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September 24, 2006

On A.P.'s 'trustworthiness' and a Thank you

Thank you to all of you that have emailed, or left comments alerting me to Glenn's link to this Boston Herald column by City Editor Jules Crittenden, wherein yours truly is quoted. Mr. Crittenden succinctly points out the problems with AP's collusion with people like Bilal Hussein. He rightfully wonders

Last week, the AP gave us a lengthy series on the U.S. detention of terrorism suspects. The AP’s opinion was evident. Bilal Hussein was the poster boy. The salient fact that Hussein was captured with an al-Qaeda leader was buried. Al-Qaeda has killed and abducted dozens of journalists, Iraqi, American and European. Mainly Iraqi. I wonder: What’s so special about this particular Iraqi journalist that he could associate freely with al-Qaeda?
My father has over fifty years experience in advertising, starting out at newspapers in So Cal in the 1950's (Citizen News, The Examiner). I grew up discussing journalism, ethics and how to critically read any print article, column or ad at the dinner table. Everyone has biases, including journalists. How we handle them, how honest we are in confronting and dealing with them, is what inspires trust in others. This is no more important than with reporters and journalists. It is either cynical or naive to act as if "amoral" is synonomous with "neutral".

What the AP seems to be ignoring is that when they betray the implicit trust with their readership they are losing something they may never get back.

Is covering for Bilal Hussein worth that?

Thank you, too, Mr. Crittenden.

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Posted by Darleen at September 24, 2006 11:15 AM

Comments

Darleen,

What you seem to be ignoring is that when our government holds someone prisoner without charges for five months, WE are losing something we may never get back.

Posted by: Brad at September 24, 2006 07:02 PM

Brad

And you are trying to blur the lines between criminal prosecutions and prosecutions of enemy combatants during time of war.

Islamists clearly declared war on the US in 1998. We cannot/should not EVER treat spys, sabetuers and their agents as if they were nothing more than a punk pulling stickups on a 7-11.

Neither the Constitution nor the Geneva Conventions are a suicide pact for the signatories.

The startling thing is, I think the Left's anti-Western sentiments is what drives it to declare common ally with the Islamists...somehow the Left has deluded itself it will share power with the Islamists when democracy and Western republics fall.

Posted by: Darleen at September 24, 2006 08:03 PM

Hey, Brad, Kevin Mitnick is on line 1. Something about spending four years in lockup without bail, charges, or a trial. All he did was break into some computers...seems what you're afraid of losing was lost a long time ago...

Posted by: I R A Darth Aggie at September 25, 2006 07:37 AM

that was a great quote from crittenden that brought me to find out more - bully and keep up the good work

Posted by: apreciator at September 25, 2006 04:40 PM