Top NYT editor calls San Bernardino social media report 'a really big mistake'

[ucrdem]

Source: CNNMoney

December 18, 2015: 3:16 PM ET

The executive editor of The New York Times says his paper's erroneous report on the San Bernardino terrorists' social media use was "a really big mistake," and would cause the Times to reconsider its use of anonymous sources.

"More than anything since I've become editor it does make me think we need to do something about how we handle anonymous sources," Dean Baquet told Margaret Sullivan, the Times' public editor, on Friday. "This was a system failure that we have to fix."

The report, which appeared on the front page of the Sunday edition, claimed that Tashfeen Malik had "talked openly on social media about her views on violent jihad," and that these postings had gone "uncovered" by American law enforcement authorities.

The Times was forced to revise its report on Thursday after FBI Director James Comey told reporters that both Malik and her husband, Syed Farook, never posted publicly on social media about their views, but had instead communicated via "direct, private messages." Comey dismissed the Times report as inaccurate "garble."

Read more: http://money.cnn.com/2015/12/18/media/new-york-times-mistake-san-bernardino/index.html?sr=twCNN121915/new-york-times-mistake-san-bernardino/index.html%200257AMStoryLink&linkId=19720366

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[ucrdem]

1. President Obama may have had a hand in this remarkable confession:

President Obama also appeared to address the report during a press conference on Friday. "The issue of reviewing social media for those who are obtaining visas, I think may have gotten garbled a little bit," Obama said. "It's important to distinguish between posts that are public... versus private communications."

[LiberalElite]

2. Imagine what a Repug would have said - making it up as they go along with no reprisal

more applause for Pres. Obama

[ucrdem]

3. Here's the baloney front page story

The article is way above the fold, basically the leading story of the day:

None uncovered what
Ms. Malik had made little effort
to hide — that she talked openly
on social media about her views
on violent jihad.

She said she supported it. And
she said she wanted to be a part
of it.

American law enforcement officials
said they recently discovered
those old — and previously
unreported — postings as they
pieced together the lives of Ms.
Malik and her husband, Syed Rizwan
Farook, trying to understand
how they pulled off the deadliest
terrorist attack on American soil
since Sept. 11, 2001.

http://www.nytimes.com/images/2015/12/13/nytfrontpage/scan.pdf



The miracle is that they got caught.

[LuckyLib]

4. So much for top notch investigative original reporting. Not!

The real media in this country is simply gone. Poof!

[UpInArms]

5. did theh bring back judith miller?

The NYT has lost its way

[PSPS]

6. It didn't stop the media, including Diane Rehm, from stating it as a fact even after its retraction