JOURNALISTIC INTEGRITY

CNN Cites Ambassador Stevens’ Journal

Without his family’s permission.

CNN used information obtained from the personal journal of Ambassador Chris Stevens against the wishes of his family, according to the State Department. In a broadcast Wednesday, Anderson Cooper reported that Stevens feared for his safety and thought he was on an al Qaeda hit list. But family members and State Department officials said that CNN had agreed to hold off on reporting from the journal until the family had been given a chance to review it. CNN claimed it took newsworthy tips and “corroborated them with other sources.” But a State Department spokesman called the organization’s conduct “disgusting” and said, “When the senior-most levels of CNN were finally reached, they needed to be convinced to do the right thing.”