SCHLUSSEL: Jihad Journalism: Detroit News' Fabricated Terror "Reporting"

DebbieSchlussel.com ^ | May 11, 2005 | Debbie Schlussel

[Cool Chick]

Jihad Journalism: Detroit News’ Fabricated Terrorism “Reporting” May 11, 2005

By Debbie Schlussel

“Former Terrorism Suspect is Deported: Moroccan . . . Was Forced to Leave,” screamed a sympathetic headline in Gannett’s Detroit News, last week.

Problem is, the deportation of alleged Detroit terror cell member Ahmed Hannan never happened. Hannan is still here.

And other details in the apocryphal article by Detroit News reporter David Shepardson were also wrong or made-up. The May 3, 2005 article claimed that Hannan—who planned to blow up U.S. tourist sites and a U.S. Air Force Base in Turkey—was deported two weeks before the article ran. Yet, he’s still here. The article also reported that Hannan’s teeth were knocked out in a jailhouse fight, “last month.” But the fight happened on February 10, 2005, three months ago.

Had Shepardson done the least amount of real reporting –ie., fact-checking with the jail and the federal government, in whose custody Hannan remains—he would have discovered the truth. But Shepardson relied exclusively on alleged terrorist Hannan’s lawyer, Jim Thomas, for the entire story, and never checked a thing. (By the way, the sob-story Detroit News headline about Hannan being “Forced to Leave”? Hannan pled guilty to a federal crime. Should he be allowed to stay?)

Why is David Shepardson’s phony story cause for concern? Because Shepardson is The Detroit News’ primary reporter on the domestic War on Islamic Terror, in the heart of Islamic America. He is the News’ primary reporter on Federal law enforcement, the Justice Department, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Detroit. His stories get picked up and run all over America via the Gannett News Service wire.

Yet, neither Shepardson, nor his editors, did even the most basic fact-checking or research for this and, we can assume, most of . . . .

[Cool Chick]

WOW! Debbie Schlussel really caught the Detroit News and this reporter, David Shepardson, with their pants down! I wonder if they will fire the guy and his editors. Making up stories to make terrorists look good, relying on terrorists' lawyers as the sole source for a story? Really incredible.

[Peach]

Reporter fabricated an entire story.

[Nathan Zachary]

I guess this means that the defense lawyer was lying. They wouldn't do that,...would they?

[cripplecreek]

Disclaimer.

Stories may or may not contain factual information.

[Mikey_1962]

Surprising because The Detroit News tends to the right side of the spectrum whereas the Detroit Free Press is more liberal. Of course since the joint operating agreement that may be void.

[RightWingAtheist]

The Detroit News is supposed to be the "conservative" Detroit newspaper. The liberal paper, The Detroit Free Press, is sort of the Mpls Star-Tribune for Dummies.

[Dan from Michigan]

The Detroit News has gone downhill ever since Tom Bray stopped running the show. It's now all Deb Price, all the time.

In fact, I actually prefer the Free Press to the News. Dawson Bell does a good job, and I can respect a leftist more than wishy-washy tripe.

[Dan from Michigan]

The Detroit News tends to the right side of the spectrum

Not since Tom Bray was in charge.

[prairiebreeze]

He asked a lawyer for story points. Why am I not surprised, PFFFTT!

[Shortwave]

Rush doesn't call Detroit "New Fallujah" for nothing!

[Oystir]

I agree, Dan. I do not consider the News conservative and haven't for years. I prefer the Freep - at least I know what i am getting and the online version is superior to the mess of the News' website.

[SandraD]

How can anything he has reported about the Detroit Terrorism case be believed? He has written a lot of very slanted articles in favor of the terrorists. What is the Detroit News' agenda anyway?

[Alouette]

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[RightWingAtheist]

Deb Price is the male Morford.

[goldstategop]

Another reason Detroit is really New Falloujah!

(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)

[MrJingles]

We really need to start enforcing the "Ann Coulter Rule" on Schlussel-related threads. YOWZAH!

[SJackson]

If you'd like to be on this middle east/political ping list, please FR mail me.

[trisham]

Are you sure this wasn't the Boston Globe?

Amazing.

[SunkenCiv]

I've heard that the state of Michigan is getting ready to take over governance of Detroit. The state took over the Detroit school system some years ago.