Ombudsmen: ignore Swift Vets
Oh, That Liberal Media
Palm Beach Post ombudsman C.B. Hanif dismisses allegations made by the 250 plus members of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth about John Kerry, and chastises the media for lending them any credence. He approvingly quotes a reader who states, “‘John Kerry's war record is the truth; the attack on it is a lie.’ The suggestion ‘that there are two sides to this story is Goebbels-like in its dishonesty.’” Hanif completely ignores evidence supporting the Swift Vets' allegations, including that Kerry’s ’68 Christmas in Cambodia story was an invention and that his first Purple Heart was received for a self-inflected wound before Kerry ever saw combat.
National Public Radio ombudsman Jeffrey Dvorkin takes a similar approach. Dvorkin, who also serves as President of the Organization of News Ombudsmen, has a piece entitled, Reporting Unprovable Allegations, which is currently on the front page of ONO’s website.
Asserts Dvorkin about the Swift Vets:
Journalists pride themselves on being even-handed. That value allows the more unscrupulous political operatives to drive their messages right into the lead stories and onto the front pages, knowing full well that false impressions may be more lasting than thoughtful dissections and analyses.
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Oddly, I don’t recall either ombudsman criticizing highly publicized claims that President Bush was AWOL while in the Air National Guard.<font size=3>
As with the charges made by Arkansas State Troopers in 1992 about then-Governor Bill Clinton's use of his security detail to facilitate extra-marital affairs, the media are all too willing to denounce the source without adequately verifying whether the allegations are true.
Cross-Posted to The Ombudsgod
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