As one who goes out of his way to praise and defend traditional print media, I feel a bit let down by some recent developments.
The Los Angeles Times, arguably the nation’s third most influential newspaper, apologized in editions of 3/27/08 for an article earlier this month about a brutal 1994 attack on rap superstar Tupac Shakur. Apparently, purported FBI documents cited by the Times now are thought to be forged.
And the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, in my view, dropped the ball about widespread flight cancellations late on March 26 at Hartsfield International Airport, the nation’s busiest.
The AJC, which normally covers Hartsfield and hometown Delta like a blanket, looked foolish when morning TV shows on March 27 had footage of stranded travelers, and AJC readers had to go below the fold on the METRO COVER to find any mention of the schedule disruption, which was ordered for safety reasons.
The AJC has been known to hold or remake A1 for a football game or even a late Braves baseball affair, so it’s hard to understand why they didn’t rip up the cover for something they had to know would have an international ripple effect. Yes, it’s on their Web site, but news is news.
The Times and others already should have been excessively wary of potentially forged documents. Remember the George W. Bush National Guard hoax that was uncovered by bloggers and eventually forced Dan Rather’s banishment?
The Times, which reports heavily on the entertainment industry, perhaps should have checked closer with the FBI about the documents, although law enforcement can be very uncooperative.
Still, with all the noted pressure from the Internet, the Times and AJC should be helping themselves out better than this.
