Posted on 03/23/2006 8:14:51 AM PST by LM_Guy
NEW YORK For the second time in less than a week, The New York Times today admitted to a serious error in a story. On Saturday it said it had misidentified a man featured in the iconic "hooded inmate" photograph from Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. Today it discloses that a woman it profiled on March 8 is not, in fact, a victim of Hurricane Katrina--and was arrested for fraud and grand larceny yesterday.
As it did in the Abu Ghraib mistake, the Times ran an editors' note on page 2 of its front section, along with a lengthy news article (this time on the front page of Section B). Again mirroring the Abu Ghraib episode, the newspaper revealed a surprising and inexplicable lapse in fact-checking on the part of a reporter and/or editor.
The original article, more than 1000 words in length, was written by Nicholas Confessore. He also wrote the news article about the error today. Without saying that he wrote the first story, he wrote today: "The Times did not verify many aspects of Ms. Fenton's claims, never interviewed her children, and did not confirm the identity of the man she described as her husband."
The editors' note states:
"An article in The Metro Section on March 8 profiled Donna Fenton, identifying her as a 37-year-old victim of Hurricane Katrina who had fled Biloxi, Miss., and who was frustrated in efforts to get federal aid as she and her children remained as emergency residents of a hotel in Queens.
"Yesterday, the New York police arrested Ms. Fenton, charging her with several counts of welfare fraud and grand larceny. Prosecutors in Brooklyn say she was not a Katrina victim, never lived in Biloxi and had improperly received thousands of dollars in government aid. Ms. Fenton has pleaded not guilty.
"For its profile, The Times did not conduct adequate interviews or public record checks to verify Ms. Fenton's account, including her claim that she had lived in Biloxi. Such checks would have uncovered a fraud conviction and raised serious questions about the truthfulness of her account."
Last Saturday, the Times editors' note disclosed that Ali Shalal Qaissi, pictured on the front page "as the hooded man forced to stand on a box, attached to wires, in a photograph from the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal of 2003 and 2004," was not that man. "The Times did not adequately research Mr. Qaissi's insistence that he was the man in the photograph," it related.
later read
If the story fits their agenda they do not care about the truth.
The antique media are in serious trouble. They want subscriptions for less and less money, plus added incentives.
The New York Times will soon find its rightful place next to the other tabloids at the supermarket checkout.
Haven't you heard? It's the paper of record!
Nicholas Confessore is also a devout
liberal who joined the NYT staff not
too long ago.
http://www.timeswatch.org/twarticles/2005/printer_20050117.asp
In all seriousness, anyone who reads anything from the MSM needs to first truly understand that what he is reading is NOT the real story. It may actually be a story, but it is NOT the whole truth or even anything close.
Slimed again by the NY Slimes...
What about a her getting a JOB? or is her only ability to produce offspring.
Katrina "victims" and Katrina "survivors"
What a bunch of crap!
I can't read any article that describes anyone in this manner.
Given four days notice you can "survive" nearly anything.
Why are we complaining? They'll catch all the welfare cheats by printing their stories on the front page.
It fits the agenda, why bother checking the facts? Even if unproven, the gist of the story is still true: America = bad.
The NY Slimes is incapable of real journalism and reporting.
This prime example of another fabricated lie to hurt GW is going down into the NY Slimes fecal pile of lies, spins and gay fairy tales to hurt our president.
Would anyone believe their circulation numbers?
The NY Slimes Corporate Culture is based on lies, pushing the homosexual agenda, attacking Christians, Israel and of GW.
"Haven't you heard? It's the paper of record!"
I think it is the paper with a record, and it is not a good one.
It's already found it's place at every Starbucks in the country. That should tell you something right there.
Just think about how many such fraudulent stories have been foisted upon the public through the years. Even now, when they know they are under more scrutiny than before, they continue to churn out such flagrantly bogus articles. They are INCORRIGIBLE.
...newspaper revealed a surprising and inexplicable lapse in fact-checking...
^^
We're the New York Times. We don't need no steenkin' facts!
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