Via Elder at Zyon* I see that David Carr, author of a New York Times article that (surprise(!)) hasbaraniks dislike, has taken the commendable and additional step of responding to critics.
* Elder at Zyon intrigues me. Like a certain other blogger we know and love he's quick to use hyperbolic adjectives but unlike most of the RW bloggers we've met his arguments aren't mendacious and his reasoning isn't shoddy. He also has shown an abuility to understand the other side, without necessarily agreeing. Though I don't agree with his indictment of Carr, I rather like the way he presents it. Style points #ftw. By the way, I have read exactly two Elder at Zyon posts, so take this compliment with a grain of salt.**
** Is his blog's name an homage to Steven I Weiss's late, great megablog or did Protocols die so many eons ago that Elder simply isn't aware it ever existed?
*** Let's not forget two salient points: (1) Carr sincerely and with good reason believes the men were reporters. Though some have raised doubts about the identification, I don't find those objections entirely convincing. (2) Carr learned that the men (and again, these were men he sincerely and with good reason believed were reporters) had been targeted by the IDF from the IDF itself!! He didn't pull that fact out of thin air. He didn't fabricate anything. The IDF fully acknowledges that the men were targeted. And they don't deny that they were journalists!
Here's USA Today characterizing the press's exchange with the IDF spokesman:
That's way too broad and far too open-ended. It should make any freedom-loving person shudder. But to the point, Carr did his job. He performed sufficient research, and he printed the IDF's side of the story. The problem is the IDF's side of the story -- we target anyone with "relevance to terror activity" -- is too loosey-goosey and does absolutely nothing to foreclose or defeat Carr's claim, Taking the IDF at its word it remains possible that, in this case, they did target the media.
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"The three men who died in missile strikes in cars on Nov. 20 were identified by Reuters, AP, AFP, and Washington Post and many other news outlets as journalists," Carr told BuzzFeed in an email. "The Committee to Protect Journalists, which I treat as a reliable, primary source in these matters, identified them as journalists. (as did Reporters without Borders.)"Is this sufficient? I think it is. Again, innocents may believe that newspapers are supposed to be infallible and objective, but innocents also believe in the tooth fairy. A real newspaper makes mistakes and almost always has a rooting interest. In his original article, Carr disclosed his own subjectivity, writing that the attack on people he honestly believes were journalists "hit close to our organization." Its also easy to understand why a reporter might not jump for joy after learning that other reporters were targeted by Israeli missiles***. With this response, Carr admits his own infallibility, making it clear that he he did his due diligence, viz checking the ID with other reporters, and independent agencies like CPJ and RWB. I also take it for granted that an independent fact checker went over the article and his notes before publication. This is responsible, professional behavior. And though its no guarantee that the outcome will be correct, it does inoculate the reporter and his publication from charges of bias or professional malpractice.
"I ran my column by reporters and editors at our shop familiar with current events in the region before I printed it," Carr said. "And I don't believe that an ID made by the IDF is dispostive or obviates what the others said. Doesn't mean that I could not have gotten it wrong, only that the evidence so far suggests that they were journalists, however partisan."
* Elder at Zyon intrigues me. Like a certain other blogger we know and love he's quick to use hyperbolic adjectives but unlike most of the RW bloggers we've met his arguments aren't mendacious and his reasoning isn't shoddy. He also has shown an abuility to understand the other side, without necessarily agreeing. Though I don't agree with his indictment of Carr, I rather like the way he presents it. Style points #ftw. By the way, I have read exactly two Elder at Zyon posts, so take this compliment with a grain of salt.**
** Is his blog's name an homage to Steven I Weiss's late, great megablog or did Protocols die so many eons ago that Elder simply isn't aware it ever existed?
*** Let's not forget two salient points: (1) Carr sincerely and with good reason believes the men were reporters. Though some have raised doubts about the identification, I don't find those objections entirely convincing. (2) Carr learned that the men (and again, these were men he sincerely and with good reason believed were reporters) had been targeted by the IDF from the IDF itself!! He didn't pull that fact out of thin air. He didn't fabricate anything. The IDF fully acknowledges that the men were targeted. And they don't deny that they were journalists!
Here's USA Today characterizing the press's exchange with the IDF spokesman:
Asked whether Israel had widened its range of targets to include journalists working for media run by Hamas or other militant groups, Leibovich said: "The targets are people who have relevance to terror activity."As you can see the IDF made no denial when asked if they were targeting journalists, and, pointedly, they also refused to claim that the men were terrorists! Instead the IDF asserted a right to target anyone with "relevance to terror activity."
That's way too broad and far too open-ended. It should make any freedom-loving person shudder. But to the point, Carr did his job. He performed sufficient research, and he printed the IDF's side of the story. The problem is the IDF's side of the story -- we target anyone with "relevance to terror activity" -- is too loosey-goosey and does absolutely nothing to foreclose or defeat Carr's claim, Taking the IDF at its word it remains possible that, in this case, they did target the media.
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