Klein Answers Anderson-Angelina Critics

> Update: 8:04pm: An e-mailer says: “Klein is correct that no other network would have turned this down — after all, NBC News aired a prime-time interview with Britney Spears (of all people) just a few days before. However, that kind of relevancy — including the idea that other networks would have included more baby talk — is dangerous. Just because everyone else is airing crap doesn’t mean that you need to, too! (Nor does the fact that your crap is respectable crap make it any less crappy!)”

The AP sums up criticisms of the Anderson-Angelina interview last week and includes a defense from the president of CNN. “To anyone who thinks CNN sold its soul to Angelina Jolie for ratings, network chief Jonathan Klein has this message: Find me a news outlet that would have turned her down,” the story begins.

Klein says: “I don’t know of any news organization that would not have talked to Angelina Jolie, and I also don’t know of any other news organization that would have aired that interview as the apex of a day’s worth of coverage … of that important issue. It was both good journalism and well within the brand of CNN.”

Also: “Since it was Jolie’s first TV interview since giving birth, part of it included baby talk. CNN contends that material would have dominated any other TV interview…”

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