An E-mail And An Apology

Posted on Wed, May. 4, 2011
Ellen Gray: CNN's Anderson Cooper

Anderson Cooper wasn't happy - justifiably so, it turns out - about my characterization of one of his shows in a column Monday about what I consider the overcoverage of Donald Trump's obsession with the president's birth certificate (and my not entirely serious suggestion that NBC offer "reality" shows to all the would-be presidential candidates).

Here's what I wrote:

"Last Wednesday night, as tornadoes were tearing through the South, killing hundreds of people, CNN's Anderson Cooper spent his third consecutive evening on the 'birther' issue, asking why his show's investigation, coupled with the release of the president's 'long-form' birth certificate, hadn't changed hearts and minds."

In an email, Cooper notes that he led the broadcast with breaking news about the storm.

"At the time, I believe the official death toll was around 25. We led the broadcast with the information, and the pictures we had, and checked in on air with our weather man. Later on in the broadcast, as we learned more, we updated viewers, and interviewed the mayor of Birmingham as well as a cameraman who had videotaped one of the tornadoes as it touched down. I understand your desire to make a point in a column, but I find it sad that you need to do that by misleading your readers."

Since I tuned in to "Anderson Cooper 360" that night only after seeing multiple Twitter reports of what sounded like unusually devastating tornadoes, I did miss the top of the hour. And looking for that news - which I eventually found on the Weather Channel - I was frustrated by the continued focus on those who still didn't believe any of the proofs offered of President Obama's birthplace.

A check of the transcript shows Cooper did lead with the tornado, though the "birther" issue consumed a considerable amount of time. He then returned to the tornadoes, finishing up with an interview advancing the royal wedding.

Checking the transcript, something I've done in the past but failed to do this time, would probably have led me to word that paragraph differently, and I'm sorry for not doing that.