CNN: Editor defends decision not to run photos of suspicious passengers

David Edwards and Muriel Kane

Published: Wednesday August 29, 2007





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CNN reported on Tuesday that when the FBI asked Seattle newspapers and televisions stations to run photographs of two dark-haired men, taken by the captain of a Seattle ferry who considered their behavior suspicious, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer refused.

The refusal, which was defended by Managing Editor David McCumber in his blog at the paper, was quickly painted as a major transgression by Fox News, Michelle Malkin, and right-wing blogs. McCumber joined CNN's John Roberts to explain his decision.

"We felt that suspicion is not evidence and that homeland security isn't just a blanket reason to deviate from our usual standards," McCumber stated. "We don't run the names of people who are suspected of crimes before they're charged with crimes. ... It seemed like a civil liberties issue." McCumber added that "we've ... received a great amount of support," including from "a captain of [another] Seattle ferry."

Roberts pointed out that, since 9/11, "law enforcement ... have been assigned the role, at least with the FBI, of trying to prevent terrorist attacks before they happen,"

"It's certainly something that we're all wrestling with," agreed McCumber. "I think we'll have more of these sorts of things."

"Is this a case of racial profiling or is it behavioral profiling?" asked Roberts.

"You don't know if the observer is racially profiling or not," said McCumber. "The racial aspect of it really wasn't the reason. We would have made the same decision no matter what the ethnicity of these people."

The following video is from CNN's American Morning, broadcast on August 28.





