April Oliver's Ten Tips For A Journalist's Survival:

1. If you have a controversial story, prior to broadcast or publication, make sure your management up to the top knows all your concerns in writing. Fortunately, we do have a fat wad of such memos and even a briefing book — so that CNN management cannot hide behind the fiction that they didn't know it was so controversial, or who and what our sourcing was.

2. If you ever hear the word "investigation" in the air about your work — hire a lawyer fast. I say that with sincere regret because I don't like the thought of anyone spending piles of money on lawyers. We should have never met with Kohler and Abrams without a lawyer present to protect our interests. [CNN Vice President Pam Hill ordered April Oliver and Jack Smith to meet with Floyd Abrams and David Kohler. Oliver was told that Abrams was going to give Smith and her advice about First Amendment and confidential source issues. Later in the week, Oliver was told that Floyd was no longer advising her, but investigating her as CNN's legal counsel.]

3. Never, ever, ever accept a gag rule. During the course of the investigation, we were bound and gagged, and told not to comment on the story. [CNN wanted to control the story's spin. While CNN's management publicly questioned Oliver's competence as a journalist, she was ordered to remain silent.] During this period of time, many untruths — such as the fiction of repressed memory — circulated in the press [Newsweek's Evan Thomas was the principal writer on "What's the Truth about Tailwind?" a June 22, 1998, article that questioned the veracity of Oliver's CNN report. In a skeptical tone, Thomas wrote that an important source of the CNN story, Lt. Robert Van Buskirk, had "told Newsweek that he had repressed the memory" of killing a Caucasian soldier at a North Vietnamese base until twenty-four years later when he suddenly remembered it during his interview with Oliver. Almost a year later, on June 27, 1999, the Charlotte Observer reported Van Buskirk saying that the "repressed memory" part of the Newsweek article was "the biggest hogwash I ever heard of." Thomas's response: "Thomas says he didn't misquote Van Buskirk, although he added that Van Buskirk could have misunderstood the question when asked if he had repressed the memory of the incident."]. We had to respond to those with silence. The problem with such reporting is that with today's twenty-four-hour news cycle, you have to respond instantly, otherwise the mistruths are accepted as fact. I should have been leaking all over town and handing out transcripts — playing the Washington game.

4. If your boss requests that you assist the subject of your reporting with its internal investigation, don't. Tom Johnson [now retired from CNN, Johnson was at the time, chairman and chief executive officer of CNN News Group] marched me and my coproducers over to the Pentagon to assist the Pentagon with its investigation of Tailwind. This unprecedented cooperation with the military foreshadowed CNN's subsequent capitulation. We should never have abided by this incredible request.

5. When controversy over a story develops, demand to be notified immediately if you and your story are under investigation.

6. Insist that any investigation be carried out by people from the world of journalism. This is not work for lawyers in the pay of corporate managers.

7. Don't resign, no matter what the pressures. I was told by Tom Johnson I could resign with dignity and admit a terrible mistake or be terminated. I demanded to be fired. I remain proud of this story and consider it my best work to date. Over time, I do believe we will be vindicated, and CNN will be proven to have caved to pressure.

8. The word "lawsuit" isn't necessarily a dirty word. When I first received a notice that I was being sued by retired General John Singlaub, I was a little panicked. Over time, and considering my options, I came to welcome the process, realizing that maybe now I had a forum. After being written off by most of the media, maybe now I had a vehicle for proving the truth. Let's subpoena Henry Kissinger and Richard Helms and find out what they have to say under oath, instead of in the back channels of CNN's executive suite.
9. If lawsuits develop, make sure that your journalism company pays your legal bills. Don't let them pick your lawyer. Demand to see their libel insurance policy. You are entitled to legal representation, and it should not be dictated by an employer who fired you.

10. Lastly, but most importantly, get a life — sooner as opposed to later. Amidst the maelstrom and the headlines, my nine-pound, three-ounce son was born. He's got all his fingers and toes, to the profound relief of CNN's legal team. His daily smiles are a constant reminder of what is meaningful in life. Family and friends have far more shelf life than any piece of tape. They will still be there to support you in the long run and are far more rewarding than any journalism prize.

AS THE MEDIA WATCH THE WORLD, WE WATCH THE MEDIA.

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