Anyone with half a brain, a big microphone, and one ounce of responsibility would realize that the escalating threats, beatings, and violence directed at journalists by the pro-Mubarak thugs is real and very perilous for the international media on the ground. The first death of a journalist in this crisis in Egypt has happened: “Ahmed Mohammed Mahmoud, 36, was taking photographs of fighting between protesters and security forces from the balcony of his home when he was shot Jan. 28, state-run newspaper Al-Ahram said on its website.”
I’ve frequently made fun of Anderson Cooper on this blog for his vanity, his eagerness to hog the camera and make the story as much about AC360 as what he’s reporting on. He’s been knocked around for that quite a bit, unlike Richard Engel of NBC, a fearless foreign correspondent who is at the same time thoughtful and informed, who has lived in the region and speaks the language. Engel is widely respected as a kind of anti-Cooper, although it’s not by design. After twice being attacked by pro-Mubarak street thugs Anderson went into hiding to file this report:
Whether or not one approves of Cooper’s style of journalism, for Fox denizen and radio guttersnipe Don Imus to question the integrity of Cooper’s reporting by asserting that the attacks on him and his crew were a “stunt” is utterly despicable and completely beyond the pale. There’s always going to be an asshole like Don Imus sitting in the comfort of his Fox bunker peanut gallery casting aspersions on a journalist who is in the line of fire; in real danger on the front lines of the Egyptian revolution. Previously, Imus had raged that Rachel Maddow was a “gutless coward” for her reaction to Keith Olbermann's departure.
The irony is surely lost on Don Imus, a bottom-feeding bomb thrower with a serious case of PROJECTION.
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