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23.04.2004
CNN not biased, says chief
Byline: WANI MUTHIAH
KUALA LUMPUR: CNN International managing editor Paul Cutler was told point-blank by participants of a seminar that his network’s news coverage was biased and appeared to lean towards an American agenda.
Cutler, who was one of the speakers at the seminar on Media Professionalism and Industry Realities, was also told that the British Broadcasting Corporation’s (BBC) content was much better and fairer.
The seminar was held in conjunction with the Asia Media Summit organised by The Star and the Asian Centre for Media Studies (ACMS).
Cutler denied the allegations and told The Star that CNN International always strove to ensure balance and equity in all its news content.
“When covering the Israeli-Palestinian issue, we make sure that the Palestinian voice is heard. And, in some parts of Palestine, if they can’t come to us, CNN goes to them to get their side of the story,” he said.
To a question whether CNN delivered its news from an American point of view, Cutler said that as a global broadcaster, the network tailored its news to reflect an international image. “The news content is also not wholly ‘American’ as CNN International’s audiences are primarily outside America and made up of non-Americans,” he said.
Cutler said CNN applied a realistic code of even-handedness when dealing with issues and even had a special department to monitor news content for fairness.
“We go out of our way to see that all our coverage is fair and balanced,” said Cutler.
He, however, added that there would always be an inherent bias in coverage by any news provider. “There will always be an inherent bias on views but it is important to stress that CNN International is not seeking an American agenda when dealing with issues and news content.”
Pix: Cutler: ‘CNN tailors its news to reflect an international image’
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