On air: Should she have been sacked?

It's like being sad to hear of the death of Hitler because of his pioneering views on being anti-smoking

She got fired because she exposed the extreme bias of CNN.

If you are responsible for providing apparently neutral and unbiased reporting then any publicised personal opinions will jeapordise the perception of neutrality.

I think the comment about the problem with Twitter (140 characters) says it all. I do realise that brevity is the soul of wit (and wisdom) and I am often guilty of being too wordy (usually why my blog posts get bounced off), but while Twitter is all very well for the sort of “I’m on the train” non-messages the imposed limit makes it completely pointless for more complex issues.
Twitter, nothing more than an extension of text messaging, is an extremely insidious form of “communication” because it leads to people stating opinions as if they are facts and being unable (in both senses of the word) to argue their case, which, unless you are a complete fanatic, will inevitable involve pros and cons. In this case that the person in question is not 100% evil, as very few people, even those branded “terrorists”, actually are.
If this women was speaking in her capacity as a private citizen, rather than as a CNN pundit, she should be allowed her point of view and be allowed to express it. However, she did indeed make an error of judgement in using such a facile channel to do it.

The wordings of the Octavia's tweet shows her sincere feelings towards Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah. As a person, she is entitled to express her views as long as they aren't aired on CNN.

Perhaps if she had written : "GLAD to hear of the passing of Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah.. One of Hezbollah's TERRORISTS I FEAR a lot.", she could have either received a warning not to have explicit views on matters like these or she could have got promoted depending on the mood of CNN management.

Let's face it. CNN isn't 100% neutral. At least BBC reporting the death and funeral of Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah was professional. It showed what the man stood for in his country and how he was viewed by the USA.

I wonder what the CNN reaction could have been if a CNN journalist had expressed his sympathy for the death of a pro-American figure.

Right on Abdelilah, you said the exact things that I wanted to say...
I do believe that you should never lose your job for expressing your views and what you believe in... Ms Nasr expressed her views on her own personal Twitter account which has got nothing to do with the CNN and that's why she has every right to express herself as long as she doesn't let her views interfere with the impartiality of her CNN reporting... Also I wanted to say that Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Muhammed Hussein Fadlallah might be a highly controversial figure in the eyes of the Western world and the US but he's a highly respected and prestigious personality in the Islamic Shia community all over the world, he was always a symbol of moderation and progressiveness in his views and fatwas, he always encouraged constructive dialogue between Muslim Sunnis and Muslim Shias and also between Muslims and Christians, he always called for the unification of all Lebanese factions even during the most difficult of times and he strongly supported women's and children's human rights, his charitable work was truely remarkable, so can we really blame Ms Nasr (of Lebanese origin herself) for expressing grief over his death ? And also franky speaking I couldn't care less about how he was viewed by the West and the US, the mere truth is that he was a religious icon that can never be repeated no matter what... With my love... Yours sincerely, Lubna in Baghdad

if cnn thinks that she expressed her bias towards the cleric, would it have been a bias had it been a comment on a musician, a rapper, a footballer...i think not.
so this wasnt fair...

Why would a US media fgirm employ someone who praises someone who inspired hezbollah? Besides their attacks on ISrael, they were responsible for the bombings of the US Embassy in Lebanon, and the barracks bombings, killing 299 French and American Marines, who were merely there as peacekeepers.

THis is an attempt by CNN to actually m ake it appear they are neutral, damage control. Wonder how many other anti western people they employ?

They were probably right to sack her. Regardless of his pioneering ideas about women he was still an enemy of America!
If she was going to comment about his women's lib activities, then she should have done so in a different way, ie: instead of grieving his loss, she should have just factually reported it, with an aside about his ideas on women - but she didn't! She made a big deal about him personally, and that was a no-no!

Wouldn't we all have benefitted from an open discussion of Nasr's views, opposing views and why they might be controversial? Rather than the prevailing allergy to nuance, subtlety and complexity and our insistence upon doctrinaire, predictable, bland non-thought, we could have, with the help of thoughtful and experienced journalists, substantial discussions the goals of which would not be to create or pander to an uninformed consensus. No, it's not like praising Hitler for being a vegetarian.

