Newsweek's "oops"

Newsweek published a story about US atrocities (flushing the Koran down the toilet) based on "FBI" internal memo's and corroboration from an unidetified Pentagon source. After the resultant riots in Afghanistan, it turns out that the unidentified source really won't corroborate the story as true, and in all liklihood, the story was not true. Newsweek's semi-apology is nothing but rationalizations. If their intent was to damage the United States, they succeeded.

CNN this morning ran with the goof story, but just had to add photos from Abu Ghraib, as if that had anything to do with Gitmo or the Newsweek story. Let's just keep putting up inflamitory pictures to make someone's point.

I keep hearing about the press, from the press, as if they are some sort of high priests of the truth. Newsweek couldn't be bothered with finding the truth before getting the story into print. Now they aren't really sorry they goofed. To be a journalist, you need no specific education beyond basic literacy, you have no certification or licensing board and have no real standards short of being sued for defamation of character. When the media does things like this one wonders why anyone would trust a news story on the sun rising in the east and setting in the west. Most of the elite do not seem to have any real desire, other then getting caught, to ensure the facts before they publish.

Many of us have watched journalists make repeated mistakes in scientific and environmental reporting. They don't take the time to understand what they are writing about, usually haven't had enough science courses since high school (or middle school) to understand the facts and like publishing scary stuff to get readership. Now the locals have grown up and become the writers for formerly respected major news organizations. Maybe it's about time the word journalist carried a certification. After all, the guy who fixes your car, does your plumbing or does you electrical work must show some training and certification.