PressEthic

It would seem that this is a week of constant disappointment. First Robert Fisk was refused entry into the country and now the New York Times is behaving like a petulant child. And more significantly, it is defending poor journalism.

On September 5th, Alessandra Stanley of the Times wrote a piece in which she observed that:

Fox's Geraldo Rivera did his rivals one better: yesterday, he nudged an Air Force rescue worker out of the way so his camera crew could tape him as he helped lift an older woman in a wheelchair to safety.

Only, it turns out that Mr. Rivera did no such thing. And the proof was caught (or not caught, in this case!) on tape. So, this means Ms. Stanley either lied outright or she exaggerated -- and that falls into the category of fabrication, doesn't it?

But whether it's technically fabrication or not, the point is that the Times, by way of Ms. Stanley, made a mistake and yet they refuse to issue an official correction. They ran an editor's note (which for some reason I cannot locate on their website) in which they admit that there was no nudge in the footage, but put in the caveat that the editors interpreted "nudge" as a "figurative reference to Mr. Rivera's flamboyant intervention.''

To me, that screams bullshit. I have a great deal of regard for the Times and none for Fox News. But I'm sad to say the newspaper is in the wrong. Rather than come off as arrogant (as they seem now), the editors should have just sucked it up and published a proper correction, admitting wrongdoing without any "buts." Even Byron Calame, the public editor, was critical of the newspaper's decision. And from what he says, I don't think Bill Keller's reasons for not issuing the correction were sound.

Perhaps Mr. Rivera calling Ms. Stanley "Jayson Blair in a cocktail dress" is an overstatement. Then again, don't fabricators start small? With recent history serving as a painful reminder, you'd think the Times would be more careful.