Again as long as she expressed those views on her own personal Twitter account which has got nothing to do with the CNN she should be able to keep her job... With love and blessings... Yours sincerely, Lubna in Baghdad...

I remember once I heard a religious lecture by Sayyed Fadlallah and in which he said that a person who doesn't believe in God should be debated and have his/her views heard and not killed.... He strongly defended freedom of expression and women's human rights and so it's so ironic that Ms Nasr (who is a woman of Lebanese origin) gets sacked because she expressed her views about him on her own personal outlet... With my love... Yours sincerely, Lubna in Baghdad...

In her case, I don't think it WAS a question of being able to air her views freely or not, where-Ever she chose!

If she was a free person with loyalties to no-one then yes go ahead. But this woman worked as a Middle-Eastern Editor, for a World news- broadcaster and HAD to show compliance first-and-foremost to her employer AND her country (because her employer was the media voice For her Country!) - and THEN her private views - however conflicting they would be, would come in as second-place!

In this case, her 'private' views were not in a private conversation with her mother, they were being aired on a public network!
I am not saying you cannot have sympathies with what ever you want but hers went against what she was supposed to be representing on a world media-stage, so CNN sacked her and I think they were right to do so.
Everyone should have freedom of speech but people also need to be mindful if that speech is going to badmouth other things that they are connected to in life. If her FoS is more important than her job then yes, go ahead and say it but be ready to be unemployed!

Mark:

I have to agreed fully with Abdelilah Boukili in Morocco & Lubna Naji comments of the sacking of Octavia Nasr, former staff of CNN......

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Someone once said that once you become a public figure, your life is nolonger yours. Too bad that this burgeoning scribe git sacked for airing her thought. I'd like to cmreiterate what Lubna in Bagdad has said,'if she had expressed those views on her personal twitter site, then its got nothing to do with her job. But I guess like Teachers are, journallists too do not have the luxury of expressing their view except that of maintaining company dogma.
Sincerely, I believe those axe was a bit too harsh...well, America thinks, may be in retrospect, that she may be a collaborator of a terror organisation. That's okay. We should learn to learn people for what they are and not what they do for us.

In my opinion, the lady was expressing how she felt. In fact, the people from Lebanon, on Link TV expressed their opinions and they were saddened by his death. I don't know what is taking place, but it appears the First Amendment (Freedom of Speech)to the US Constitution no longer applies, and one can remember when former Pres Bush stated the Constitution was only a piece of paper. Born in early 1930s in America, I have seen many of my individual rights being taken away and the Governments,Federal, State & Local, are constantly imposing more restrictions and in my opinion, further believe we will become a police state.

It's just mind-blowing to see the hypocracy of the West. I don't know what happened to the freedom of expression that the West has been bragging about all along??? If such a disgraceful act of CNN is justified, then there is no need to point the finger of blame on Iran, Israel or Saudi Arabia for violating this very freedom of expression.

Isnt America supposed to be land of the free?

That doesnt show much tolerance of someones opinion to me. What happened to freedom of Speach?

everyone is entitled to their opinion - except in the united states. it's no surprise that if you have an opinion contrary to the network your out. the only free thing said on a US network is the reciting of the alleged amendments. all praise scripted news and the fascist who control it!!!

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She was right to express her views on Twitter.

She had been making her views perfectly clear in the way she had been reporting at CNN for years beforehand. She should have been fired for her bias on CNN a long time ago.

The passing of the so called Hezbollah giant and what he stood for, better he is dead than still alive. The sacking of Octavia Nasser of CNN is well justified, considering his extreme views against America. Octavia Nasser should have understood living in America cannot be condoning and supporting someone detrimental to American values.

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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

For me this sounds a little bit like censorship. Was she fired for having an opinion opposing to the US government? She likely knows more about the Lebanon than anybody else working for CNN. They should trust her judgement instead of firing her for idealogical reasons.

I don't understand where people get the idea that media is without bias. There is bias in everything, from the stories that are covered (or not covered) to the experience and background of the journalists and producers of the media outlets we all read, listen to or watch. Furthermore, one can report facts while suppressing a personal opinion. To not have an opinion at all to a given situation is to be blind to what is going on in front of you.

