Senator Files Complaint Against CNN After 'Ambush'
Thu May 11 2006 12:21:05 ET
Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) is filing a formal complaint with chamber officials regarding what he considers an ?unethical? broadcast of an interview with him by a CNN reporter Tuesday.
ROLL CALL reports: In an incident that could have repercussions for TV journalists? access to the chamber, Stevens is furious with CNN correspondent Joe Johns for an interview conducted outside the weekly GOP policy luncheons, but far away from the usual bank of TV cameras set up for such interviews next to the storied Ohio Clock.
?This was not a formal interview request. This was an ambush in the hallway,? said Stevens spokeswoman Courtney Boone. ?He was asked to go on camera and declined.?
Stevens is filing the complaint with the Senate Radio/TV Gallery, the office charged with overseeing broadcast reporters, and the Rules and Administration Committee, which establishes the ground rules for what access media have on the Senate side of the Capitol.
CNN officials denied Stevens? assertion that he didn?t know he was being filmed by their employees. ?It was not an ambush, the Senator knew he was on camera,? said Edie Emery, a CNN spokeswoman.
It?s unclear what steps would be taken by either the gallery or the committee, or if there would be any punitive actions against Johns or the network if his report is found to have broken chamber policy.
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