Posted on 05/17/2005 5:30:15 AM PDT by OESY
...Let's say that the item that Newsweek magazine disavowed on Sunday and retracted yesterday — the item by Michael Isikoff and John Barry.... was actually true. It wasn't. But let's say it was.
Would factual accuracy have justified publishing the item in Newsweek or anywhere else?...
There's no question that, for journalists in trouble, truth is always the best defense in a courtroom. But the world is not a courtroom....
And so what if the item had been true? Journalists routinely withhold the truth from their readers for all sorts of reasons.
They don't reveal the names of "good and credible" sources, for example, which is a withholding of a truth. They don't publish the identities of rape accusers. Many papers no longer reveal the race of a crime suspect, even though the purpose of describing a crime suspect is to help ordinary citizens avoid him or report him to the authorities.
Why do they withhold these facts? They do so because they have decided that something else is more important than the revelation of all known facts....
We've already learned that the mainstream media do not believe the reputation of the United States at a time of ideological war against Muslim extremism is worthy of the same care. In fact, in many quarters there is a moral and spiritual incentive to tell horrid tales about the United States and its conduct of the War on Terror.
So Newsweek went and told one such horrid tale. And the world has reaped the whirlwind. The fact that the tale in question is a cock-and-bull story is almost beside the point.
No matter what degree of certainty the editors and reporters had about the item's veracity, moral responsibility for the fallout from it falls squarely on their shoulders....
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
We need another Joe McCarthy today to weed out all of the traitors and saboteurs working in the media.
I think everyone is missing the big picture. And that is this - the consequence of this incident proves to everyone that Islam is extremely radical. Their is no tolerance within the Islamic religion - the so called religion of peace. I cannot for the life of me, see riots happening on the scale if a story about the Holy Bible being descecrated got into the news media.
Very good point.
Worthy of a bump just to make sure your thought is read again. We are not dealing with rational people here. Something we all need to remember.
The very countries that are complaining the most have the most intolerant societies on the planet. The Holy Bible is outlawed there completely. Yet, the rest of the world is not seeing that.
Exactly. I'm starting to wonder if it's not all about the 'virgins' with these sick people.
They spend a lifetime deprived of healthy heterosexual relationships with the promise of eternal wanton sexual exploitation of young virgin girls. Weird.
The press is COMPROMISED. It's ranks are filled with socialists... marxists and 'do-gooders' of every perversion. Their one goal is to change America from a democratic-republic based on capitalism -- to a socialist democracy based on entitlement.
You nailed it.
They forgot there was a war on. Or they didn't forget, but just didn't care. Now they remember. Now they care.
I doubt each and every one of these hypotheses. He is being way too charitable!
The incident also proves the old saw "The enemy of my enemy is my friend". The MSM are so reflexively anti-American and anti-conservative that they are willing to inflame the Arab world with BS if the net result is harmful to the Administration. The seventeen dead bodies are mere statistics in the larger battle.
One wonders what was the response of US Muslim leaders to the story in Newsweak when it first appeared? Did they stand up and curse the US?
Where is Isikoff?
this guy is usually on practically every radio talk show and "talking heads" program on cable yet no one has seen or heard from him...
Mikey, Mikey, come out, come out wherever you are!!! LOL
Newsweak and the MSM have a motive: They hate America, our military and the President. Therefore they will go to any extrememe, INCLUDING LYING, to damage us.
Howz the bass fishing out there Eric?
The good guys used to wear white hats.
Bass are slow right now but big, big crappies are biting like mad. Wife caught a 2 pound monster along with a nice mess of two dozen that were all 1 1/2 pounders. Someone pulled in a 4 pound crappy a couple weeks ago according to a story on local radio.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.