Of nightmares and glory: CNN's communist plot. (Cable News Network's coverage of failed coup d'etat in the Soviet Union)

Multichannel News, September, 1991 by Stilson, Janet

Some moments during Cable News Network's coverage of the failed Soviet coup are etched in the memory of the network's president. Dogged by an ABC News announcement that it would air the first live exclusive interviews with President Mikhail Gorbachev and Boris Yeltsin on Sept. 2, CNN pulled out all the stops to beat its competitor to the punch.

Live news scoops had become CNN's hallmark, particularly after its Gulf war coverage, and with previous word from some Soviet officials that they were guaranteed the first top interviews, CNN wasn't about to let this one get away. "I dropped everything that Friday (Aug. 30) and packed a bag for Moscow in maybe 30 minutes," says CNN president Tom Johnson. "I thought I'd be here for maybe three or four days, and...

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