This video has been making the rounds showing CNN correspondent Charles Jaco goofing off in a television studio and supposedly reporting live on a SCUD attack in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia on January 20th, 1991.
It seems clear that CNN did broadcast that footage. It’s described in an LA Times article from 1991 and in the 1992 book Hotel Warriors.
But something about it looks incredibly fake (the part at the 7 minute mark where him and his colleague don gas masks and helmets in response to an odor of gas seems particularly cringe worthy).
Am I falling victim to confirmation bias? The outside of the International Hotel in Dhahran does look like the background of the shot and Charles Jaco does appear wearing the same clothes around 3:15 into this clip. But there’s still something about it that appears very fake.
People in real emergency situations look “fake” compared to overly dramatic hollywood representations performed by trained actors, yes. Without the lighting, special effects, and orchestral score, a lot of things look pretty plain and silly, but are still very, very real.
I vaguely remember seeing a CNN report from what seemed like a 3rd story hotel room someplace in Israel (?). The window was open, and the cameraman was leaning out to show emergency vehicles speeding around the deserted streets. They somehow got a telephone interview with Benjamin Netanyahu, then a military guy, who scolded them for keeping the window open and not wearing gas masks.
The CNN guys complied, and further reports from inside gas masks were rather awkward.
In these cases there’s immediate shock and surprise by the reporter, cameraman, studio presenters, etc. Everything becomes jittery, people hit the deck. The studio will probably cut away as to not show one of there reporters dying on camera.
Here they mostly seem to be reacting to Charles Jaco who doesn’t even leave the unmoving camera frame. As though they knew there was no external threat.
Which part is supposed to be fake? Is it at 2:01 in the first clip, when Jaco’s shirt suddenly changes from yellow to blue; 35 seconds later when it changes back to yellow; or the other clip where it becomes green (with his microphone changing position each time)?
Is it the cut to the studio shot with Jaco again wearing the blue shirt – only this time under a crewneck sweater instead of a windbreaker?
Do news operations sometimes continue to tape as long as the satellie feed is up? Yes. Do reporters sometimes rehearse their report before they go live? Yes. Did they sometimes change shirts? Yes. Were some reporters issued gas masks during Gulf War I? Yes.
So someone got hold of some CNN outtakes and put them together to prove… what exactly?
