Senator Ted Stevens to file complaint against CNN reporter

RAW STORY
Published: Thursday May 11, 2006

Angered by an interview he termed "an ambush in the hallway," US Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) will file a formal complaint against CNN reporter Joe Johns (r.) RAW STORY HAS LEARNED. The report is in today's edition of ROLL CALL. The entire, registration restricted article may be read here.

Excerpts:

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Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) is filing a formal complaint with chamber officials regarding what he considers an “unethical” broadcast of an interview with him by a CNN reporter Tuesday. In an incident that could have repercussions for TV journalists’ access to the chamber, Stevens is furious with CNN correspondent Joe Johns for an interview conducted outside the weekly GOP policy luncheons, but far away from the usual bank of TV cameras set up for such interviews next to the storied Ohio Clock.

“This was not a formal interview request. This was an ambush in the hallway,” said Stevens spokeswoman Courtney Boone. “He was asked to go on camera and declined.”

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The blow-up over the Johns report comes as TV journalists have launched a campaign to secure greater access to the second-floor hallways, which are regarded as top real estate for reporters because it’s possible to get up-close face time with Senators there during votes and before and after key meetings.

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Congressional Republicans have long accused CNN of having a bias in its reporting against them, to the point that Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas), then a member of the House GOP leadership, once labeled it the “Clinton News Network.”