CNN’s Lou Dobbs Reprimanded for Promotion Work

CNN Tuesday reprimanded Lou Dobbs, its senior vice president and business editor, for making promotional videos for Wall Street firms, and Dobbs agreed to return the more than $15,000 he has received for the outside work.

Dobbs has apologized to the network for doing promotional work for Paine Webber, Shearson Lehman Bros. and the Philadelphia Stock Exchange. Last week, the host of the network’s “Moneyline” and “Moneyweek” programs had insisted there was no conflict of interest.

CNN President Tom Johnson told his staff in a memo, a copy of which was obtained by the Washington Post, that he “strongly reprimanded” Dobbs for moonlighting without prior approval.

“Lou’s overall record with CNN, his editorial integrity and his resolve to avoid any future violation of company policy weighed heavily in this decision,” Johnson wrote. “Lou has apologized for his poor judgment. The fees will be returned and the videos pulled from the market.”

Dobbs, who could not be reached Tuesday, told the staff in his own memo that he was “deeply sorry” for “any embarrassment. . . . I was comfortable with my judgment to the point of arrogance. I assure you both the arrogance and the comfort have been significantly lessened by events of the past few days.”