On Iran IAEA Reporting Complaints, NYT Public Editor Rules for the Plaintiffs

[KoKo]

On Iran IAEA Reporting Complaints, NYT Public Editor Rules for the Plaintiffs
by Robert Naiman

Responding to complaints over a New York Times report that purported to cite "a recent assessment by the International Atomic Energy Agency that Iran's nuclear program has a military objective," New York Times Public Editor Arthur Brisbane has written that the complaints were just, and that the New York Times should correct the story.The story as it appeared in the January 5th NYT print edition.

Text

Brisbane wrote:

I think the readers are correct on this. The Times hasn't corrected the story but it should because this is a case of when a shorthand phrase doesn't do justice to a nuanced set of facts. In this case, the distinction between the two is important because the Iranian program has emerged as a possible casus belli.

In other words: it's important to get this right, because getting it wrong unjustly promotes the cause of war.