ABC, 'Time' Collaborate on Covering Big Picture in Iraq

Tuesday, October 14, 2003

(8:32 PM ET)

By Peter Johnson

USA TODAY, Media Mix

Jim Kelly, Time’s managing editor, said Tuesday that the project "is no reflection on CNN" -- Time’s corporate cable sibling -- and that CNN and Time continue to collaborate on other projects. ABC News president David Westin said Tuesday that the project has nothing to do with Bush claims about media bias or the study that found World News to be the most anti-war.

USA TODAY
ABC News and Time magazine have joined forces for a series of in-depth reports in November on how the war in Iraq is affecting ordinary Iraqis.

The move, announced in a memo to top ABC News anchors and producers last week, comes amid criticism from President Bush and his advisers that the media are painting a gloomy picture of the situation in Iraq.

Monday, Bush granted interviews to regional media in a move that was widely seen as bypassing the national media to press his message on Iraq.

Last month, a media watchdog group found that ABC's World News Tonight, anchored by Peter Jennings, was by far the most anti-war of the Big Three nightly newscasts.

In his memo, ABC News president David Westin said he has been dissatisfied with media coverage of the war.
(More: USATODAY.com)
2003 © USA TODAY.

Dan