[William McKinley]

Lieutenant Commander Beidler, 32, on his way to Iraq in January, was walking with his family toward the end of Naval Station Pier 2 when the Times's Charlie LeDuff asked him for his general view of war protesters. Mr. Beidler recalls stating, "Protesters have a right to protest, and our job is to defend those rights. But in protesting, they shouldn't protest blindly; instead, they should provide reasonable solutions to the problem." The LeDuff version had Mr. Beidler criticizing Los Angeles protesters but turning his guns at a complacent United States: "It's war, Commander Beidler said, and the nation is fat. 'No one is screaming for battery-powered cars,' he added." The journalist then turned to Commander Beidler wife's Christal: "'I'm just numb,' she said as she patted down his collar. 'I'll cry myself to sleep, I'm sure.'"

Something always gets lost in the translation. An honest error, I am sure.

Exactly why was this guy not fired for basically committing fraud?

[thoughtomator]

Because the heat isn't on... yet.

[Wheee The People]

In response, a Times editor shrugged off Beidler's complaint...

The NY Times has been in a spider hole too long.

[martin_fierro]

Pingenfreude

[randog]

Let's hope Lieutenant Commander Beidler gets to tell his story to a national televised audience.

[martin_fierro]

LeDuff (l)

[paltz]

I felt good and I felt like, hey I'm smart enough. I can do this.

What a shock.

[martin_fierro]

Here's that JournalismJobs interview:

[The New York Times was] my first newspaper job. I was an intern for three months at the Alaska Fisherman's Journal. That was my first publication-type job. But the first thing I ever wrote that got published, my Russian friend in the Northeast got killed with alcohol. I just sort of wrote an obituary. The new class of Russian youth, after the fall of the wall, on the street corners selling pins and posters, running from the law. And I wrote that and I think I wrote it pretty well. I felt good and I felt like, hey I'm smart enough. I can do this.

[Tacis]

I'm sorry, but this is racial profiling. Two out of two minority employees accused of plagiarism? Coincidence? Can't be! They are looking to fire minorities. The NYT is in deeeep trouble if they accuse any other minority of plagiarism. The next one or two or five caught HAVE to be white. So all you black and minority plagiarists still on the payroll are home free. Go copy!!!

[Viking2002]

The Times has sealed it's fate as the National Enquirer of big-city newspapers.

[arasina]

Exactly why was this guy not fired for basically committing fraud?

Because The New York Times is sitting on its LeDuff, maybe?

[CyberAnt]

Is it just me or did Howell Raines have a lot of young men as "pets". I'm not liking what I'm thinking about this.

[Eala]

It's the press; it lies. It's the honest few that are the exception.

[1rudeboy]

Once, just once I'd like to see a reporter at the NYT "accidentally" slip-in a conservative sentiment. Let's see how that yob who blew-off the Lieutenant Commander acts then.

[mhking]

Here we go again....

Just damn.

If you want on the new list, FReepmail me. This IS a high-volume PING list...

[mombonn]

I just sort of wrote an obituary
I felt good and I felt like, hey I'm smart enough. I can do this

Like, man, totally cool.

Another RAT for literacy.

[eleni121]

Just like my grad student in education threatened me when I caught him plagiarizing: "You can't fail me. Nobody ever told me that I couldn't copy from the internet and I am getting my Masters in December!"

That's a quote. He probably did get his masters in Education but delayed by a semester.

[Tamzee]

[The New York Times was] my first newspaper job. I was an intern for three months at the Alaska Fisherman's Journal. That was my first publication-type job. But the first thing I ever wrote that got published, my Russian friend in the Northeast got killed with alcohol. I just sort of wrote an obituary. The new class of Russian youth, after the fall of the wall, on the street corners selling pins and posters, running from the law. And I wrote that and I think I wrote it pretty well. I felt good and I felt like, hey I'm smart enough. I can do this.

My 10-year old has a better sense of vocabulary and sentence structure than this "journalist".

[Fledermaus]

ROFL..there is no LA River! It's an aqueduct.

Forget lazy journalism...it's plain stupidity!

[Lancey Howard]

Exactly why was this guy not fired for basically committing fraud?

Now why do you think?

[maica]

In response, a Times editor shrugged off Beidler's complaint. LeDuff, he informed Beidler, "thinks that he accurately represented his interview with you and your wife, and therefore so do I. If you have another encounter some day with The New York Times, I hope its outcome is more satisfactory to you."

Institutional arrogance. Diversity monomania. Intellectual thievery. Wasn't this all supposed to end with the fall of Raines? How many other victims of LeDuff's "colorful writing" are out there? And how many other Jayson Blairs remain nestled in the Gray Lady's bosom?

JUST "WOW"

I hope Michelle makes the rounds of talk shows to spread this story widely. Most Americans might not pay a lot of attention to what passes for journalism at the NYT, but applying ficticious anti-war speech to a serviceman (Lt Commander) on his way to war is WAY beyond the limits of 'free' speech.