Posted on 11/16/2002 7:21:42 AM PST by Hillary's Lovely Legs
A respected photographer is accusing "Connie Chung Tonight" of ghoulishly using him to get families of 9/11 victims on the CNN show. And family members, who include fathers Lee Ielpi and John Vigiano, aren't too happy, either.
Gary Suson says Chung's producers contacted him about doing a segment on his book, "Requiem: Images of Ground Zero," a pictorial account of rescue and recovery workers - and the survivors' families.
Before long, Suson says, the producers asked him to approach some family members depicted in the book who'd been avoiding the press. Suson agreed, but only after being promised that Chung would not ask them about their lost children.
"Connie's people called and asked if a few dads would be willing to come on," Suson told us. "They assured me they were only coming to talk about my book."
But Suson claims that when the cameras went on, "Connie stuck me at the end of the couch and interviewed the two fathers hard, with 35 minutes of questions. By the end of the show, she had them in tears. She didn't ask one question about the book. They called it 'story evolution.'"
Then, Suson says, a few days before the segment aired on Sept. 10, "I got a phone call from [producer] Alison Ginsberg who said, 'Would you be terribly angry if we cut you out?' I said, yes, I would be angry. I told her that.
"I felt they used my friendships. They used me to get to the two fathers.
It really hurt me to see them exploited."
The show aired Sept. 10.
Suson also claims producers lost three of his original photographs and says he is seeking a legal remedy.
"Mr. Suson's assertions are untrue," said a CNN rep. "It is unfortunate that what began as an interview on such an important subject has become an issue of personal gain and publicity for Mr. Suson."
But one of the fathers, Ielpi, insists: "The questions were all tear-driven questions. We were there because of the book, and then she just went on about us. The questions were pretty heavy questions. I can't say I was pleased that it turned out that way." (Rush & Malloy - New York Daily News)
CNN is dying a slow Death. They haver made one silly mistake after another. Only a CNN show would think that would pull ratings.
I don't think they understand how to appeal to the public. They look at FOX and think it is the graphics and bumpers.
They are like the fat ugly girl that looks at Ann Coulter and concludes it is Ann's jewelry that attracks guys.
LOL! Well said!
Chung coaxed Kathleen Gingrich into telling what Newt thought of Hillary Clinton. The now infamous Baiting: "Why don't you just whisper it to me, just between you and me,"
Transcript as follows:
Chung: "Mrs. Gingrich, what has Newt told you about President Clinton?"
Kathleen: "Nothing. And I can't tell you what he said about Hillary."
Chung: "You can't?"
Kathleen: "I can't."
Chung, leaning forward: "Why don't you just whisper it to me. Just between you and me."
Kathleen, leaning in and whispering: "‘She's a bitch.’"
Chung: "Really? That's the only thing he ever said about her."
Kathleen: "That's the only thing he ever said about her. I think they had some meeting, she takes over."
Chung: "She does?"
Kathleen: "Oh Yeah, yeah. But when Newtie's there, she can't."
CBS was engulfed in criticism for using a statement which many thought Chung made clear was "off the record."
But contrasting objectives involving interviews with the Gingriches/Clinton's moms???
Chung dishes some dirt: "According to a friend at the time, Newt said he was divorcing [then-wife] Jackie because she wasn't young enough or pretty enough to be the wife of a President and besides she has cancer." She also ran down a list for the Gingriches: "These are some of the things said about your son -- a very dangerous man...visionary... bomb-throwing guerrilla warrior...abrasive."
A very different Chung interviewed President Clinton's brother Roger and mother Virginia Kelley for the debut of Eye to Eye on June 17, 1993. She elicited stories from them showing the President in a positive light: how Bill Clinton protected them from his abusive stepfather, how he served as a father figure to his brother. She never asked about any negative traits of Bill Clinton's.
( from the achives of mediarearch.org.,4:15pm EST Wednesday January 23, 2002 (Vol. Seven; No. 13)
There's more going on here than this blurb is letting on.
Are the cameras off???
Add to that equation there is a "celebrity" "journalist" present. Some people are starstruck, honored, and still believe that these teleprompter readers are smart people looking out for Americans. They may have even signed a release before the interview and believe that they are bound to the commitment to be there.
Third component: There is a camera present. Anything that they say or do will be captured (even if they think that the camera is off). Don't want to be made to look like a crook or a man who has lost his senses do you?
The nightly news accounts of a story only marginally come close to ever reporting what happened. These are the same people who interview a family after a tornado has levelled a family's house can only think to ask, "You've lost everything now. How do you feel?"
Ann Coulter wears jewelry? I never noticed that.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.