Arnett fired

033103 | NBC

[dep]

"It was wrong for Mr. Arnett to grant an interview with Iraqi state television," said NBC in a statement. NBC, MSNBC, and National Geographic have all fired him.

Arnett on live, apoligizing to "NBC, MSNBC, National Geographic, and the American people." He then goes on to say that all he said in the interview was "what we all know.

[Allan]

How did you guess?

[M. Thatcher]

You disagree and call me names instead of having a rational discussion.

Wrong. I correctly characterized Arnett's actions as treasonous. You continue to demonstrate your inability to distinguish between antiwar sentiment expressed domestically and that expressed for propaganda purposes on Iraqi state television. No matter. You don't matter. You are a minority of precisely one.

[smith288]

No reason not to fly that flag. It is obvious that Canada is being led by a bunch of liberal elitists. Take the flag back!

[LowOiL]

Still learning the ropes here

Hang in there buddy...

[Allan]

There is no way the Liberals ever can be removed.
The urban areas of Ontario have been flooded with immigrants
(you have to see it to believe it)
who vote 95% Liberal.

And the French never are going to vote themselves
off the gravy train
unless to vote Bloc Quebecois
who are even worse than the Liberals

[VRWC_minion]

Read the whole thing.

I did. There is no quote like what you said.

[smith288]

That sucks.

[VRWC_minion]

Wrong. I correctly characterized Arnett's actions as treasonous.

You did no such thing. You gave yoru opinion without stating what constitutes treason and how that applies here. The first requirement is intent and you have provided no evidence to support that. The last requirement is "aid and comfort". Have the courts defined that ? I couldn't find it. With your superior IQ, I'd be cerain you can.

You continue to demonstrate your inability to distinguish between antiwar sentiment expressed domestically and that expressed for propaganda purposes on Iraqi state television.

You finally get to the issue that I can begin to agree with. If he is guilty of anything, it is the act of granting and giving the interview no matter what he said. The mere fact he showed up had propaganda value and he should have known better.

As far as defining the line he crossed to be "expressed for propaganda purposes on Iraqi state television", I don't think that quite captures the offense. If that were true then I could make a case that Dan Rather's interview would have served the same purpose. I think the issue is that we have begun the war not that he participated at all. I have come to the conclusion that he crossed the line (regardless of his personal opinions) when he agreed to do the interview while we are at war.

No matter. You don't matter. You are a minority of precisely one

In the final analysis, we all are.

[PeoplesRepublicOfWashington]

Peter Haw Haw? Baghdad Pete?

[Boot Hill]

jimbo123 says:   "He's still featured on the National Geographic website..."

Not really (unless they just changed their website). If you click on the Peter Arnett photo at the top of their home page it goes to a story entitled "National Geographic Fires Peter Arnett".

The next issue is, can we also "fire" his (naturalized) U.S. citizenship and send him back to New Zealand?

--Boot Hill

[wardaddy]

Check out the transcript Manny.

[Hoppean]

Not sure if I'm comfortable with the trend I'm seeing here. Whether one agrees with someone's views or not, it doesn't make sense to me to see people lose their jobs and careers because of something they said about politics.

This is the sort of thing that's happened to conservatives for a long time in this country--conservatives persecuted for their views, etc. As a conservative, I don't feel comfortable cheering when liberals are economically punished for their beliefs.

I know there's a temptation to see this as "paying back" the Left, but at some point this brutal form of politics has to stop. People have to work for a living, after all. What goes around comes around, and all that.

[happygrl]

Reporters are not to be the news. For that reason, he has lost all jounalistic credibility.

Quit beating a dead dog.

He was wrong, and he paid for it.

[fortheDeclaration]

When I called MSNBC last night and they asked me the nature of my call I told them, the comments of Peter Arnett, he took a long painful breathe and connected me to another person. They I called National Geographic and gave them a piece of my mind too.

We need to punish NBC/MSNBC for hiring him in the first place and rushing to defend him when it first came out!

Stop watching them!

That is the one thing that they understand, as the 'Dixie Chicks' are learning!

[happygrl]

Move to one of the Western Provinces and join a secession movement.

It WILL happen someday in Canada.

[Hoppean]

Censorship is the government acting to stifle the press, not public pressure. Please use the word correctly.

The majority can be as tyrannical as the State, because either way, the individual gets crushed if he doesn't align his thoughts with those who hold the power.

[fabriclady]

Great, I could not have said it better myself.
Don't let up.
Matt and Katie need a lesson on conducting interviews, fair and balanced.

[_Jim]

imbedded reporters

That's "embedded" dear ...

[GirlShortstop]

That's "embedded" dear ...

Thanks Jim!   Are you on-call 24/7 for FReeper proofing by any chance?