Wierd Web Workings at CNN

Down the Memory Hole

This is very interesting. A couple years ago, during the Katrina disaster, I linked to a CNN report and quoted it:

Overnight, police snipers were stationed on the roof of their precinct, trying to protect it from gunmen roaming through the city, CNN's Chris Lawrence reported.

One New Orleans police sergeant compared the situation to Somalia and said officers were outnumbered and outgunned by gangs in trucks.

"It's a war zone, and they're not treating it like one," he said, referring to the federal government. ...

One of my readers ran into that posting of mine--and noticed that the CNN report at that link no longer said anything like that.

Weird. Some of it is still in the previous day's story ... Relief workers confront 'urban warfare'

Police snipers were stationed on the roof of their precinct, trying to protect it from armed miscreants roaming seemingly at will....

CNN's Chris Lawrence and Ed Lavandera contributed to this report.

What's missing is the anonymous "New Orleans police sergeant" comparison to Somalia and quote. Hmmmmmm ....

UPDATE: Perhaps because it originated at the London Times?

One New Orleans police officer wept as he described seeing bodies riddled with bullets, and the top of one man’s head shot off. He said some looters were armed with AK47 rifles, and compared the situation with Somalia, with police outnumbered and outgunned by gangs in trucks. “It’s a war-zone, and they’re not treating it like one,” he said, referring to the federal Government.

But that story is dated September 3, 2005. The date in the URL of CNN's story that Cramer claims has changed is September 2, 2005 (http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/09/02/katrina.impact/index.html). Did the London Times get it from CNN? If so, why no attribution?

Curiouser and curiouser ...

UPDATE: CNN host Kyra Phillips got the word on September 2:

You know, the situation is desperate, emergency extreme. Mission Critical is what this is being called. Four days after Katrina, three days after New Orleans was swallowed by Lake Pontchartrain, one New Orleans police sergeant is comparing his city to Somalia.

So did CNN correspondent Deborah Feyerick as late as September 5:

One police officer, a sergeant, told us that it was like Somalia. He saw gangs running around in trucks with rifles and AK-47s. There was a total state of chaos.

The first district precinct station house totally under fire. They put up a sign that said, you know, "Fort Apache," the Bronx, referring to the movie there. A mall burned down. There was a station inside that.

The police officers were targets. We heard reports that there were snipers firing at some of the officers. And here these guys are, they`re trying to save people, and they are coming under attack.

Maybe the New Orleans police sergeant isn't so anonymous, Fort Apache:

"It was just like Somalia," Sgt. Danny Scanlan says. "We were taking gunfire every night."

h/t: Insty