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CNN Live At Daybreak

International News Desk

Aired January 13, 2003 - 05:51   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Well, I'm over at the international desk talking to our senior international editor David Clinch.
And, of course, you have a lot on your plate today, David.

DAVID CLINCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: Yes, Carol, we do.

Good morning.

Not breaking news necessarily today, but, you know, in some ways breaking news is easy for us, because we just do it. But it's a little bit more complicated today. We've got stories like Korea and Iraq going on and we're absolutely determined, for instance, on North Korea to maintain accuracy on the story.

We've got fantastic...

COSTELLO: A lot of rhetoric flying around about that.

CLINCH: We do. Rhetoric on one side and claims and counter claims. We've got these fantastic reports from Mike Chinoy and our other reporters. I am absolutely determined not to mess all of that up with having somebody write or say something that is inaccurate.

Just an example, we've got, for instance, consistently every day on our air, or almost getting to our air, the idea that North Korea has said in public that it has a nuclear weapons program. This is not true. They not only say they have not, they have not. There is nobody on record from North Korea...

COSTELLO: So what did they tell James Kelly?

CLINCH: Well, he says they told him behind closed doors that they had a nuclear weapons program. They say that's a lie. They say it's a fabrication. That's actually another reason why we need to maintain this accuracy, because that's one of the points of contention.

Another thing we have to deal with every day is this idea of balance. On Iraq, for instance, I am absolutely determined and we are absolutely determined on the international side to make sure that balance isn't boring. I mean, for instance, we are determined to get maximum access to the U.S. troops in the Gulf. Whether or not there is military action, we want to be with them, we want to identify them, show them as real people.

Now, that may bring us, in some people's view, too close to the U.S. troops. I think that's rubbish. I think that is an interesting and provocative way to tell that side of the story. It just makes our job that much more difficult to tell the other side of the story, the Iraqi side, the Arab side, the British side, whatever it is, in an equally provocative and interesting way.

COSTELLO: Well, but I think that shapes the story in a better way, too, because you have to realize, as the American people do, that these guys are real people who are putting their lives in danger by going over there.

CLINCH: Absolutely. Right. Are we telling the story in a purely factual way or are we really engaging the audience? And one of the ways to engage, particularly the U.S., but also our international audience, is to make sure they understand the people who are out there are real people. And we intend to find those real people -- we have already done so -- and follow them through this regardless of whether or not there is conflict.

But, again, balancing by finding equally interesting ways to tell the other side.

COSTELLO: Well, and the question is is how much access are you allowed to have in getting close to American troops.

CLINCH: Well, exactly. And another example of how that can come back in some ways to hunt us, it's our goal to be balanced. But, for instance, in Venezuela, we've been there for weeks on that story. Nobody else in the U.S. has really been on that story in the way we have, telling both sides of the story. Well, we have apparently done our job so well that now both sides in Venezuela hate us so much that they're targeting...

COSTELLO: (LAUGHTER)

CLINCH: Well, it's not funny, unfortunately. Our reporters are being targeted by crowds from both sides and we've now had to pull back from Caracas. It's too dangerous for us to be there because we're on the story telling it in a way that's balanced but nobody likes us.

COSTELLO: I only laugh because when you say that, that's the old axiom of news...

CLINCH: No, I understand that.

COSTELLO: ... if both sides hate us, we are doing our job.

CLINCH: Absolutely. In some ways, that's just the way it is. If we're doing it well, both of them hate us.

COSTELLO: David Clinch, thanks.

CLINCH: All right.

COSTELLO: We'll let you get back to work.

CLINCH: OK.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired January 13, 2003 - 05:51   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Well, I'm over at the international desk talking to our senior international editor David Clinch.
And, of course, you have a lot on your plate today, David.

DAVID CLINCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: Yes, Carol, we do.

Good morning.

Not breaking news necessarily today, but, you know, in some ways breaking news is easy for us, because we just do it. But it's a little bit more complicated today. We've got stories like Korea and Iraq going on and we're absolutely determined, for instance, on North Korea to maintain accuracy on the story.

We've got fantastic...

COSTELLO: A lot of rhetoric flying around about that.

CLINCH: We do. Rhetoric on one side and claims and counter claims. We've got these fantastic reports from Mike Chinoy and our other reporters. I am absolutely determined not to mess all of that up with having somebody write or say something that is inaccurate.

Just an example, we've got, for instance, consistently every day on our air, or almost getting to our air, the idea that North Korea has said in public that it has a nuclear weapons program. This is not true. They not only say they have not, they have not. There is nobody on record from North Korea...

COSTELLO: So what did they tell James Kelly?

CLINCH: Well, he says they told him behind closed doors that they had a nuclear weapons program. They say that's a lie. They say it's a fabrication. That's actually another reason why we need to maintain this accuracy, because that's one of the points of contention.

Another thing we have to deal with every day is this idea of balance. On Iraq, for instance, I am absolutely determined and we are absolutely determined on the international side to make sure that balance isn't boring. I mean, for instance, we are determined to get maximum access to the U.S. troops in the Gulf. Whether or not there is military action, we want to be with them, we want to identify them, show them as real people.

Now, that may bring us, in some people's view, too close to the U.S. troops. I think that's rubbish. I think that is an interesting and provocative way to tell that side of the story. It just makes our job that much more difficult to tell the other side of the story, the Iraqi side, the Arab side, the British side, whatever it is, in an equally provocative and interesting way.

COSTELLO: Well, but I think that shapes the story in a better way, too, because you have to realize, as the American people do, that these guys are real people who are putting their lives in danger by going over there.

CLINCH: Absolutely. Right. Are we telling the story in a purely factual way or are we really engaging the audience? And one of the ways to engage, particularly the U.S., but also our international audience, is to make sure they understand the people who are out there are real people. And we intend to find those real people -- we have already done so -- and follow them through this regardless of whether or not there is conflict.

But, again, balancing by finding equally interesting ways to tell the other side.

COSTELLO: Well, and the question is is how much access are you allowed to have in getting close to American troops.

CLINCH: Well, exactly. And another example of how that can come back in some ways to hunt us, it's our goal to be balanced. But, for instance, in Venezuela, we've been there for weeks on that story. Nobody else in the U.S. has really been on that story in the way we have, telling both sides of the story. Well, we have apparently done our job so well that now both sides in Venezuela hate us so much that they're targeting...

COSTELLO: (LAUGHTER)

CLINCH: Well, it's not funny, unfortunately. Our reporters are being targeted by crowds from both sides and we've now had to pull back from Caracas. It's too dangerous for us to be there because we're on the story telling it in a way that's balanced but nobody likes us.

COSTELLO: I only laugh because when you say that, that's the old axiom of news...

CLINCH: No, I understand that.

COSTELLO: ... if both sides hate us, we are doing our job.

CLINCH: Absolutely. In some ways, that's just the way it is. If we're doing it well, both of them hate us.

COSTELLO: David Clinch, thanks.

CLINCH: All right.

COSTELLO: We'll let you get back to work.

CLINCH: OK.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com