That said, this firing is incredibly silly and reactionary. CNN should have given the reporter some space on the website or their station to give a clear editorial expanding on the the good and bad things that were done by this person. Thus we could have a fuller understanding than 140 characters could give us.

Also as an American, I'm sick and tired about hearing about "enemies of America". Just because this individual belongs to a group that isn't friendly to the nation does not mean that this person's life had no value. If this individual was a pioneer for women's right, that should rightly be celebrated.

Despite feeling that Twitter was a silly medium to use to express her opinion, under no circumstances should she have been sacked. If you dissect her tweet she says he was a “giant of Hezbollah”, not expressing support for the organisation per se, and she says that she has “respect” for him, and surely we can all cite examples of people we don’t necessarily agree with, but none the respect.
Following the man’s death, I heard a number of people on the BBC giving a more balanced view of his ideas, which I gather changed considerably over the years and, far from being the Devil Incarnate, his thinking is undoubtedly worthy of analysis.
What is and what isn’t a terrorist organisation is an entirely subjective judgement and it is perfectly possible to have some sympathy with the ends, while deploring the some of the means used to achieve those.
To draw a parallel with the IRA, I have always broadly supported Irish reunification, and was aware of the discrimination faced by the Catholic population in Northern Ireland at the hands of the protestant “Loyalists” (hate that term), but having narrowly missed at least one IRA bomb in London, I have definitely never supported the bombing/assassination campaigns they used to carry out. Funny how many so-called Irish-Americans directly funded and supported these terror….. sorry freedom fighters.

There is white, black and shades of grey. To say that Fadlallah has done evil things and Israel has not is just lunacy. It takes two sides to start a war and there are vested intersts on either side and both are wrong. We need more balance on these issues. Understanding the reasons why hatred persists on each side is what needs to be understood. Somewhere between two opposing sides lies the truth. That's what the world should be focusing on. Too much spin not enough honesty.

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If a BBC employee tweeted in praise of the BNP, would they keep their job?
Hezbollah carried attack multiple bombings on American targets in Lebanon, killing hundreds of Americans.

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She's an editor, not a journalist. If the editors hold extreme biases, then it means the organization has extreme biases, not a "journalist"

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She didn't say it on CNN or in her news reporting where there is supposed to be a sense of impartiality. This was said on a site meant to express oneself. This is like the difference between a blogger and a journalist, there is a different code of ethics.

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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

Had Octavia Nasar been heard expressing her sadness for the death of Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah in private, could she have still been sacked?

It the 24 hour news cycle we have lost perspective of what constitutes reporting and what constitutes editorial and opinions. Reporters at no time should vocalize their opinions. Quit your reporting job and become an editor. This opinion driven reporting increase the difficulty in judging a reporters objectivity making it more difficult for the consumer of the news to determine truth from opinion.

Ros, you asked if I'd like to hear your opinion on air. I must enthusiastically say no. The beauty of this programme is that it is an impartially facilitated discussion between 'regular people'. I love the management of guest's comments and ideas- and it would lose a vital aspect of the show for the host to chime in. However, if you chose to have an opinion on your personal Twitter feed or blog I would welcome the chance to hear your thoughts.

CNN, like all U.S. mainstream does not and never has delivered unbiased news, particularly concerning the Middle East. This woman's firing underlines their bias.

I am a news and editorial cartoonist, and know something about censorship and losing a job because editors thought "my own views" were creeping into my work because I saw something in a article that I expressed too personally. So, I know what Octavia Nasr is going through.

At the rate CNN's management board keeps firing great journalists, like one of journalism's greatest 20th century war correspondents Peter Arnett, who reported for CNN from Iraq during the Gulf War, and was fired in 1999 over an historical Vietnam War (Arnette reproted from Vietnam for AP from 1962-75) report found to be bogus, they won't have any left, just spokepersons for whoever CNN gets commercial support from. I won't go there.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Arnett

Recently I've stopped watching CNN because they gave too much coverage to and for the Tea Party movement. Was going to start again, but now my studio's TV will stay tuned to BBC and my FM reciever to the BBC World Service. I even keep it on low volume before I go to bed. :) Once a BBC World Service junkie you stay hooked. Of course not in the bedroom, my studio, the wife wouldn't have that. I have to go on holiday with her where there's no FM just to escape it.

