Posted 2:00 PM by Blah blah

Peter Arnett: Reply from National Geographic

Just got this reply from National Geographic about the firing of reporter Peter Arnett:

"Thank you for your comments about the firing of Peter Arnett.

The National Geographic Society is an ardent supporter of the First Amendment and the right of every individual to speak his or her mind. Mr. Arnett was not terminated for speaking his mind; he was fired because one of the conditions of his service was that he pre-clear interviews with National Geographic. He also violated well-accepted
principles of journalistic responsibility in time of war, which preclude granting interviews to a wholly controlled broadcast agent of one of the parties in the conflict.

He also failed to indicate that his statements on Iraqi television were his personal opinion, thus creating the impression that some of the views expressed were the positions of National Geographic -- which takes no official positions on political or military matters."

Makes sense. I still feel bad for him, though. Over two decades of journalistic accomplishments gone in a 15 minute mistake. Lucky for Peter, he's quickly found work. From the AP: "Fired NBC correspondent Peter Arnett began reporting from Iraq on Monday as a special Baghdad correspondent for Taiwan's TVBS cable news....Since he was fired by NBC [actually, he was directly working for National Geographic], Arnett has also been reporting for pan-Arab satellite channel Al-Arabiya, based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. He has also been hired by the private Belgian TV network VTM, the state-run Greek television channel NET, and The Daily Mirror of London, a tabloid vehemently opposed to the war."