Topic: NewsBusters
Here is a refreshing change of pace. According to Editor and Publisher, New Mexico Radio station KSFR has made a new policy to eschew usage of newswire stories based on quotes from "unnamed officials" or other unattributed sources.
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Though I disagree that these "unnamed" sources in any way added to any "credibility" to take us to war -- it was rather the opposite, really -- the unnamed source has become the scourge of government. So, this is a great idea and would cut down on the kind of destructive leaks that have so consumed the "News" purveyors of late.
Eliminating the over use of unattributed stories would help cut down on the interagency feuds that have been ripping Washington apart since at least Watergate -- though it has gotten far worse since Bush entered the White House.
So, even as i disagree with the Radio station news director in what unnamed sources have done specifically, I agree in general that it is destructive and should be minimized. I say this to you MSM news "reporters" (and we KNOW you read Newsbusters, don't pretend you don't):
If you are so sure your story is legitimate, put a name to your sources. If they refuse to be named, that should be your first clue that the source has an agenda that doesn't hold "truth" as one of its end games.
Remember the basic tenets of journalism: who, what, where and when.
Who is not an unnamed requirement!
-- Warner Todd Huston, Feb. 16 NewsBusters post
In a statement obtained by this NewsBuster, a senior Bush administration official has disputed a New York Times article, Jailed 2 Years, Iraqi Tells of Abuse by Americans that suggests that the review process for detainees held by the U.S. military in Iraq is inadequate. The Times story is anecdotal, telling the story of Laith al-Ani, an Iraqi Sunni who was released by U.S. authorities last month. According to the Times story, "people like Mr. Ani . . . are being held without charge and without access to tribunals where their cases are reviewed."
Without responding to the specifics of Mr. Ani's case, the senior Bush administration official told me that "the facts of our detention system belie the themes of this article. We follow well-established standards of review that go well above and beyond what the law requires. And we do so in the face of a ruthless and determined enemy."
-- Mark Finkelstein, Feb. 18 NewsBusters post
