Elliott Minor, the AP reporter who wrote the story, emailed me today to say that the story will be corrected:
See:
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BUSH_GUARD_REAX_CORRECTIVE?SITE=GAAUG&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Sep 17, 6:03 PM EDT
Correction: Bush-Guard-Reax Story
ALBANY, Ga. (AP) -- In a Sept. 11 story about military retirees' reaction to new documents concerning President Bush's National Guard service, The Associated Press incorrectly identified Ahmad Majied of Albany as a former Navy SEAL. Majied assisted SEAL teams while he was in the Navy, but never was trained as a SEAL. "I should have been more specific," he said Friday.
- John S
Leanwrite.com
I love it!
Okay, and that's great and all, but I'm still bothered by the way the AP reporter (Minor?) handled this.
When faced with questions, he essentially said he believed Mr. Majied because of the way he sounded, and had no intention of verifying the story further. What kind of journalism is this? And now that the reporter has been proven to have been completely wrong in not double-checking his story in the face of questions...this little correction is all they offer?
This reporter should receive some more emails about his lack of journalistic skills.