http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/columns/pressingissues_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000751776
No WMDs, But Everyone Gets a Mulligan
Media failures contributed to both the "60 Minutes" fiasco and going
to war on false pretenses.
Now which major announcement this week will get the most ink?
By Greg Mitchell
(January 12, 2005) --
At this moment, on Wednesday evening, it is too early to tell whether
today's official announcement that really, for sure--no kidding--there
are no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, will get as much play in
the media as the report on the "60 Minutes" fiasco released on Monday.
The two news stories share one element: neither was exactly a whopping
surprise, after months of revelations.
Actually, there’s something else: neither scandal would have ever
happened if journalists had done a better job.
While awaiting the fallout from today's WMD non-finding finding, the
blogosphere, as usual, rushed forward with some instant commentary.
The blog known as The Poor Man (www.thepoorman.net) posted today a
revealing "quantitative" analysis, comparing Rathergate and Claims of
Saddam’s WMD by the Media and the White House.
Here are some highlights, which I've slightly revised, with "R"
standing for Rathergate and WMD for WMDgate.
This is not to minimize the egregious "60 Minutes" failings but to
highlight the lack of accountability for the egregious WMD claims:
***
Investigation recently concluded:
R--Yes
WMD--Yes
Number of firings resulting
R--4
WMD--0
Use of highly questionable documents:
R--Yes
WMD--Yes
Media spread questionable information:
R--Yes
WMD--Yes
Central claim completely disproven:
R--No
WMD--Yes
Number of wars started partly because of flawed journalism:
R--0
WMD--1
Cost to American taxpayer:
R--$0
WMD--$150 billion, so far
Number of American soldiers killed as a result:
R--0
WMD--1,357, as of now
Number of Iraqi civilians killed as a result
R--0
WMD--10,000 to 100,000
Number of al-Qaeda training camps destroyed as a result:
R--0
WMD--0
U.S. reputation severely damaged as a result:
R--no
WMD--yes
****
As the day went on, posters at the site made a few necessary
additions:
CIA agents outed in effort to prevent or punish disclosure:
R--0
WMD--1
Resulting government contracts for Halliburton:
R--$0
WMD--$10 billion
Apologies issued by CBS: 2+
Apologies issued by the White House: 0
***
And, I might add...
Key producer unwilling to admit wrongdoing:
R--Mary Mapes
WMD--Judith Miller
_______________________________________________
All a matter of magnitude, eh? Still no answer to the question:
Where was Bush during the Vietnam War?
http://www.glcq.com/bush_at_arpc1.htm
Harry
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