28. August 2004 · Comments Off on Typical NYTimes Propaganda · Categories: Media Matters Not

Compare this headline on Donald Rumsfeld’s prisoner abuse gaffe in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer:

Rumsfeld first denied key finding on abuse

He corrects himself after aide points out what U.S. report says

To this one in the New York Times:

Rumsfeld Denies Abuses Occurred at Interrogations

Both for the same Eric Schmitt article. As well, the Times version doesn’t even mention the correction until the end of the fourth paragraph, where the typical busy reader is likely to miss it. The PI version splits it off into a separate paragraph.

Schmitt then followed t up with this snide remark:

Yesterday, Pentagon spokesman Lawrence Di Rita sought to play down Rumsfeld’s comments, saying, “He misspoke, pure and simple. But he corrected himself.”

It’s this sort of opinion disguised as reporting that makes me avoid the NYTimes (and several other publications).

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