![Image
hosting by Photobucket]()
ATLANTA
-- Out of Respect for the religion of Islam, CNN
President Jonathan N. Klein announced today that the
network will no longer air content that is offensive
to the religion's followers, including any other
material that distorts the image of the "religion of
peace."
"Two weeks ago, we made the maverick decision not to
air the Mohammed cartoons -- not because all of us in
Atlanta are afraid of being turned into human shish
kabobs-- but because we don't want to offend the
followers of this great world religion," said Klein.
"The fact that we're still alive-- er, I mean--that
we've gotten positive feedback from the world, shows
we made the right decision."
As part of the new policy, CNN will not air any
material that depicts Islamic followers involved in
violent acts, since that goes against tenets of the
Islam, the religion of peace. As a result, CNN
reporters, producers, and camera crews today pulled
out of Brunei, Chad, Comoros, Cote d'Ivoire,
Dijibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Egypt, Gambia, Guinea,
Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Kazakhstan,
Krygyzstan, Lebanon, Libya, Maldives, Malaysia, Mali,
Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan,
Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Albania,
Algeria, Azerbajan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso,
Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Syria,
Tajikistan, Turkey, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan,
United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Chechnya, Eastern Timor,
as well as parts of Detroit and Washington D.C.
"Since there won't be any news we can broadcast from
those areas, there is no reason to keep news crews
there,"he said. "If you look at our website today, you
will notice it's pretty much Dick Cheney and Britney
Spears."
When asked who would cover events in Islamic
countries, Klein responded, "We'll leave it to MSNBC
and some of those other guys. I heard the Food Channel
might do something on Middle Eastern cuisine in the
near future. You can check there."
Klein said he assured CNN staffers there will be no
layoffs. "Some of these producers and reporters will
be sent to the Vatican," he said. "There are so many
accounts of how the Church is oppressing women, the
poor and dissenters.As a news organization with a
conscience, we want to get to the bottom of those
stories
