PrintFisking Isikoff
Newsweek's weakly sourced, highly incredible Koran down the toilet at Gitmo story has led to riots and death throughout the Muslim world. Today it offers a pathetic explanation which doesn't rise to the level of apology the offense warranted.Scott Johnson lets them have it.
The shoddy journalism beneath the phony Koran desecration story is matched only by the magazine's even shoddier explanation today which brazenly hints we can expect more of this, regardless of the insubstantiality of the claims and the consequence to innocent civilians and soldiers. At the moment more have been killed as a result of this fake story than were by the over—hyped abuses at Abu Ghraib and Gitmo.
The magazine's coverage of international affairs by the fourth rate thinkers on the Newsweek crew is risible. Its fake reportage (i.e. that Bush was delegated to the peanut gallery at the Pope's funeral when tens of millions could see live on TV broadcast throughout the world that that was false) is topped only by this example of irresponsible journalism.
Were I a public relations advisor, I'd suggest Newsweek make a stronger mea culpa immediately. But I'm not. I'm only a news watcher, increasingly enraged by its bias and incompetence. And I hope that like Rather, it continues down this current path to extinction.
Clarice Feldman 5 15 05
