Journalism is a rather arrogant profession. Journalists love to think of themselves as public servants, defending the helpless masses from the schemes of government, corporate America, organized religion, the military, special interests or any other convenient institutional boogeyman that is handy at the moment.
And there is nothing those servants of the public love more than taking a shot at a Republican administration they don't care for.
And if they can scoop their rivals in the process -- perfect.
Which is probably why Newsweek editors thought they'd struck gold a week ago, when the magazine published a short item claiming that, as part of their interrogation techniques, U.S. officials at the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba had flushed copies of the Koran down the toilet.
A nice little anecdote to drive home just how unprincipled and anti-Islam U.S. officials are.
In a word -- perfect.
There was just one problem with the flaming bag that Newsweek left on the Pentagon's doorstep in its 9 May issue -- it turned out to be full of the magazine's own crap.
On Monday, Newsweek retracted the story, after the magazine's sole source for the item recanted his accusation that an internal military investigation had found evidence of Koran desecration during interrogations.
At least Newsweek is trying to get its reporting right after the fact.
And after the story sparked protests and riots in Afghanistan and other Islamic nations, in which more than a dozen people were killed.
The press does pack plenty of power, power which can be a force for the freedom of information.
Used improperly or capriciously, though, it can also be a force for disinformation. Disinformation which, in this case, killed real people and did real damage to America's efforts to improve its image in the Islamic world.
Journalists -- though they are usually loath to admit it -- make mistakes like everyone else.
Newsweek deserves at least some credit for rapidly admitting its mistake and retracting the story. (Consider, by comparison, how CBS News clung for weeks to the obviously forged documents it used to impugn President Bush's National Guard record, or Bush's own studied silence whenever he's asked to name a single mistake he has made as President.)
The problem, though, is that an apology isn't enough.
The Newsweek incident ought to serve as just the latest signal that American publications need to do some real soul-searching when it comes to their use of anonymous and second-hand sources. Exhibit A: Newsweek's story about Koran desecration was based on what one "unnamed U.S. official" claimed to have read in an internal military report.
In the game of gotcha journalism, with the added pressure to be first to print, it's tempting to cut corners, to take sources at their word -- especially when the story is, well, perfect.
Problem is, sources lie, and sources make mistakes.
And it falls to journalists to check their sources and their claims before putting them into print.
Journalists love to think of themselves as public servants.
And for those journalists genuinely interested in serving the public, making sure they get their facts straight would be an easy way to start.
