When the US and EU announced that there was a massive Russian military buildup, CNN's response was to send a Camera Crew to the Ukrainian border, to see if they couldn't find some tanks to snap photos of. They even found someone with a Hang-Glider, and had him carry a camera through the air for them. After, predictably, finding absolutely nothing, they concluded:
Well, the United States, NATO, the West, they insist that there are tens of thousands of Russian Soldiers somewhere in this region. Russia denies it is assembling any sort of invasion force around here, but if they are here, they are keeping a very low profile. Phil Black, CNN, on the Russian-Ukrainian Border.
The Russian Ukrainian border is 1400 miles long. If you draw a straight line, that's roughly the distance from Miami, Florida to Washington DC. We're talking about a lot of geography here. Now, normally, CNN anchors can't find their own behinds with both hands and a map. I'm not sure how CNN expected one of their anchors to find Russian tanks by just driving randomly along a 1400 mile border.
But, being the geniuses they are, CNN threw up its hands, saying "Nope! No tanks! Couldn't find 'em! If they're there, they're hiding!"
Here's the full CNN spot:
Meanwhile, the BBC decided that sending someone to wander aimlessly through the Steppes was a terrible idea, and posted satellite photos instead, showing pretty much what we would expect to see:
What I want to know is: who over at CNN thought segment was a good idea?
We know where the old Soviet bases are, even abandoned ones which might be reactivated, like the Airbase in Buturlinovka. We know where to look for Russian troops. So that being the case, why did CNN think it was a good idea to waste someone's time wandering along the border, a good distance away from any actual Russian military bases? I mean, if you really wanted those sensationalist videos of lines of Russian Tanks, why didn't you go to where everyone else in the world thinks the tanks are?
This is some of the least competent reporting I've ever seen. A hang glider?! You wanted to find Russian tanks with a Hang Glider?! Really?!
American News Media is in trouble folks. CNN has become so incompetent they can't even pull off sensationalist imagery consistently anymore.
3:24 PM PT: So CNN isn't the only group with reporters in the area. A reporter from the Telegraph is wandering the steppes as well. At least he has the integrity to tweet this: