Smith Fired

[E.T.]

Fired producer: CNN wouldn't let us defend nerve-gas story

By Kim Weidman

07.08.98

ARLINGTON, Va.  The senior producer of CNN's since-retracted report of U.S. forces using nerve gas on American defectors during the Vietnam War said today CNN allowed the story to be criticized without letting the producers defend it.

The story "was allowed to hang from a tree for three weeks, knife wounds in it day and night. This story was allowed to bleed to death, from a thousand cuts," said Jack Smith, fired Friday by CNN along with April Oliver.

Smith said CNN placed him and Oliver under a virtual gag order, forbidding them to defend their story in public after it aired.

Smith told a Newseum and webcast audience that the "heart of the problem" was network executives caving in to corporate and military pressure. Richard Kaplan, president of CNN/USA, "was a newsman," Smith said. "I'm afraid now he's a corporate suit."

Smith and Oliver stand by their story, he said, and will continue to pursue it as free-lance reporters. He said they also are writing a rebuttal to the report, by media lawyer Floyd Abrams, which concluded the "Valley of Death" report wasn't fair and didn't have enough facts to back up its allegations.

Smith called the CNN-ordered investigation into his piece a "Star Chamber proceeding."

"I [could] smell hanging parties being organized," he said.

Among his complaints about the investigation was the involvement of CNN's corporate counsel, whom Smith said tainted the investigation because of his affiliation with the network and his involvement in editing the "Valley of Death" piece.

Smith also said that though he and Oliver were promised they would be interviewed by Abrams, they were never approached to give their side of the story.

Two days before Smith and Oliver were fired, a meeting was held to discuss Abrams' findings. Smith said Kaplan told him at this meeting he would "follow him to the grave." Instead, Smith said Kaplan and other CNN executives bowed to criticism from the military and others, including Henry Kissinger. Kissinger was the national security adviser during the time of "Operation Tailwind," as pursuit of defectors was called.

Smith said Kissinger refused to be interviewed for the original story. He pointed out that he and Oliver gave the "opposition view" in the story five times.

Smith said he and Oliver also supported a one-hour program that would have given those who criticized the story a forum for their views. But network executives killed this program because they were worried about sparking congressional hearings, Smith said.

"We'd have put anybody on the air" who wanted to refute the story, Smith said.

At the time Smith was speaking at the Newseum, Peter Arnett, CNN's correspondent on the story, had received a reprimand for his involvement, but was meeting with CNN executives again about his role in developing the report.

Smith backed up Arnett's statements that he had had little involvement in the piece, only conducting three interviews, providing background information and reading the report on the air.

"If CNN fires Arnett, there will be mass resignations" at CNN, Smith predicted.

Moderator Adam Clayton Powell III of The Freedom Forum said Kaplan had been invited to the Newseum to respond to Smith.

[Velcro]

that is cruel... very cruel ET   :-X ;D

[___ Eats It]

Santa is putting coal in your stocking, ET...

[RHBullsFan]

Come on ET, not funny.

[E.T.]

Santa is putting coal in your stocking, ET...

I'll be in Rio for Christmas ... won't need the coal for heat  ;D

It was just my "good-bye" for the UConn chat . . . looking ahead now.

Go BULLS !!!

[Kyle]

This by by far your best post in a very long time...and i hate you for it.

[BULLfreak]

**** you ET getting my hopes up and then pulling the rug out from underneath me............................ kinda like Rod Smith's play calling

[mutt]

good one...

[Apis Bull]

E.T. you should be put in the penalty box for that one!!  It obviously belongs in the Mad Cow board!!