in Gaza by Israeli Forces.
It appears as though the entire MSM is acting as an arbiter of Iran's election process. However, our government refused to recognize the free and fair election that took place in Gaza. All the candidates who participated in Gaza Election were cleared by Israeli Government. The election was observed by international observers including our own President Carter!! So we selectively approve / reject elections to further our causes!- i totally agree. this country is a joke.
we are ok with china, china treats its citizens far worse
saudi? they would stone neda in saudi arabia

and making neda the face of this socalled movement thats being hyped up by the US?

those same protesters we claim to support would advocate killing neda for the smallest infraction, dishonoring the family, dancing a certain way, singing! so im not buying this sensationalism.

[londongal]

I absolutely agree and do not watch CNN for many of the reasons you state. I cannot stand to watch Dobbs, whom I once respected. I cannot stand John King's Sunday show. And I am particularly disgusted by the so-called "Best Political Team on Television". What a joke!

[AFLew]

I'm a bit confused, you would just post and report as news any Internet traffic you receive in their place if you were running a Main Stream Media outlet? Wouldn't that be irresponsible and bad journalism also? I don't care for the MSM myself, but I get what I can from them and research the rest. That's part of being informed. And Leave Christiane Amanpour alone, at least she was there, trying to report, she even got to ask questions to the President (which he evaded). I think it's relevant that she got kicked out and if it were me, I'd make sure everyone knew that I had been there reporting before I was forced to leave. "Most savvy Internet generation"? We will see by the time this is over. I hope you're right for their sakes!

[Falafelosophy]

Well said, AFLew. Parvez does a lot of whine, whine, whine. Thats too easy. Is that what having a blog on HuffPo is supposed to be about? Is this what what we want supplanting the op-ed pages of print publications? Is the future of journalism d-list Hollywood types?

Lets see Parvez run a large-scale media outlet. Now I'm no MSM apologist -- I run a New Media site myself -- but the level of complaining without any constructive suggestions is annoying.

Lets see Parvez stick his head out of the desert sand and see how long he lasts in the Islamic Republic of Iran as a journo who also happens to be an openly gay man. He wouldn't last a minute.

CNN has actually had wall-to-wall coverage that dwarfs other outlets, especially around the world, where this #IranElection is no longer front-page news.

[AmurkinLibrul]

And what is it, exactly, about your comment that isn't "whine, whine, whine"? And "D-list Hollywood types"? That's a pretty nauseating, ad hominem attack that does little except expose you as a jerk. And let me get this straight: In order for anyone to voice a criticism with any legitimacy, he or she has to "run a large-scale media outlet"? Hmm, that's an interesting view you seem to espouse.

Also, was there anything constructive in your criticism? Hardly.

[jcgrim]

Thank-you.

[euripedes923]

I stopped watching MSM for news years ago. Now I watch it for entertainment and I rely on several sourses--including The Daily Show and The Colbert Report--for something on TV that approximates the truth...or at least allows me enough information to make up my own mind.
Mr. Sharma is correct. The 'news' as we have known it is about to come crashing down. Oh, happy day!

[BritishColumbian]

...all for ratings...SHAMELESS!!!

[NCIndependant]

Everything he said. Brilliant post sir.

[LABC]

Bravo!!

[RaderBarbarian]

Thank you for speaking for so many of us. CNN, wake up before it is too late!

[claudiam]

Thanks for speaking out. claudiatucsonaz

[dynwitch]

The news media want us to believe that they are the certified, verifiable sources for news. We all know that's not true; Fox has made that abundantly clear. None of them can be trusted. What can be trusted? Thousands of "home videos" coming from Iran, all saying the same thing: There's a revolution in the process.

[stuporman]

you mean that all the videos coming out of iran are being made on a soundstage in LA?