CNN APOLOGIZES TO TURKISH-AMERICANS: ATAA GRASSROOTS CAMPAIGN PRAISED

Upon receiving thousands of emails and letters, CNN International realized how serious its mistake was and apologized for showing the fictitious map on Campbell Brown's program on 20 August 2009 where large swaths of Turkey and her neighbors were labeled "Kurdistan".

THERE IS NO STATE OF KURDISTAN

CNN responded by letter and calls to ATAA President Gunay Evinch, correcting CNN's mistaken reference. CNN wrote:

"To:president@ataa.org
Subject: CNN correction

Dear Mr. Gunay Evinch,

We wanted to make sure you had the correction and apology CNN issued last night (8.27.09) on air during Campbell Brown's show. It is below:

"We'd like to correct an error in one of our graphics used in last Friday's show. A map showed an area labeled 'Kurdistan.' It wrongly suggested there was a country of that name covering parts of Iraq, Iran and Turkey. While large numbers of Kurds live in all three countries, there is no state of Kurdistan. Our apologies for the mistake."

Thank you,
Bridget Leininger
CNN Public Relations"

A member of the CNN editorial staff commented that the ATAA Media Watch and Response Committee (MWRC) impressed with its grassroots campaign, and thanked the ATAA for the correction. The ATAA MWRC, co-chaired by President-Elect Ergun Kirlikovali, in close cooperation with TurkishNY.com was able to reach many Turkish Americans and mobilize massive support for the campaign. ATAA thanks all who participated in this MWRC task force.