Reading A1 critiqes NY Times omsbudsman Okrent’s comment on the notorious “Editor’s Note” non-apology for hyping disinformation about Saddam Hussein’s nonexistent WMD. An excerpt:
The word from Pastor Dan. Daniel Okrent’s rhetorical stance is always, “We journalists.” His job, as he seems to take it, is to offer the (perversely uncomprehending) masses a glimpse into the mysteries of the trade. Okrent writes as if the “public” part of public editor were a suggestion of taint: as if his chief concern was to make sure that nobody in the fraternity could mistake him for one of those hairy, gap-toothed outsiders.
Billmon has an interesting insight on the Okrent piece, which makes the “Editors Note” seem even more craven and self-serving than it did when I first read it. Check out his timeline.
Oh, and don’t miss this little nugget from Okrent: “While I’m on the subject: Readers were never told that Chalabi’s niece was hired in January 2003 to work in The Times’s Kuwait bureau. She remained there until May of that year.“
