BITS AND PIECES: Tailwind Once More
By Reese Schoenfeld

Tailwind (Valley of Death) is three years old today and CNN is still trying to drive a stake through its (CNN’s) folly.

Anybody who reads this knows what Tailwind is and recognizes how shamefully CNN acted.

So, it should surprise no one that CNN coughed up dollars and dollars more to settle its accounts with Jack Smith, one of the producers of the programs, who was dismissed when CNN management tried to distance itself from the story and blame the guys whose reporting they had approved. In an act of journalistic cowardice, CNN management repudiated the story and bowed to Pentagon commands for formal apologies with Ted Turner himself making at least one apologetic phone call.

So, today, Jack Smith is financially a lot better off than he was last and maybe some people will once again recognize him as the credible, competent professional that he is.

The settlement with Jack occurs a year and a few days after CNN settled with April Oliver, the other reporter/producer on the story.

Neither she nor Jack are permitted to reveal the amount received in settlement but it seems that, at least in April’s case, the settlement in the millions of dollars. (Editor's note: The New York Post reported Smith's settlement as about $2 million)

April’s settlement was barely reported. An AP story a couple of paragraphs long ran in a few papers on Saturday morning the first week of June. Saturday papers are notoriously the least read of the week. Jack’s settlement comes on a Thursday so maybe it will get a little more attention.

Why did CNN settle now?

The best reason we’ve heard is that since CNN is still facing lawsuits from Vietnamese veterans in California who claim the Tailwind story is false, it is concerned about Jack’s testimony at future trials.

Tailwind is a story they still can’t kill with a stick.

Reese Schoenfeld, who started CNN with Ted Turner, is the author of Me And Ted Against The World: The Unauthorized Story Of The Founding Of CNN