CNN Editors Barred Reporter from Joining the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla

At a Columbia Journalism School panel on press freedom in Gaza, moderator Azmat Khan revealed CNN editors barred one of their reporters from joining the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla. Drop Site’s Sharif Kouddous explained the risks and reasoning behind sending our editor Alex Colston, who has been on board for four weeks and is now 4–5 days from Gaza. Sharif said the real question is why newsrooms wouldn’t send reporters: “Dozens of boats with parliamentarians and mayors on board—it’s newsworthy. If you don’t have a reporter on the boat, that’s a political decision, not a news decision.”