Howard Kurtz writes a commentary for the liberal Washington Post. The following excerpt from the February 1, 2006, Post website makes the editorial attitude of the New York Times clear:
How far can a beat reporter go in discussing the Iraq war? “Nightline” co-anchor Terry Moran ponders the issue:
“The New York Times has publicly reprimanded reporter Michael Gordon--a great journalist, author of the definitive Iraq War book Cobra II--for saying in a television interview that he thinks the US can still win the war.
“Gordon was on The Charlie Rose Show on January 8th and was asked if he believed ‘victory was within our grasp.’ Included in Gordon’s answer was this statement:
“‘So I think, you know, as a purely personal view, I think it’s worth it [sic] one last effort for sure to try to get this right, because my personal view is we’ve never really tried to win. We’ve simply been managing our way to defeat. And I think that if it’s done right, I think that there is the chance to accomplish something.’
“The Times’ public editor, Byron Calame, brought readers’ complaints about what Gordon had said to the paper’s editors. Philip Taubman, the paper’s Washington Bureau Chief, decided Gordon had violated a basic principle, writing in an e-mail Calame made public:
“‘I would agree with you that he stepped over the line on the ‘Charlie Rose’ show. I have discussed the appearances with Michael and I am satisfied that the comments on the Rose show were an aberration. They were a poorly worded shorthand for some analytical points about the military and political situation in Baghdad that Michael has made in the newspaper in a more nuanced and unopinionated way. He agrees his comments on the show went too far.’
“All this raises some interesting questions for those of us in the media, and for the public we serve. Should reporters want the US to win the war in Iraq? Whatever their personal judgment, should reporters say whether or not they believe the US can win the war? What role, if any, should patriotism play in the reporting of the United States at war?"
If Joseph Goebbels were still alive, he would be pleased to hire the New York Times as one of his propaganda organs.
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