On the firing of Octavia Nasr
By Willie Galang
Published 13 July 2010, 00:51 • Tweet
© CNN
Anything new on Octavia Nasr? Nasr, CNN’s senior editor of Middle East affairs was recently fired by the news network over a Twitter “tweet” lamenting the death of Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlalah, an Islamic spiritual leader instrumental in the formation of Hezbollah in Lebanon. The cable news giant, in an “internal memo,” cited that Nasr’s “credibility... (had) been compromised.”
Personally, I don’t support her firing. Yet, I get the integrity thing. It is vital, after all, in one’s profession as a journalist. But a part of me says the termination was, perhaps, a bit too harsh, considering Nasr went to great lengths to properly explain the reason behind the offending tweet, even to the point of admitting the inappropriateness of using the Twitter service -- particularly the 140-character limit per post -- as a vehicle to randomly express simplistic thoughts about “controversial or sensitive issues,” to use her own words. A reprimand would have sufficed or a short suspension could have been handed down, perhaps. But a pink slip? I’m sure journalists throughout history have done worse and kept their jobs!
I will not delve into Middle East politics as that’s not my intention for today nor is it the point of this post. I wanted to say I admire how Nasr stood up for her misstep, clarified her intended meaning, and expressed regret for her seemingly innocuous action that cost her her job. It’s a pity how a single, careless act of expressing one’s thought through the immediacy of social media channels can ruin decades worth of carefully-established credibility in the news business. Although I don’t think that that single tweet will undermine Nasr’s achievements, for some people, perception is far more important than reality.
I believe CNN should do itself a favor and reinstate Nasr, a 25-year veteran in the news industry.
Applied in the Philippine context
Do incidents like this one ever happen in Philippine media sphere? Journalists acknowledging to the public they made a mistake; Media personalities recognizing their integrity could have been actually compromised; These public acts of contrition, these mea culpas, I don’t remember seeing or hearing from some Filipino journalists who got called out for carrying out acts, wittingly or unwittingly, that tainted their objectivity and credibility in their profession.
Seriously, the Filipino press can pick up a lesson or two here. No brainer, really. Objectivity? Check! Journalistic integrity? Check! Unfortunately, here on my side of the world, popular mainstream media people, especially those who double as talking heads on nightly television newscasts, can get away with murder, what with their unhealthy influence on public opinion. They can be openly seditious, lionize putschists on national television, commit plagiarism blatantly, engage in shady dealings, and who knows what else. Instead of being shown the door or being meted with some sort of punishment, they manage to keep their ridiculously high-paying jobs with nary a slap on the wrist from their mother networks.
And that, I think, is far more shameful than what CNN did to Octavia Nasr.
This article originally appeared here at williegalang.com at this specific URL:
http://williegalang.com/2010/07/12/octavia.nasr
About this Weblog
My name is Willie Galang and I’m based in Manila. I comment on current events and popular culture plus share some personal stories as well.
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