CNN apologized Sunday following criticism for their reporting at a daycare in Thailand where a shooting recently killed 36 people.
Two journalists, Anna Coren and Daniel Hodge, entered the daycare center Oct. 8 without the permission of Thai officials and were fined for working though they entered the country with tourist visas, according to a Saturday statement by the Thai Journalists Association’s Committee on Press Freedom and Media Reform. The reporters arrived at the scene to report on the Thursday shooting that killed 24 children.
The Thai association said that the location was designated as a crime scene, and prevented journalists and the public from entering the building. The organization accused the outlet of engaging in “unethical” and “insensitive” practices.
“CNN’s conduct is unethical, insensitive and at the risk of encouraging ‘copycat’ behaviors from other media outlets. Based on our preliminary inquiry, it was established that the childcare center where CNN’s news crew entered was in effect a clearly marked crime scene,” the statement began.
“CNN’s action therefore amounts to an intrusion of a major crime scene, a seriously flawed decision that no professional media should have taken – even if a permission was indeed granted, the news crew and those responsible for their assignment should have exercised their judgment and refrained from entering a crime scene,” the statement continued. (RELATED: CNN’s Amanpour Apologizes For Conflating Nazi Kritallnacht With Trump Administration)
They further noted that CNN aired “graphic material” that could potentially cause “distress” to the public and those who had suffered the tragedy. They demanded that CNN “take responsibility” for their reporting.
The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand also referred to CNN’s reporting as a “serious breach of journalistic ethics.”
CNN International executive vice president Mike McCarthy issued a statement saying the outlet regrets any offense their reporting caused and have ceased its broadcasting coverage of the event. He said the team entered through an open gate where there was no police tape present upon arrival.
“The team entered the building in good faith, to gain a fuller impression of what transpired inside and to humanize the scale of tragedy to our audience,” the statement read. “CNN has ceased broadcasting the report and has removed the video from its website. We deeply regret any distress or offense our report may have caused, and for any inconvenience to the Thai police at such a distressing time for the country.”
#Thailand 🇹🇭 #NongBuaLamphu
While the @cnnipr statement for @CNNi EVP Mike McCarthy says only “we regret any distress or offense our report may have caused,” some reports say CNN/reporters “apologized.”@panuw @FCCThai @SaksithCNA @pakhead @PravitR https://t.co/4xegWAHiDe pic.twitter.com/wjiaM8obyK— 🚶🏻Curtis S. Chin (@CurtisSChin) October 9, 2022
Surveillance footage showed one CNN member allegedly climbing over the wall where police tape had been placed, the Washington Post reported. CNN International said in a tweet that three public health officials exiting the building told them they could film inside.
Coren and Hodge both apologized for entering the building and causing distress among the Thai population, according to Fox News.
“I would like to offer my deepest apologies to the people of Thailand, especially the families of the victims of this tragedy. We are so sorry if we’ve caused you more pain and suffering. That was never our intention,” Coren said.
“I’d like to apologize to the people of Thailand for any extra grief we’ve caused in this incredibly traumatic time,” said Hodge.
They are required to pay fines of 5,000 baht ($133) and exit the country, the outlet reported.