CNN’s Anderson Cooper Apologizes On Air For “No-Go Zone” Remarks
After a couple days of extensive reporting on Fox News Channel’s apology for its characterizations of Muslim “no-go zones” in Europe, Anderson Cooper tonight apologized for doing same on CNN.
“On Monday night on this program, we aired a report that was critical of Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and Fox News for continually saying that there were ‘no-go zones’ in England and elsewhere,” Cooper said. “I think if you’re going to point fingers at others’ mistakes, you should also acknowledge your own mistakes, and we didn’t do that on the program,” he added, without explaining why, if he felt that way, the show had not acknowledged CNN’s error when it reported FNC’s.
“In the wave of the Paris attacks, several guests on this program mentioned ‘no-go zones’ in France,” Cooper said. “I didn’t challenge them and twice referred to them as well. I should have been more skeptical,” he added, and promised he would not make the same mistake again.
Cooper forgot to mention the Washington Post had yesterday published a widely picked-up report in which it detailed, with video, instances of CNN discussing “no-go zones” in various European cities, on Cooper’s program and elsewhere on its slate.
Earlier in the week, CNN’s Christiane Amanpour interviewed Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, who said the city will sue Fox News Channel after it was “insulted” by the cable news network’s characterizations of Muslim “no-go zones” in Europe — specifically in France and England. The city of Paris’ communications office confirmed Hidalgo’s plans to FranceTV, saying she will seek “redress” for the Fox News reports, which attacked the “honor and image of Paris.”
Fox News issued two on-air corrections over the weekend for the gaffes made on Justice With Judge Jeanine by a so-called terrorism expert, during discussions of the Muslim population in Europe. That talking head, Steve Emerson, claimed locales in England, France, Sweden and Germany were “no-go-zones,” calling Birmingham, for instance, a city that is “totally Muslim” where “non-Muslims just simply don’t go in.”
Fox News EVP Michael Clemente responded to Hidalgo’s plans to sue, saying in a statement: “We empathize with the citizens of France as they go through a healing process and return to everyday life. However, we find the Mayor’s comments regarding a lawsuit misplaced.”
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Fox News: Paris Mayor's Vow To Sue Over “No-Go Zone” Comments “Misplaced” – Update
Fox News “Deeply” Regrets On-Air Errors On Muslims In Europe – Update
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