POLL: Did Newsweek fall on its sword, or the magazine erred?

[Julius Civitatus]

Poll question: POLL: Did Newsweek fall on its sword, or the magazine erred?

Newsweek today recanted quickly and unexpectedly a story about interrogators in Gitmo flushing the Koran down the toilet.

Interestingly enough, this news were already reported by other media including the NY Times, Washington Post, and countless foreign papers) as early as 2002.

What do you think happened?

[Julius Civitatus]

1. Bump! n/t

[killbotfactory]

2. They printed the truth

And there "retraction" wasn't really a retraction at all.

The White House is just throwing mud, hoping it will stick.

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

3. Newsweek's retraction is irrelevant. It won't stop the anger.

"A Muslim Indian man holds a placard during an anti-U.S. demonstration in Bombay May 16, 2005. The protesters were skeptical about an apparent retraction by Newsweek magazine of a report that U.S. interrogators desecrated the Koran and said U.S. pressure was behind the climb-down. The report in Newsweek's May 9 issue sparked protests across the Muslim world. (Arko Datta/Reuters"



"Indian Muslim cleric Maulana Abdul Razzaq Jabbbalpuri speaks during a protest against US magazine Newsweek, in Mumbai, over reports of the alleged desecration of the Quran by US soldiers at the Guantanamo Bay detention center(AFP/Indranil Mukherjee)"



"A Muslim cleric speaks during a demonstration against the alleged desecration of Islam's holy book Quran at the U.S. detention center in Guantanamo, in Bombay, India, Monday, May 16, 2005. Newsweek magazine has apologized for errors in a story that appeared in its May 9 edition, alleging that interrogators at the U.S. detention center had flushed one Quran down the toilet, saying it would re-examine the accusations, which sparked outrage and deadly protests in Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)"



"Indian Muslims hold the Koran during an anti-U.S. demonstration in Bombay May 16, 2005. The protesters were skeptical about an apparent retraction by Newsweek magazine of a report that U.S. interrogators desecrated the Koran and said U.S. pressure was behind the climb-down. The report in Newsweek's May 9 issue sparked protests across the Muslim world from Afghanistan, where 16 were killed and more than 100 injured, to Pakistan, India, Indonesia and Gaza. (Arko Datta/Reuters)"

[Bethany Rockafella]

14. Those signs sure do look pretty and perfect.

I'm not saying those guys couldn't do it but it looks like an American had those signs ready for them to use. I demand an investigation on those signs!

[Vincardog]

4. Rove is up to his old tricks

The Facts are true The NeoCons are occupying Muslim countries kidnapping and torturing their citizens.

The warlords in Afghanistan do not want to cede power and want and excuse to protest.

The BFEE plans are corrupt and inflaming the opposition.

We can't let the Chimperor take the blame can we?

so KKKarl does what he does: he places a fake news source.
He exposes the source and blames the media for the message.

FUCK THEM
LET BU$HCO take the heat

[Tinoire]

5. I don't see that they recanted- just apologized they got 1 detail wrong

namely where this information had been published. Plus they clearly stated that there had been other reports on such incidents.

Check this out:

(snip)

"We regret that we got any part of our story wrong and extend our sympathies to victims of the violence and to the U.S. soldiers caught in its midst," Whitaker wrote in an editorial Sunday.

"Although other major news organizations had aired charges of Qur’an desecration based only on the testimony of detainees, we believed our story was newsworthy because a U.S. official said government investigators turned up this evidence," wrote Whitaker.

Whitaker, however, did not retract the story.

"Top administration officials have promised to continue looking into the charges, and so will we," Whitaker added before expressing Newsweek's regrets.

(snip)

However, in its new account in the latest issue of the magazine, Newsweek said that a senior U.S. "knowledgeable government source" who initially told the magazine he remembered seeing details of the Qur’an incident in a report ((the SouthCom Report)) said he could no longer be sure, and that it might have been in other investigative documents or drafts.


(snip)

The Defense Department protested that the original story was wrong, and when Newsweek told Pentagon spokesman Lawrence DiRita of the source's new response, DiRita "exploded."

(snip)

"This was reported very carefully, with great sensitivity and concern, and we'll continue to report on it," said Newsweek Managing Editor Jon Meacham. "We have tried to be transparent about exactly what happened, and we leave it to the readers to judge us."

http://www.masnet.org/news.asp?id=2438

[johnaries]

6. They only said they MAY have been wrong, but more evidence is

showing they were probably right. Bushco will continue to say they fully recanted and pull a Dan Rather.

[Tinoire]

7. Precisely! That's my take on it too. n/t

[Doctor_J]

8. Another Rathergate

Their original article was completely truthful - TOO truthful for Rove. They were reined in, just like CBS was. Expect a token firing or two to further obscure the truth.

[Julius Civitatus]

16. Exactly! -- That's a typical Rovian technique

You mute the story by destroying the reputation of the messenger.

What puzzles me in this case is how quickly Newsweek ran to take the blame. When Rove says "jump," our gutless bastards in the media respond "how high"?

[Darryl Cramer]

17. You can't blame Rove

For this one you're going to have to shoot the messenger. There's NO WAY they would have retracted the story if they had substantial sources to back their claim. People who believe in the importance of a free and trustworthly press for the functioning of a democratic government need to hold all journalists responsible, on the left and the right.

[Julius Civitatus]

18. Wrong. The same allegations have been released before

This is nothing new. Just a way to kill the story.

[Spazito]

9. They DID NOT retract the story!

This is what the editor said:

"But despite the apology, Newsweek editor Mark Whitaker defended his staff in an interview. He insisted Newsweek did nothing "professionally wrong," that nobody would be disciplined over the report, and that no retraction would be made."

From this article:

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1116238425043_30/?hub=TopStories

[FrenchieCat]

10. I guess Newsweek thinks it's fooling somebody.....

I have found them to be totally inaccurate about a lot of subjects...and normally, no one gives a shit...and don't even try to get a retraction.

Sooooo, this is an indication to me that this story must be accurate,....and the White House is excerting pressure to have Newsweek change this correct story in order to cover it's ass.

Inaccuracy is Newsweek's MO. What's new?

[kenny blankenship]

11. They and all the rest of the "news magazines" should

just fire all their employees and lock their doors. The only news in this country comes straight from WH and RNC press releases. If anything in print media conflicts with or contradicts those fanciful tales of bearded villains and flightsuited heroes then inevitably the bespectacled media egghead is made to recant 3 times and spit his bloody teeth onto his story from a kneeling position with his wrists tied behind his back with piano wire.

And then things get really rough.

(edited to put sarcastic quotation marks around news magazines in subject line)

[blm]

12. Newsweek was told that their story is causing a Holy War. Bush will always

blame others for telling the truth about him. They load the guilt on to Newsweek in this case.

i am surprised that Isikoff would let Newsweek have their way on this. He knows the story is good and solid.

[Gothmog]

13. Newsweek should not back down

This story is believable. It is clear that similar incidents have occured and at worse, this story is cumulative.

[rniel]

15. This story is covering up www.downingstreetmemo.com

Orchestrated by Karl Rove