CNN: VA Putting Media on a Waitlist

On his Thursday show, CNN’s Anderson Cooper highlighted the resistance that Special Investigations Reporter Drew Griffin encountered from the Department of Veterans Affairs in his quest to interview VA Secretary Eric Shinseki.  Cooper reported that Shinseki had been dodging CNN “for six months now,” and that being rebuffed by the VA “became the norm on Drew’s story,” as “he has repeatedly asked to get interviews with Secretary Shinseki and tried to no avail.”

Griffin had even showing up at the VA office to try and interview the secretary.

Later, Griffin reported that the Director of the Phoenix VA, Sharon Helman “ducked us for weeks,” until a CNN crew attempted to grab her as she was leaving her office.  Security at the VA office ordered the crew off the property, but the incident did seem to spur Helman to sit down with CNN, as she did an interview with the network a few days later.

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