Henry Comes to Defense of CNN's Erickson Choice

Feathers are getting ruffled over the new choice of RedState.com's editor Erick Erikson as a new contributor to CNN. Erikson is scheduled to contribute to John King's new evening program, "John King, USA." Last night White House correspondent Ed Henry went to bat for his network, defending its choice in a variety of heated exchanges over Twitter. Henry didn't defend Erickson necessarily -- but he defended the network's choice of bringing in a commentator with conservative views. A sampling of Henry's tweets: "For those Tweeting CNN shouldn't have hired @ewerickson as a contributor, seriously do you think a network should NOT have diverse voices?" "I mean, you may not agree with Erick Erickson; other viewers don't agree with Carville, Begala. isn't that what a conversation is all about?" "I'm just using Carville and Begala as examples of our lefty contributors. I'm sorry you do not believe in diversity." "Of course journalism is about facts, but smart analysis and reasonable debate should be part of the conversation too." A warning about Erikson: "We strive to be tasteful in our coverage every single day; and i respectfully submit if Erickson is not tasteful it will backfire." "If ANYone spews bigotry on CNN i will be first to call it for what it is. that goes for Erick or anyone else at our network." "Here here, I want civility too. that is what CNN is all about. If Erick does not fit into that, you can bet it will be called out." Henry's own reporting philosophy: "I am not responsible for the commentary of Erickson or Carville. i know i'm tasteful in my coverage and expect colleagues to be too." "Also keep in mind, I do not personally choose our contributors on left or right. above my pay grade." Funniest tweets: "I'm sorry, now you think i'm a member of Tea Party? come on, stick to facts." "I'm not defending the 'goat' quote you speak of. i'll let Erick explain his comments. what i am saying is CNN listens to all sides." As reported by the Washington Examiner, Erickson had this to say over all the controversy about him moving to CNN: "[It was] what I expected: everyone on the left is appalled and everybody on the right seems very happy," the conservative blogger said. CNN Spokeswoman Edie Emery told FishbowlDC: "Erick is one of the many voices that you'll hear on CNN. We believe viewers are smart enough to appreciate hearing all points of view."

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Henry Comes to Defense of CNN's Erickson Choice

Betsy Rothstein

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Betsy Rothstein