ABC News Does What CBS Won’t: Correct the Record
Jeff Fager, chairman of CBS News and producer for the networks flagship newsmagazine should take a cue from his competitors at ABC News.
On Tuesday, July 8 news anchor Diane Sawyer mistakenly referred to a video of Palestinians trying to recover the belongings from the aftermath of an Israeli air strike as Israelis “trying to salvage what they can” after a missile attack from the Gaza Strip. Two days later, on Thursday July 11, the network issued an statement that read as follows:
On Tuesday night “World News” aired a report on the conflict between the Palestinians and Israelis, including attacks from both sides.
In the introduction to the story, we mistakenly identified a family depicted in a still photo.
They are Palestinian, not Israeli.
We regret the error and will correct it.
Later that day, Sawyer said the following to her audience:
And now a note. On Tuesday evening, we made a mistake and I want to put up these pictures again because during an introduction to a story on the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians, I misidentified these powerful images. The people in these photos are Palestinians in Gaza in the aftermath of an air strike by Israel, not Israelis, as I mistakenly described them. And we want you to know we are truly sorry for the error.
Writing for The Washington Post, Erik Wimple took note of the correction, stating that Sawyer’s “’note’ fills the boxes on the gray-bearded journo’s ethical corrections list.” He runs down all of the requirements:
· Issuing the correction on the same platform on which the mistake ran? Check.
· Disclosing the full extent of the error? Check.
· Taking personal responsibility for the error? Check.
· Apologizing for the error? Check.
Textbook on-air correction? Check.
Sadly, not everyone exhibits the same commitment to correcting the record. It’s been more than a year and 60 Minutes has yet to correct an egregious error regarding the security barrier in the West Bank. In April 2012, the news magazine said the barrier completely surrounds Bethlehem. It doesn’t.
CBS News exec Fager repeated the error at his church and was called out on his factual misstatement. He said he’d look into it, but to this day, no correction has been made.
In this instance, ABC News exhibited the type of journalistic integrity that Fager and his network pretends to have.
For background about CBS News’ failure to correct go here and watch the video below:
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