Friedman reports in MarketWatch that Jon Klein uses the death of a beloved American figure to reaffirm CNN's commitment to the step-on-any-face approach to journalism:
"The possibility arose that CNN would have to decide whether to break the story [of Jennings' death] or allow ABC, Jennings' professional home for four decades, to report it first.
"'Even if we were able to get confirmation, we'd decided to wait,' Lin said. 'I guess it was something you wouldn't expect to see in the era of blogs. Everyone has a different set of circumstances,' she said.
"Lin conceded that some CNN journalists badly wanted the exclusive for themselves and naturally felt frustrated by CNN's 'caution' on Sunday evening.
"Lin spoke to me in a telephone interview a few days ago. 'It was a natural, professional courtesy,' she said, insisting that CNN's primary objective was to get the news right. 'Regardless of Fox, I've been in enough newsrooms,' Lin said. 'You don't want to be wrong on this one.'
"But Jonathan Klein, the president of CNN/U.S., told me in a separate interview: 'I don't know about that. I somehow doubt that. We're a news organization. If we get the news first, I can't imagine any circumstance that we would deprive our viewers of the news.'
"I hope Klein and every other news decision-maker recognize that there is nothing wrong with taking the high road -- well, now and then, anyhow."