@ This is like the difference between a blogger and a journalist, there is a different code of ethics.

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Unfortunately the two are becoming blurred. And CNN, who likes to think of itself as cutting edge, and let's face it it pioneered 24 hour cable news, and is cutting edge. They just can't keep up with the shifting sands of journalistic trends and in this brave new world the standards are still very undefined as to what is reporting and what is a mini blog tweet (140 characters). The problems lies when these tweeters have their day job logos next to their names ie Octavia Nasr CNN, which gives the impression she's working when she could be tweeting at home off work.

I think a word or two different would've made all the difference. If Nasr had said "one of the Middle Easts most important spiritual leaders," it might have sounded totally unbiased. The BBC ran reports for 2 days mentioning how important and loved he was especially by liberals in Lebanon as he was progressive by most Shi'ite leaders standards in the region.

This is another blow for female journalists, in less than a month following Helen Thomas' dismissal from the White Press Corp over her comments about what Israels majority population should do.. "go back to.. (those countries)

@ Despite feeling that Twitter was a silly medium to use to express her opinion, under no circumstances should she have been sacked. If you dissect her tweet she says he was a “giant of Hezbollah”

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I agree totally, Linda. CNN fires its long standing and very experienced journalists and editors at the drop of a hat. Over the past 10 years there is a CNN graveyard building up with the names of some of the best. Peter Arnett (199), Aaron Brown (2005 after Hurricane Katrina) and now Octavia Nasr.

The word that lost her her job was this.. HEZBOLLAH. Which, after al Qaeda and the Taliban, still pushes a lot of buttons in the US and has since the 1980s.

I think she should've been reprimanded behind close doors. Given a warning to watch her words on Twitter, and then asked to apologize to any of her followers that she may have offended. I seriously doubt any of CNN's older non "twittering" audience even knew about this journalistic faux pas.

Mark:

Number 44, has the thumb on it very much--Also, CNN has also over the years fired other news staff for lot less than what Octavia Nasr remarked on her twitter account......

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[Personal note: I also, have a twitter account]

If CNN fired her for making a remark on her personal Twitter account, it seems a bit harsh to fire her. She probably has a legal case against CNN.

Yeah. We Americans can be a bit prickly when one of our own swerves off the paper-thin highway of Political Correctness and plunges, flaming, off the cliff. Ms. Nasr's gaffe reminds me of Helen Thomas' resignation from the Hearst News Service after unleashing a tsunami of vitriol for off-handedly saying that the Jews should "get the [bleep] out of Palestine" and "go back" to Poland.

That happened barely a month ago. Though Thomas' only "punishment" will be to write her memoir for what will undoubtedly be an eight figure advance, then spend her retirement on the talk show circuit as an a-list raconteur.

It still doesn't excuse the West's slavish obsessive-compulsion over PC that would make Joseph Stalin grin. To say that we don't execute or imprison people for not towing the party line belies what seems only lip service about our so-called freedom of speech.

I only hope Ms. Nasr gets a generous advance on her book, too, then joins Helen Thomas for a guest spot on Saturday Night Live.

Well it seems that Nasr is a lebanese surname. If she is a believer or may have roots on Islam, maybe it was an unconscious opinion. But it seems to me an intollerance toward religious beliefs. Although for a Christian it is a sin to name a supposed terrorist by uncle sam.

If Octavia Nasr was using a mobile phone account that was either provided to her or compensated as a CNN employee or she used Twitter accounts only available to her as a CNN employee but otherwise confidential, then she should be dismissed for lack of impartiality as a CNN employee.

If she was using a personal mobile phone with personal Twitter accounts, she should only be disciplined for doing personal business at her job, assuming that it did not happen while she was at sanctioned lunch or rest periods which means she is off the clock. But that is hard to prove as many jobs are nearly 24 hours in scope, though it can be said that accepting a 24 hour restrictive employment was her choice and probably amply remunerated.

Linda from Italy has hit the nail on the head. The reason why people aren't fair and balanced (FOX motto) is because of spin. Can we just have the facts please without all of the ridiculous political spin. If either side was right in their opinion they wouldn't spend so much time trying to convince you of it. The person that comes up with a spin free news channel will make a fortune. Just dig up all of the corruption and dirt. The public will sort it out.

