The Tailwind Operation scandal was an ethical journalistic breach that caused embarrassment and damage to the journalists behind the inaccurate story from CNN and Time Magazine. Operation Tailwind, a covert operation led by the United States military in Laos during the Vietnam War, was brought to light 30 years later in a joint-story by sister companies CNN and Time Magazine in a story titled, “The Valley of Death.” In the report published in June 1998, CNN and Time Magazine both claimed that the United States’ military actions that took place nearly thirty years before consisted of war crimes including the usage of Sarin nerve gas on populations. Later, these claims were found to be false, prompting parent company Time Warner to reprimand its staff and brace the impact of a journalism scandal. The Tailwind reporting scandal demonstrates how journalism ethics were blatantly broken and had serious consequences for all parties involved in the report.
The breach of ethics in the Tailwind scandal demonstrates the incompetence of CNN and Time Magazine in their reporting and failure to follow professional journalism standards and to have common sense. The actions of the reporters behind the Valley of Death piece deliberately counter many of the core points made in the Society of Professional Journalists’ ethical code. The CNN and Time Magazine reporters responsible for the Valley of Death story failed to follow the Society of Professional Journalists’ first point under Seek Truth and Report It, which states, “Journalists should be honest, fair and courageous in gathering, reporting and interpreting information.” The Valley of Death piece broke many standards of fair journalism, but its main fault was that the information reported was not properly verified and confirmed. By brining up a thirty year old conflict back into the national spotlight with controversial governmental actions, CNN and Time Magazine should have made sure their reports were verified rather than going ahead making a public accusation, kicking up old dirt based on false premises. The backlash that CNN and Time Magazine faced for their inadequate journalistic reporting also had great consequences for the sister companies and the people involved in the scandal. As many of the individual reporters involved with the report resigned in disgrace or were forced out in shame, the companies struggled to keep their tarnished image steady for viewers and investors alike in the public eye.
The Tailwind operation scandal with the Valley of Death story would be handled both similarly and differently in today’s world. Although the amount of time between the outbreak of the scandal in the late 1990’s and the present day is brief, the how the scandal would be covered difference in a post-9/11 world would be important to consider. In today’s world, the United States military is focused on the War on Terror and it is doubtful that a major story about the Vietnam War would still be as relevant as time passes. The priorities of the world are different in the early 21st century, and it is likely that any reporting on past events would occur to compare it to American military actions today. Also, the impact of the scandal itself would be amplified through the Internet and social media. The digital age does change the barriers and rules of many aspects of journalism, many of which are being redefined and altered every single day. However, the basic integral standards of journalism would still apply and a breach in journalistic integrity by CNN and Time Magazine would blow up in today’s connected world.
The misreporting by CNN and Time and the resulting scandal emphasizes the importance of integrity of journalism ethics, especially in today’s increasingly digitally connected world.
(Image via: http://www.redflagnews.com/headlines/cnn-us-right-wing-extremists-more-deadly-than-muslim-terrorists)
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