Reuters'
Nichols Types
Stories from
UNTV, Files
False
Complaints
Against Press
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, March
13 -- How does
the UN and its
press corps,
at least
Reuters, work?
Compare
the
filmed
question and
answer
sessions
Tuesday of
Ambassadors Susan
Rice of the
US, Vitaly
Churkin of
Russia and
Daffa-Alla
Elhag Ali
Osman of Sudan
with this long
but entirely derivative
Reuters story,
bylined
Michelle
Nichols.
And consider
then when
Nichols'
supervisor
Louis
Charbonneau
came to the
stakeout, what
he asked about
was Iran. Then
consider anti
Press moves
past and
present by
both.
As
the Security
Council met
Tuesday about
Sudan and
South Sudan,
the
stakeout in
front was
nearly empty.
Sudan's
Ambassador
came and told
Inner City
Press his
views of the
agreement
reached with
South Sudan.
Rather than
waiting for
spin from
Western
diplomats or
spokespeople,
Inner City
Press published
Sudan's views,
and asked
other about
them.
When
the Council
meeting ended,
three
Permanent
Representatives
told Inner
City Press
that its write-up
up Sudan's
view had come
up heatedly in
consultations.
It was
announced that
Susan Rice
would come to
the
stakeout. Now
Charbonneau of
Reuters came
downstairs --
but not about
Sudan.
Rice
spoke about
Sudan, then
called on
Inner City
Press, which
asked about
the Sudanese
Ambassador's
earlier
statement as
well as
Southern
Kordofan. Video
here.
Charbonneau
went next -
and asked
about Iran.
(Upstairs, the
door to
Reuters'
office is
plastered with
Iran filings
like trophies.
On the door of
Inner City
Press' shared
office, flyers
of the new
Free UN
Coalition for
Access have
been defaced
by "leaders"
of the UN
Correspondents
Association,
of which
Charbonneau
remains first
vice
president.)
When
Russia's
Churkin came
to the
stakeout, he
spoke only
briefly. Inner
City Press
asked him
about what
Rice said, and
he called it
bizarre and
more,
explaining the
process and
the Council's
dysfunction.
His statement
on this was
entirely in
response to
the question.
Video
here.
Later
on Tuesday
Inner City
Press scanned
and published
the Sudan and
South Sudan
Implementation
Matrix.
But
what happened
later? Reuters
under the
byline of
Michelle
Nichols,
who never came
to the
stakeout but
simply watched
UNTV upstairs,
published a
long and derivative
story "edited"
by Christopher
Wilson about
the Russia and
US
stakeouts,
never
mentioned how
the issue came
up or any of
the
questions.
A
reader might
think that
Reuters did
more on this
than just
watch TV.
But the reader
would be
wrong, as is
increasingly
the case with
Reuters.
Last
week, after Reuters
took and
published
incomplete
spin given
to it
and others
including AFP
by Herve
Ladsous'
Department of
Peacekeeping
Operations,
answer a question
about 126
rapes in
Minova by the
Congolese Army
Ladsous
supports,
Inner City
Press took
issue, in
writing.
Asked
about it at
the stakeout
by another,
non wire
journalists,
Inner City
Press
summarized
what had
happened.
Nichols, who
happened to be
at
the stakeout
that day,
asking some
Western
ambassadors
about their
holidays and
such, cut in
to say that
some
journalists
work behind
the scenes (an
understatement,
in her case.)
Inner
City Press
replied with a
sarcastic
comment about
her story.
AFP's
Tim Witcher
hissed “lies
and
distortions,”
and Inner City
Press
never standing
up from table
and computer
called him a
lapdog, then
continued
speaking with
the also
seated
non-wire
journalist.
After a
time, Nichols
and Witcher
left.
Three
days later
Inner City
Press was
informed that
Nichols and
Witcher
filed
complaint(s)
with UN
Security
about the
“incident.”
One or
two
complaints?
It's not
known: so
far, no copy
has been
provided,
for Inner City
Press'
response.
This
has been a pattern
with Reuters,
both bogus and
stealth
complaints,
inappropriate
attempts to
censor --
Charbonneau
recently told
Inner
City Press, in
front of UN
Media
Accreditation
boss Stephane
Dujarric, “the
fundamental
problem is
your website”
-- and
Reuters
support for
Voice of
America's
request to
Dujarric to
review
the
accreditation
of Inner City
Press, click
here for that.
Charbonneau
has refused to
answer
questions on this,
audio
here.
Meanwhile,
UN official
Dujarric
continues to
refuse to
disclose the
Accreditation
due process
rules, as requested
by even the
New York Civil
Liberties
Union last
year in
response to
another
Reuters-involved
anti Press
push.
Reuters
takes
stories from
watching
others'
questions on
UNTV, then
tries to
abuse its
power to get
other
journalists in
trouble or
thrown out.
This is how
they work.
Watch this
site.