CNN REPORTER SAYS MSNBC BOSSES TOLD HER TO BE PATRIOTIC IN RUN-UP TO IRAQ WAR

CNN reporter talks of pressure to be patriotic
CNN reporter says she felt pressure while at NBC News to do positive war stories

DAVID BAUDERAP News
May 29, 2008 17:35 EST
http://wiredispatch.com/news/?id=189927

CNN correspondent Jessica Yellin said Thursday she was referring to her time spent at MSNBC when she said she felt pressure not to report stories critical of the Bush administration during the time leading up to the Iraq war.

Yellin's initial comments, made during a discussion with Anderson Cooper on CNN Wednesday, shifted attention to the news media's performance following release of a critical assessment of the Bush administration by former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan. He wrote that Bush's strategy for selling the war was less than candid and honest.

During her CNN appearance, Yellin said the press corps was under enormous pressure from corporate executives to make sure the war was presented "in a way that was consistent with the patriotic fever in the nation and the president's high approval ratings."