Sacked and kicked out of the U.S. never to return if you ask me.

17. At 4:05pm on 08 Jul 2010, Masood Azraq wrote:
It's just mind-blowing to see the hypocracy of the West. I don't know what happened to the freedom of expression that the West has been bragging about all along??? If such a disgraceful act of CNN is justified, then there is no need to point the finger of blame on Iran, Israel or Saudi Arabia for violating this very freedom of expression.

Masood - lets do an experiment since you enjoy freedom of expression - I will stand in the middle of Tel-Aviv - and shout aloud - Bibi is an idiot, there should be fresh elections - the government does not express the will of the people, the religious authorities have too much power and its time for regime change - and you do the same in your city.

which one of us will get elected.

You wish you had the freedom of speach that we have

Is this the woman who put twit into twitter?

Here is an adult real-life fact to consider. If I am paid to do a job, I am personally responsible not to contravene the ‘don’ts’ that come with the job.
If Ms. Nasr was not clear on what her job requirements, why should I, a disinterested party, give her any benefit of a doubt? The consequence of her employer reacting rigorously was hardly surprising. An employee is only a worker within the definitions of his/her job. Since Ms Nasr did some ‘free-lancing’ and paid the consequences, she is not alone; as millions of other adults had learned the hard way, too.
Let us not get too carried away with the thought that ‘childish behaviour’ can have a distinctive and non-complimentary role in one’s personal persona. And that it will not impinge on the public persona.

The issue is not whether CNN is bias or not, it's whether it appears to be bias. Having someone who publicly expresses personal bias in favour or against a news-related topic has ruined the perception of neutrality for that person, and by extension, that person's job as an neutral news editor.
To offer a refereeing anology (thanks Miche):
If the referee for Sunday's final is caught wearing a Holland shirt or cheering for Holland in private, would he be allowed to referee the Holland v Spain match? Surely his neutrality would have be jeapordised.

There's a reason why at work there are stickers on computers reminding you that a computer is a "dangerous communications device" because you could announce something to the entire world basically.

Ibrahim - Since my Mother in Law is Dutch, as is my wife I tend to think that it would be a good idea. More seriously, every television channel has a point to push and it is clear that many governments support their television channels as a way of getting their point across. This journalist just picked a person to admire who supported the murder of the American marines in Beirut which was understandably offensive to the owners.

To clamdip and the rest:

Yes! Fox News is biased toward the right, and they make no secret of it. ("fair and balanced" my [bleep]!)

But CNN's left-leaning bias is more insidious (invidious?). They come across as impartial, but when they cover the conservatives, the right, or the so-called Tea-baggers, they tend to broadcast the right's more undignified moments, making them seem angrier and more unreasonable than they actually are.

At least Fox doesn't make a secret of it.

(Clamdip lobster claws. GREAT MONIKER BTW!)

Yet another example of the double standards employed when reporting or commenting on the middle east. If the comments had been about a controversial Israeli political figure it would have been perfectly acceptable. No support is allowed for what Israel considers to be its enemies.

"Reaction to my tweet was immediate, overwhelming and provides a good lesson on why 140 characters should not be used to comment on controversial or sensitive issues, especially those dealing with the Middle East."

"1. At 11:06am on 08 Jul 2010, Webb of Deceit Board of David Barca wrote:
It's like being sad to hear of the death of Hitler because of his pioneering views on being anti-smoking"

Those two phrases say it all. Besides, the man didn't have "pioneering views" on women's rights, well maybe for the 13th century, but he lived in the 20th, applying Pythagoras' theorem in the year 2010 doesn't count as pioneering mathematics either. And no, it's not like expressing grief for the death of Michael Jackson because he wasn't a political figure who decided over life and death. When Reagan died you didn't see the newscasters express grief (or relief) either (well maybe on Fox News but that's just a comedy show).

Legally, Octavia Nasr signed a contract regarding morals (clause) that kinda restrict her freedom of speech especially with the usage of her nicknamed on Twitter...

But, she will find another news organisation that will hired her in--because of her strong credentials...

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