CNN out of Iran - Will their coverage improve?

CNN is reporting that their network has been banned from working in Iran. The Ahmadinejad regime is retaliating over an error in translation. The interpreter on the original CNN broadcast originally said that the Iranian president claimed to have a right to nuclear weapons, while the Iranians say he only claimed a right to nuclear energy. CNN has issued a correction and apology, but this was apparently not good enough.

My reaction to seeing this story is to wonder what new information about the Iranian regime CNN might now admit to having. Back in 2003, after American soldiers had removed Hussein from power in Iraq, CNN's Eason Jordan admitted to concealing much of the atrocities committed by Saddam's regime. (The original NYT OpEd is a pay link, but Free Republic has it posted here.) Jordan claimed that it was necessary to hide things in order to maintain access to Iraq and to protect their employees and contacts. It's easy to imagine that the mad mullahs in Tehran have committed attrocities. Based on their record it's also easy to imagine that the folks at CNN would put preserving access to Iran above truth in reporting.

Of course, I fully expect that CNN will regain access to the country after suitable ritual abasement.