NY Times issues correction to articles claiming O'Keefe dressed as a pimp at ACORN offices

[NNN0LHI]

http://mediamatters.org/blog/201003230011

March 23, 2010 9:48 am ET by Media Matters staff

The following correction was printed in the March 23 edition of The New York Times:

Several articles since September about the troubles of the community organizing group Acorn referred incorrectly or imprecisely to one aspect of videotaped encounters between Acorn workers and two conservative activists that contributed to the group's problems.

In the encounters, the activists posed as a prostitute and a pimp and discussed prostitution with the workers. But while footage shot away from the offices shows one activist, James O'Keefe, in a flamboyant pimp costume, there is no indication that he was wearing the costume while talking to the Acorn workers.

The errors occurred in articles on Sept. 16 and Sept. 19, 2009, and on Jan. 31 of this year. Because of an editing error, the mistake was repeated in an article in some copies on Saturday.

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http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7759

NYTIMES RUNS INACCURATE 'CORRECTION' FOR ACORN 'PIMP' HOAX COVERAGE - IT'S PATHETIC

In addition to being wrong, no apology nor explanation offered
Errors already repeated in separate story for tomorrow's paper...

The once-great New York Times has now become the new shame of this nation. Tonight they have run a "correction" concerning their repeated misreporting of the ACORN "Pimp" Hoax for tomorrow's papers. And, as you'll see below, it's pathetic --- simply pathetic --- and still inaccurate.

It has been...

•...six months after the New York Times ran their first incorrect story on the ACORN "Pimp" Hoax;

•...five months since their ombudsman and reader's representative Public Editor Clark Hoyt ([e-mail]) chided the paper for waiting "nearly a week" before reporting on the phony videos, and announcing the assignment of a new editor to specifically follow "the issues that are dominating Fox News and talk radio";

•...almost four months since the former MA Attorney General correctly reported what had really gone on in those ACORN offices (though his report was entirely ignored by the NYT until last weekend);

•...two months after their Senior Editor for Standards Greg Brock ([e-mail]) wrote via email that James O'Keefe "appeared on a live Fox show wearing what HE said was the same exact costume he wore to ACORN's offices...We believe him. Therefore there is nothing for us to correct";

•...two months after Hoyt ([e-mail]) wrote via email to back up the editors and the paper's reporting to say that "The story says O'Keefe dressed up as a pimp and trained his hidden camera on Acorn counselors. It does not say he did those two things at the same time";

•...two days after Hoyt finally admitted in his column that "The Times was wrong…and I have been wrong in defending the paper's phrasing" and that "Editors say they are considering a correction"

[tammywammy]

1. About time. n/t

[mod mom]

2. Rec'd and thank you for not using all caps on this story.

Yes, it's important to follow this but certainly a use of all caps pertaining to the ACORN pimp story is not necessary. :hi:

[RaleighNCDUer]

3. Well, ACORN is shutting down all operations, permanently.

Mission accomplished.

Six months from now only a few will remember, or even know, they lied about it all, but ACORN will still be gone.