2008 Woodie Awards
The push for ratings results in violence
Newsweek's mistake leaves 17 dead and hundreds injured
Filippo Goodman
Issue date: 5/20/05 Section: Opinion
- Page 1 of 1
In the journalistic-equivalent of saying "our bad," Newsweek magazine retracted a story that set off violence in the Muslim world, leaving approximately 17 dead, and hundreds injured.
In the story, a claim was made that U.S military investigators had uncovered evidence that interrogators at Guantánamo Bay had flushed the Qu'ran (the Islamic Holy book) down the toilet in an effort to get inmates to cooperate. Although the May 9 report was small (about 250 words), the news item gained momentum when it was repeated by television networks such as Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya, and the Pakistan government.
The news reawakened the Muslim world, as anti-American sentiment boiled over, sparking demonstrations teeming with hostility and violence that has spanned across the Middle East.
When Newsweek discovered that their anonymous source was "unsure" about his earlier claim, the magazine tried to issue a quick apology and retraction, but the damage was already done.
In an effort to quell the growing chaos, U.S Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice provided a somewhat comical statement, "I want to speak directly to Muslims in America and throughout the world. Disrespect for the Holy Quran is not now, nor has it ever been, nor will it ever be, tolerated by the United States."
Yeah, thank goodness there has been no wrongdoing at Abu Ghraib.
As usual, in the era of 24-hour cable and radio news coverage, the Newsweek story has been put in a political washing machine. The war and all of its entanglements, including the abuses at Abu Ghraib, and its connection to the White House, are now drowned out and replaced by "a liberal media" that is purposely pumping out erroneous information in an effort to make the administration look bad.
This latest saga gives conspiracy theorists the excuse to deem important details irrelevant. In part, this is similar to the Dan Rather episode last year, where any validity to Bush's questionable military history was spun and replaced by wicked tales of anti-Bush journalists, and a biased media run amok.
Taking the temperature of worldwide culture, we now have further evidence of the unending depths of religious fervor, particularly in the Middle East. Based on the religious element of the Newsweek story, the Muslim reaction was swift and devastating. In a telling bit of irony, the Muslim response to the desecration of a religious book far outstripped the outrage when tales of actual human abuse were released.
Unfortunately, this latest controversy all stems from the shoddy journalism that was packed in one paragraph, not political bias.
The sensationalistic agenda of "ratings and attention," in favor of an emphasis on truth, has reared its ugly head in the nastiest of ways. The mere idea that a respected magazine would drop a cultural bomb based on a shaky source speaks to the mindset of the media.
Sadly, we were once again exposed to the power of the press, and its misplaced priorities.
In the story, a claim was made that U.S military investigators had uncovered evidence that interrogators at Guantánamo Bay had flushed the Qu'ran (the Islamic Holy book) down the toilet in an effort to get inmates to cooperate. Although the May 9 report was small (about 250 words), the news item gained momentum when it was repeated by television networks such as Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya, and the Pakistan government.
The news reawakened the Muslim world, as anti-American sentiment boiled over, sparking demonstrations teeming with hostility and violence that has spanned across the Middle East.
When Newsweek discovered that their anonymous source was "unsure" about his earlier claim, the magazine tried to issue a quick apology and retraction, but the damage was already done.
In an effort to quell the growing chaos, U.S Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice provided a somewhat comical statement, "I want to speak directly to Muslims in America and throughout the world. Disrespect for the Holy Quran is not now, nor has it ever been, nor will it ever be, tolerated by the United States."
Yeah, thank goodness there has been no wrongdoing at Abu Ghraib.
As usual, in the era of 24-hour cable and radio news coverage, the Newsweek story has been put in a political washing machine. The war and all of its entanglements, including the abuses at Abu Ghraib, and its connection to the White House, are now drowned out and replaced by "a liberal media" that is purposely pumping out erroneous information in an effort to make the administration look bad.
This latest saga gives conspiracy theorists the excuse to deem important details irrelevant. In part, this is similar to the Dan Rather episode last year, where any validity to Bush's questionable military history was spun and replaced by wicked tales of anti-Bush journalists, and a biased media run amok.
Taking the temperature of worldwide culture, we now have further evidence of the unending depths of religious fervor, particularly in the Middle East. Based on the religious element of the Newsweek story, the Muslim reaction was swift and devastating. In a telling bit of irony, the Muslim response to the desecration of a religious book far outstripped the outrage when tales of actual human abuse were released.
Unfortunately, this latest controversy all stems from the shoddy journalism that was packed in one paragraph, not political bias.
The sensationalistic agenda of "ratings and attention," in favor of an emphasis on truth, has reared its ugly head in the nastiest of ways. The mere idea that a respected magazine would drop a cultural bomb based on a shaky source speaks to the mindset of the media.
Sadly, we were once again exposed to the power of the press, and its misplaced priorities.