Jessica Yellin, a reporter for CNN, went on Anderson Cooper and talked about the pressure she felt to keep her reportage pro-war and patriotic. She suggested that the pressure came from corporate executives, and was directly proportional "with the patriotic fever in the nation and the president's high approval ratings." Shocking (if not totally surprising) revelations about the inner workings of news organizations. Pressed by Cooper she admitted that her bosses would "turn down critical stories about the administration and try to put on positive pieces."

Hours after making these charges, Yellin felt compelled to let us know that everything is ok now. She was totally talking about her past, and not any of her experiences with CNN, which have been super-duper-fragilistc. Not at all like those douchebags at MSNBC. Nope, everythings fine here! Oh, and that bit about corporate executives? Maybe she misspoke a little. It was really the middle management (and isn't it always?)  that pressured her to change stories.

Pathetic. This, to me, is a lot like Scott McClellan. She waits until it's safe to tell the truth, and then feels relieved that she can let out her demons. Only, she is still part of the machine so she has to clarify her remarks to make it clear that CNN would never do anything like alter stories. This figurative "I feel down the stairs" moment sort of proves her whole point in a strange sort of way.

Last 5 posts by Ezra

• Yogi Berra for Governor - December 7th, 2010
• BGGCon 2010 - Day 0 - December 6th, 2010
• Your Friday Afternoon is Happy to See the Name World B. Free - December 3rd, 2010
• Boardgamegeek Con - Year 2 - November 15th, 2010
• The Games We Played: Alexander Hamilton - AntiFederalist - November 12th, 2010