Fifth Column Alert: CNN ‘Senior Editor for Middle Eastern Affairs’ Out After Indiscreet Tweet Praising Ayatollah Fadlallah

Bet CNN’s Octavia Nasr, the network’s “senior editor for Middle Eastern affairs,” wishes she’d never sent this Tweet:

Sad to hear of the passing of Sayyed Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah… One of Hezbollah’s giants I respect a lot.

Yes, you read that right: an American “journalist” expressing admiration for a leader of a terrorist organization.

Even for CNN, that was too much. She’s just been fired. From Mediaite:

In the latest case of new media (or oversharing) gone wrong, CNN’s Senior Editor of Mideast Affairs Octavia Nasr is leaving the company following the controversy caused by her tweet in praise of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah

Mediaite has the internal memo, which says “we believe that her credibility in her position as senior editor for Middle Eastern affairs has been compromised.”

As if further proof were needed that a sizable segment of the Fourth Estate is now effectively the Fifth Column, this one is right up there. Apparently it’s no longer enough that reporters and correspondents pretend to be neutral, even about the good guys — now, they’re not only not neutral, they publicly express their admiration for sheer, malevolent evil — a man who, according to the obits, was “known for his staunch anti-American stance.”

Good Lord, is this what American journalism has come to? (more…)