networks air a few seconds of footage from the video (while others air still images or no images at all), no network airs the chilling ending. Some of the networks using footage from the video were quite creative in finding ways to avoid actually airing the graphic murder, while still being true to their point: the horror of the man's death, and the perhaps greater horror that it was treated as grist for the propaganda mill, for example, blacking out the visuals while continuing the audio track so the single shot is clearly heard by the audience. For each network, the point of the news story is the same: that the existence of this footage tells us something about the nature of the enemy we are dealing with.[1] The footage may be newsworthy, but it is not itself news footage, and in several cases, the choice not to air the final images is discussed explicitly. Interestingly, in one case, the decision is explained by comparing the networks' standards to those of the Arab station al Jazeera. CBS's Lee Cowan states this "particular video was so outrageous even the Arabic channel al Jazeera refused to show the shooting itself."[2]
The second tape released was claimed to be of the shooting down of the helicopter. Interestingly, each network presents this as a case of "he said, he said." Here we have two tapes, two claims, and no way to adjudicate the dispute, and so we present you with both. But in point of fact, by the time the network stories were aired, the security company that owned the helicopter had already identified the man killed in the first tape as one of their personnel, which would seem to clearly settle the matter. Thus while it is of interest that different groups are attempting to get credit for the same attack, each of these stories presenting the two claims as of equal weight—and using that as the basis justifying the decision to air the
- ↑ See "Chopper Down Commercial Aircraft Attacked," ABC World News Tonight, April 21, 2005, available from Lexis Nexis Academic, http://web.lexisnexiscomlibproxy.lib.unc.edu/universe/document?_m=ca7f7e7a9f83b32bf1f9a820ef6c3c1d&_docnum=3&wchp=dGLbVzb-zSkVA&_md5=91703314a928adea3dfd1889d0df326b.
- ↑ Lee Cowan, "Recent Surge of Violence Continues in Iraq," CBS Evening News, April 22, 2005, available from Lexis Nexis Academic, www.lexisnexis.comlibproxylib.unc.edu/us/lnacademic/results/docview/docview.do?docLinkInd=true&risb=21_T5437708677&format=GNBFI&sort=BOOLEAN&startDocNo=1&resultsUrlKey=29_T5437708680&cisb=22_T5437708679&treeMax=true&treeWidth=0&csi=166768&docNo=1. 70. See "Video Released of Downing of Commercial Helicopter in Iraq," NBC Nightly News, April 22, 2005, available
