They, in a move typical of the MSM, hopped right on the latest Anti-American bandwagon, fueling the flames of Bush-hating, troop-hating, American-hating fundamentalists, and likely more level-headed Muslims as well, by running a story about the desecration of a holy book - a crime punishable by death in the Muslim world. They did it without a whole lot of hesitation. Why wait? Do I think they wanted people to die? No. But do I think that they ran it without due diligence because it fits with their agenda, and because it clearly jibes with the whole American-soldiers-as-torturers motif? You bet. And this all comes at a time when you now actually have a UCONN poll conducted by the Roper Center coming out that say that although 72% of journalists believe the media reports accurately, only 39% of the average Americans surveyed thought the same. (Coincidentally, almost the same percentage of surveyed journalists say they voted for Kerry - 68%) Although a little more than half of the surveyed average Americans believe that stories that rely solely on anonymous sources should not be published (53%), only 14% of journalists agreed. Gee, why do we think people are losing faith in the MSM....?

The bloggers have long been speaking about the culpability of the MSM for what they set in motion. Collectively, we've been warning that this kind of thing can get people killed. Newsweek's latest just proves it more clearly than most.

The White House is calling for a retraction of the story. I’m calling for more than that. I think Newsweek ought to take an overt step to apologize to the people they maligned with this drivel. I think they ought to do something to actively support those they and the rest of the liberal media undercut at just about every opportunity.

Put your money where your mouth is, Whitaker.

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Labels: media coverage, My Two Cents, opinion