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CNN/U.S. President Jon Klein told staffers of "Lou Dobbs Tonight" the controversy over President Barack Obama's birth certificate is a "dead story." Klein wrote in an e-mail to staffers Thursday that CNN researchers had determined Hawaiian officials discarded paper birth documents in 2001. Thus, he said, Obama's long-form birth certificate no longer exists, and a shorter certificate that is public is the official record. "It seems to definitively answer the question," Klein wrote in the e-mail, first reported by the Web site TVNewser. "Since the show's mission is for Lou to be the explainer and enlightener, he should be sure...

This week at the Television Critics Association press tour, CNN President Jon Klein had to defend his network after two weeks in the public eye following Lou Dobbs' coverage of the "birthers" movement. During a three-hour panel Klein continued touting CNN's claim to the biggest "reach" of any network, thanks to its strong web presence. While in traditional television viewer metrics the network has continued to trail behind Fox News, Klein seems unconcerned: "You've got one network on the right and one on the left, and we're the only one that is based on reporting news," Klein said. "That's really...

CNN/U.S. President Jon Klein told staffers at the cable news network Thursday night that the supposed controversy regarding the legitimacy of President Obama’s birth certificate is a “dead” story after anchor Lou Dobbs drew attention for raising the issue repeatedly on his radio program. The website TVNewser reported today that Klein sent an e-mail to staffers of “Lou Dobbs Tonight” just as the program went to air, informing them that CNN researchers had determined that Hawaiian officials discarded all paper documents in 2001. A long-form birth certificate with details about the doctor who delivered Obama no longer exists, they reported....

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 27, 2009 Media Matters for America After CNN President Jon Klein reportedly called Lou Dobbs' coverage of conspiracy theories about President Obama's birth certificate "legitimate" on Friday, July 24, Media Matters for America President Eric Burns sent an email to its thousands of online activists today asking for their help to publicly pressure CNN to credibly address its Lou Dobbs problem. In the email, Burns writes: "Klein's caving to Dobbs raises a serious, troubling question: Who is really calling the shots at CNN?" read more

CNN/US president Jonathan Klein is rebuffing the mounting criticism of the network over Lou Dobbs’ continued airing of “birther” theories, saying that Lou runs “his own show” that merely hosts “panels” with birther theorists and asserting that CNN respects viewers enough to let them “make up their own minds.” Klein, in an interview with me just now, also took a shot at Dobbs’ critics, saying they’re politically motivated: “I understand that people with a partisan point of view from one extreme or another might get annoyed that certain subjects are aired.” CNN is under mounting pressure to get Dobbs to...

Jon Klein e-mails 'Lou Dobbs Tonight' staffers that legitimacy of the president's birth certificate is a 'dead' story but doesn't order them to drop the issue. CNN/U.S. President Jon Klein told staffers of "Lou Dobbs Tonight" on Thursday that the controversy regarding the legitimacy of President Obama's birth certificate -- a topic Dobbs has avidly pursued on the air -- is a "dead" story. But in an interview, the cable news chief left open the possibility that Dobbs may continue to raise questions about why the president has not produced a long-form birth certificate. The absence of such a record...

CNN president kills birther story TVNewser reports that CNN President Jon Klein has declared a halt to birther coverage -- a tacit shot at Lou Dobbs. Klein forwarded Dobbs's producers a memo under this heading, which I suspect won't calm the conspiracists: Since the show's mission is for Lou to be the explainer and enlightener, he should be sure to cite this during your segment tonite. And then it seems this story is dead - because anyone who still is not convinced doesn't really have a legitimate beef.

He already believes President Obama is a U.S. citizen, and all he wants is for him to produce a copy of his birth certificate, but even that request has generated a full-scale attack on CNN anchor Lou Dobbs. According to the Los Angeles Times, CNN President Jon Klein told staffers of "Lou Dobbs Tonight" the issue of the legitimacy of President Obama's birth certificate – a topic Dobbs has discussed on the air – is a "dead" story. The report said Klein wrote that CNN researchers found Hawaiian records were discarded in 2001 when the state's records system went electronic....

Over the past few days, stories have been leaking out suggesting that Larry King is getting old and isn't putting out the same quality show he used to. Despite this, CNN seems to be throwing him under the bus, as neither Jon Klein nor anyone else at CNN has come to Larry's defense. This despite the fact that after Klein's gutting of CNN, Larry King Live is the only show left on CNN with ratings that aren't a total embarassment. Last night, under the headline "We Respect Larry", Hannity & Colmes wondered why Jon Klein and his CNN destroying staff...

Earlier this week, Public Eye looked at the fine line broadcast journalists walk when covering stories that could be dangerous to the public -- like hurricanes. When does news coverage go over the line and become hype, alarmist or crass ratings plays? When does lack of coverage become a disservice? Over the years, for example, CBS News, along with the other networks, has occasionally been accused of overkill in covering storms that eventually petered out. In that light, an e-mail that Jonathan Klein, the president of CNN/US sent to several staffers about the graphics to be used during coverage of...