From Baghdad, CBS News Chief Foreign Correspondent Laran Logan sent a mass e-mail headed "help" to friends and colleagues appealing for their intervention after the executive producer of the "CBS Evening News with Katie Couric" chose not to broadcast a Logan report entitled "The Battle for Haifa Street." In the e-mail, Logan calls the story "not too gruesome to air, but rather too important to ignore." A CBS spokeswoman Sandy Genelius provided this statement: "The Executive Producer of the Evening News thought some of the images in it were a bit strong plus on that day the program was already packed with other Iraq news."

While CBS News felt the report was inappropriate for a nationwide TV audience, the report was posted on the CBS News Web site. Click here to see the report.

Here is Lara Logan's e-mail appeal:

From: lara logan
Subject: help

The story below only appeared on our CBS website and was not aired on CBS. It is a story that is largely being ignored, even though this istakingplace verysingle day in central Baghdad, two blocks from where our office is located.

Our crew had to be pulled out because we got a call saying they were about to be killed, and on their way out, a civilian man was shot dead in front of them as they ran.

I would be very grateful if any of you have a chance to watch this story and pass the link on to as many people you know as possible. It should be seen. And people should know about this.

If anyone has time to send a comment to CBS – about the story – not about my request, then that would help highlight that people are interested and this is not too gruesome to air, but rather too important to ignore.

Many, many thanks.

For further details, see this report at mediachannel.org.

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