By Nathanial Burchfiel
CNSNews.com
Published 8/10/2007
Excpert:
In a statement posted on its website, TNR editors said their investigation of his reports found that the incident took place in Kuwait, not Iraq. "When presented with this important discrepancy, Beauchamp acknowledged his error," the statement said. "We sincerely regret this mistake."
But even that mistake is enough to raise serious questions about the accuracy of the rest of Beauchamp's writing and about TNR's handling of the case, according to Bob Steele, a scholar for journalism values at the Poynter Institute.
"[I]f the writer, the Baghdad Diarist, can not get that information straight, it raises reasonable questions about whether any of his other facts are also either illegitimate, downright wrong, or maybe even deceptive," Steele told Cybercast News Service.
Steele also criticized other factors in the case, saying he was "troubled" by the fact that Beauchamp was in a relationship with TNR reporter Elspeth Reeves. The two are married. "It raises the specter of competing loyalties and potential conflicts of interest," he said.
Steele said the decision to grant Beauchamp anonymity — TNR printed his columns under the pen name Scott Thomas — "can and should be questioned. There are times when news organizations give the protection of anonymity or confidentiality to sources or to, in rare cases, authors of pieces. But those situations should be in the exceptional case and it's very questionable in my mind whether it was legitimate in this circumstance to give that protection of anonymity."
