60 Minutes issues on-air correction

Media Alert Update:
On Sunday May 20th, Andy Rooney of "60 Minutes" issued an on-air correction and apology for his April 15th statement that "Turkish artists in Byzantium portrayed Christ's likeness in ceramic tile" after having received more than 650 e-mails according to Mr. Rooney's staff. For more information on the American Hellenic Media Project's (AHMP) letter-writing initiative to "60 Minutes", surf to http://www.ahmp.org/60min.html

AHMP wishes to thank all those who participated in this successful letter writing effort. However imperfect, Mr. Rooney's retraction before millions of viewers demonstrates the enormous difference individuals and organizations can make in rehabilitating our press and media and in fighting misinformation.

Please find below:

(1) A partial transcript excerpt of Andy Rooney's on-air retraction and apology;

(2) A letter from AHMP's Executive Director to Mr. Rooney regarding the apology; and

(3) The full transcript excerpt of the apology segment.

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(1)

SHOW: 60 Minutes

DATE: May 20, 2001

. . . . .

ED BRADLEY, co-host:
What did Andy Rooney do on Easter Sunday that got people so angry?

ANDY ROONEY:
At Easter, I did an essay on how artists have portrayed Jesus Christ over the years.

(Footage of Christ's likeness in tile)

ROONEY: (Voiceover) I said Turkish artists in Byzantium portrayed Christ's likeness in ceramic tile.

Greeks were furious and demanded an apology. They say the Turks were not in Byzantium and would not have pictured Christ anyway because they were Muslims. Well, apparently I was wrong and I'm sorry. It makes you feel bad when people are mad at you. And for solace, I spoke to the other 60 MINUTES correspondents.

Have you ever have a lot of people mad at you, Ed?

ED BRADLEY (Co-host): For me, Andy, it was the--the Turkish-Americans.

(Footage of Bradley; Ocalan)

BRADLEY: (Voiceover) And they were upset because of a story we did on Abdullah Ocalan.

Turkish-Americans were upset because we allowed him to answer questions, and they considered him to be a terrorist. We got hundreds and hundreds of letters and e-mails. The interesting thing about it is that 90 percent of them were exactly the same, just signed by a different person.

. . . . .

ROONEY: To err is human, to forgive divine. Come on, you Greeks, be divine. Forgive me.

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(2)

Via fax & e-mail

May 23, 2001

Dear Mr. Rooney,

We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your May 20th retraction and apology, and to also thank you and your staff for being so accessible and receptive to our concerns regarding this issue.

Please note however that many viewers were justifiably saddened by the delivery of your apology.

While the segment was interesting and creative, no time was invested at all in clarifying the factual or historical issues underlying the error. Moreover, your choice of words in singling out "furious Greeks", as well as your dedication of the rest of the segment to instances where your colleagues received angry mail, trivialized our legitimate concerns regarding your error, contributed to negative ethnic stereotyping, and improperly transformed a question of journalistic accuracy and integrity into an ethnic issue.

We were carbon copied on the lion's share of the e-mails "60 Minutes" received, and what was most impressive was the sober, cordial and usually complimentary tone of the vast majority of these letters. Regrettably, the mischaracterization of the tenor of these letters as "furious", coupled with the inappropriate wording of your apology, however well intentioned, detracted from the genuineness of your apology and ultimately from the credibility of your program.

Thanking you again for your efforts and consideration regarding this matter.

Cordially yours,

P. D. Spyropoulos, Esq.
Executive Director

American Hellenic Media Project
PO Box 1150
New York, NY 10028-0008
ahmp@hri.org
www.ahmp.org

cc: Don Hewitt
Ed Bradley
Lesley Stahl
Morley Safer
Steve Kroft
Ed Wallace

========================

(3)

SHOW: 60 Minutes

DATE: May 20, 2001

. . . . .

ED BRADLEY, co-host:
What did Andy Rooney do on Easter Sunday that got people so angry?

ANDY ROONEY:
At Easter, I did an essay on how artists have portrayed Jesus Christ over the years.

(Footage of Christ's likeness in tile)

ROONEY: (Voiceover) I said Turkish artists in Byzantium portrayed Christ's likeness in ceramic tile.

Have you ever have a lot of people mad at you, Ed?

ED BRADLEY (Co-host): For me, Andy, it was the--the Turkish-Americans.

(Footage of Bradley; Ocalan)

BRADLEY: (Voiceover) And they were upset because of a story we did on Abdullah Ocalan.

LESLEY STAHL (Co-host): Dennis DeConcini. He was--I--the one that was the worst. He was a Senator, Arizona. I did a story on congressional pensions. And I asked him, `What about your congressional pension?' And he just blew up.

Senator DENNIS DECONCINI: (From previous broadcast) Well, look, lady, you're once again trying to destroy and run down Congress, and you shouldn't do that. You're a grown woman and you ought to have something better to do. Thank you.

STAHL: He was just livid and he said, `Besides, your pension's probably bigger than mine,' and then he just picked up and stormed off.

ROONEY: Do viewers get mad at you?

MORLEY SAFER (Co-host): Often.

(Footage of Safer on previous broadcast)

SAFER: (Voiceover) They got angriest when I did a story called `Yes, but is it art?'

Because we ne--you can questions people's sex lives, you can question their religion, you can question their politics certainly, and they'll deal with you in a very fair-minded way. When you question their are--art, their taste, you go to the very soul of their being. And because I didn't like some of that contemporary art, they accused me of being in bed with Jesse Helms, of being a Philistine of Philistines.

(Footage of Kroft from previous broadcast)

STEVE KROFT (Co-host): (Voiceover) I did a story on the overpopulation of eastern Long Island with white-tailed deer, and the story suggested that maybe some of these deer would have to be shot.

Well, I got hundreds of letters suggesting that maybe I ought to be shot or even worse something done to my manhood. I mean, the animal lovers are really scary people.

(Footage of Kroft interviewing Clintons)

KROFT: (Voiceover) Other than that, after the Super Bowl interview with Bill and Hillary Clinton discussing Gennifer Flowers, the--the interview upset Mrs. Clinton so much that she took Don Hewitt and Mike Wallace off the White House invitation list.

And I think they've always blamed me.

ROONEY: Have you ever had anybody mad at you?

ED WALLACE (Co-host): The fact is the pieces that I do are so bland that nobody really ever gets mad at me.

(Excerpts from previous broadcasts)

Unidentified Man: How many more times must I answer?

(Footage of unidentified man)

WALLACE: A lunatic...

Well, then, can we talk in private?

Unidentified Woman: No...

Unidentified Man #1: Because you're contemptible.

Unidentified Man #2: Be careful, because I'm going to call my lawyer right now.

Mrs. NANCY REAGAN: You really didn't need that question.

DON HEWITT: You can't say they shouldn't be. But unless we do that...

ROONEY: To err is human, to forgive divine. Come on, you Greeks, be divine. Forgive me.

(Announcements)

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