Talking Points Memo broke a story last night highlighting the dark side of the Republican Convention:
An attendee at the Republican National Convention in Tampa on Tuesday allegedly threw nuts at a black camerawoman working for CNN and said “This is how we feed animals” before being removed from the convention, a network official confirmed to TPM.
CNN confirmed the incident, releasing a written statement saying:
CNN can confirm there was an incident directed at an employee inside the Tampa Bay Times Forum earlier this afternoon. CNN worked with convention officials to address this matter and will have no further comment.
It can’t be just me who finds the wording of this statement problematic.
If this had happened between two third parties, CNN would have used it to lead the evening bulletin. Instead, it comes across as an attempt to shut the story down to please its hosts. Referring, for instance, to an “incident” seems to diminish the seriousness of the event (which is, after all, a truly disgusting example of racism – the sort which many in the party are keen to pretend no longer exists), while there is no attempt at all to support their employee. Maybe she has her own feelings on the matter – it could be that she requested the whole thing be played down – but we can’t know that.
Instead, CNN seem to be trying their hardest to spin for the Republican Party.
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