CNN: Out-Twitted on Iran?

Demonstrators filled the streets of Tehran over the weekend – protesting a presidential election they believe was rigged.

But events in Iran sparked another kind of outrage on the Internet -- CNN’s coverage – or non-coverage – of the violence.

We’re looking at different perspectives from a variety of sources -- starting with Infinite Monkeys blogger Joel Mathis who echoes the opinion of many critics:

“Something that looks like a revolution -- maybe, maybe not -- has been taking place in Iran this weekend, but you wouldn't have known it by watching cable news. While Iranians were marching in the streets, CNN was re-airing an old Larry King interview with the guys from American Chopper.”  (Infinite Monkeys)

Washington Post media columnist Howard Kurtz, who also hosts the CNN program Reliable Sources, defended the network.

Kurtz Tweeted:

“I'm not getting the argument that CNN fell short on Iran. Christiane Amanpour has been there and the net has devoted hours to the story.”
 
He later appeared to back off:

“Maybe CNN should have taken CNNi feed last evening. But it was middle of the night in Iran, and even journalists have to rest sometimes.”

Speaking of Twitter, it became THE place to find news on Iran for many -- as well as a place to vent their frustration on #CNNFail.

On ReadWriteWeb, writer Marshall Kirkpatrick notes that while CNN eventually caught up to the story, it still missed the boat on breaking news.

“Twitter…is how Iranians are communicating with the outside world. It's the best place to follow events going on in that country...”

Wait a minute, writes a technology blogger identified as “Tom” on his TomsTechBlog:

“Anyone saying Twitter has been a source of news during this is lying or being deceived.  Twitter is blocked in Iran…People want to believe Twitter is a great news source so they're ignoring the facts.  In reality it was almost impossible to get accurate info out of Iran yesterday (which was of course the point).”