By D. Cupples | The hullabaloo continues over Time Magazine's refusal to straightforwardly admit that columnist Joe Klein blindly transcribed false information from a partisan source that slammed House Democrats for passing the RESTORE Act. (BN-Politics) Klein's column claimed that the bill offers terrorists protection by requiring warrants when officials tap non-U.S. people's phone calls.
The claim is false, in that the bill has no such provision (see bill text ). The source that misled Klein is Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-MN). Glenn Greenwald reported that while Time refuses to clearly admit the error, the Chicago Tribune has taken responsible action:
"As I noted yesterday, The Chicago Tribune reprinted factually false excerpts from Joe Klein's Time column. But unlike Time -- which disgracefully continues to stand behind Klein's falsehoods and actually bolster them -- the Tribune shows that it has basic journalistic integrity by posting this clear, unequivocal statement repudiating Klein's false statements:
"CORRECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS
"A Time magazine essay by Joe Klein that was excerpted on the editorial page Wednesday incorrectly stated that the House Democratic version of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act would require a court approval of individual foreign surveillance targets. It does not.
"The shameful conduct and total lack of integrity at Time Magazine becomes more evident every day." (Salon)
Kudos to the Chicago Tribune! Mistakes are forgivable, if their makers promptly admit them (upon discovery) and seek to correct them. Instead of taking such reasonable action, Time seems pride-bound to avoid making the appropriate and straightforward admission.
This hullabaloo is about more than a mere mistake. Time is trusted by many as a valid news source -- and it has done some good work (e.g., the October article about the questionable prosecution of Don Siegelman).
That Klein didn't bother to do solid fact-checking before emphatically weighing in on important legislation casts doubt on him and on the Time editor who apparently let the story go to print without checking the facts. A news outlet is only as reliable as its writers and editors.
Many Americans base their political views on what their trusted news sources say. That's why we initially believed journalists' unquestioning pre-war reporting on WMDs and the alleged link between Iraq and 9/11 -- both of which have turned out to be false "facts."
If journalists had questioned their sources back in 2002-03, instead of graciously taking dictation, might the state of the world be different now?
See other bloggers' comments on Memeorandum: Think Progress, Firedoglake, The RBC, The Atlantic Online, National Review Online, The Next Hurrah, Threat Level, Daily Kos, Eschaton, Prairie Weather and TalkLeft
Other BN-Politics' Posts:
* Journalists: Please Think of Iraq, Be Careful with Iran
* Iran: Did our Media Learn Nothing from Iraq?
* Defense Secretary Says Military Alone Can't Protect U.S. Interests
* President Bush is Advancing?
* Experts Pooh-Pooh War Rhetoric, Candidates Use it Anyway
* Novak Eyeing Some Other Ball re: Blackwater
* Obama's Naked Lapels Pose National Security Threat
* Fox Not-news Scrubbed Wikipedi
* Time: Please Just Admit Errors, Apologize, and Start Questioning Sources
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