CNN coverage of attack on Gaza aid flotilla

A reader writes:

Thanks for your nice post on CNN reporting on Wikileaks apache video.

Maybe you could cover the CNN reporting on the Gaza aid ship incident in international waters. No matter whether people agree with Israels actions, CNN has to at least make the information about the incident available to the public, but imho deserves an award for burying the news!

The incident was top news all over the world except the CNN US website. With my UK IP address I was directed to the international version of the site where the incident was the main story. But reading the comments I was wondering why several commentators complained about having problems to find the article....

I know, news is a business, but still... they are journalists and have a duty to the people to provide information. The press is an important part of every democracy for god's sake!!  

Courtesy of the reader, you can compare the two CNN homepages -- US at 04:46 EST (08:46 GMT) and the international at 08:59 GMT -- by clicking here.

I had noticed the same thing about the CNN page around the same time, but was distracted by a new feature on the CNN's website called "friend's activity."  CNN has teamed up with Facebook to monitor the news you and your friends are reading on the Internet. Only because a number of Jotman's Facebook friends had been viewing articles related to the Gaza story, did this story's headline appear on Jotman's CNN news page.   (If you want to disable the spyware, CNN directs you to a Facebook "modifications" page that is an incomprehensible labyrinth.)

The feature appears to have provided CNN with the means satisfy the curiosity of readers with a particular interest, while holding the same story back from wider a US audience.  At any rate, I think this observation  illustrates where social-network-determined news could be headed.