Poynter on the Record

Restrictions on news organizations are not unusual under authoritarian regimes where press freedoms are already curtailed, said Kelly McBride, leader of the ethics department at the Poynter Institute, a journalism school in St. Petersburg, Fla.

"It's unfortunate that the mistakes happen because it gives (those governments) an opportunity to do what they would probably looking to do anyway," she said.

The ban comes at a time of global concern about the Iranian government's nuclear research and bellicose government rhetoric. McBride said that makes the CNN development particularly troubling now.

"One of the concerns is, it's very difficult for people in the United States to get a sense of what's going on," McBride said. "We saw this in the buildup to the war in Iraq as well. It's very difficult to understand what the truth is. As a citizen of the U.S., I would feel more confident getting my news from an independent news organization like CNN rather than getting my information from a state run news organization or from an organization with a role in the international diplomacy."
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