Thursday's CBS Evening News was the sole Big Three network morning and evening newscast to report on the death of Ken Taylor, the former Canadian ambassador to Iran who helped six Americans escape during the 1979 hostage crisis in Tehran. As of Friday morning, ABC's Good Morning America and World News Tonight, along with NBC's Today and NBC Nightly News, have yet to cover Taylor's death.
Anchor Scott Pelley gave a 23-second news brief on the Canadian diplomat [video below]:
SCOTT PELLEY: Ken Taylor, the former Canadian ambassador to Iran, has died. If you saw the Oscar-winning film, Argo, you know his story. During the hostage crisis in 1979, Taylor sheltered six Americans, and helped them escape with fake passports. For that, he was awarded the U.S. Congressional Gold Medal. Ken Taylor was 81.
The following morning, Friday's CBS This Morning didn't cover Taylor's death. However, later in the day, fill-in host Jim Sciutto aired a 38-second news brief on CNN's Wolf program:
JIM SCIUTTO: The Canadian ambassador who helped rescue six Americans during the Iranian hostage crisis has died. Ken Taylor played a key role in what became known as the 'Canadian Caper.' More than 50 Americans were taken hostage at the U.S. embassy in Iran in 1979. It was Taylor who helped hide six Americans, who then eluded capture. They were able to get out of Iran using Canadian passports. The real-life drama was the basis for the 2012 hit movie, Argo, starring Ben Affleck. Taylor's actions earned praise from both the U.S. and the Canadian governments. Ambassador Ken Taylor was 81 years old.
Correspondent Dana Ford recounted in a Thursday article on CNN.com that "Taylor, along with Canadian immigration officer John Sheardown, hid those six envoys in their homes, protecting them until they could be spirited out of the country with Canadian passports in late January 1980." Ford later mentioned that "Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper honored Taylor in a statement, praising the former ambassador for risking his own life by shielding the diplomats from capture. 'Ken Taylor represented the very best that Canada's foreign service has to offer,' Harper said."
