CNN has asked cable operators in the US that carry its channel to block a commercial, produced by liberal media watchdog group Media Matters, which critiques CNN's Lou Dobbs, the New York Times has reported.
CNN managers said in a morning staff meeting on Tuesday that the channel had invoked unspecified agreements with operators to stop the ad from running. The ad accuses Dobbs of “promoting the false, right-wing conspiracy that President Obama hasn’t produced a valid US birth certificate.” It calls on viewers to “let CNN know there’s nothing ‘legitimate’ about racially charged paranoia.”
In a statement, CNN said that it “retains the right to object to any ad run by the cable operator on our network whose purpose is to attack CNN or our employees.” A CNN spokeswoman said she didn’t know if the word “agreement” was used in the staff meeting.
"This seems like the actions of a network desperate to provide cover for its primetime host rather than living up to its standard of being the most trusted name in news," said Eric Burns, president of Media Matters. "If the ad is accurate —and we know that it is -- then there is no reason for CNN to block it from its airwaves."
