the latest on Qur'anGate

GetReligion's slogan by William Schneider could not be more appropriate here: The press doesn't get religion. Newsweek has gone out of their way to prove this tired truth.
Captain Ed covers and comments on Newsweek's retraction.

His particular point about responsibility in publishing a questionable story--and the devestating consequences that come from a failure of this responsibility--should be well taken:

Not only was this a gossipy, ludicrous, and irrelevant piece of trivia, its power to inflame Islamists could easily have been guessed by people who have followed the war on terror, or at least its propaganda value. That's the ultimate issue with Newsweek. Its editors have proven themselves absolutely clueless, with journalistic judgment related to that of the Weekly World News. The executive management should consider that when they review the catastrophic failure of Mark Whitaker, Michael Isikoff, and John Barry that led to the deaths of sixteen people and the enormous damage to American interests in a vitally strategic area in the war on terror.

He also links to an interesting conversation that The Anchoress had with a mainstream media type

Consider Newsweek' grotesque attempt to cover a story as a major international news medium with John Paul The Great's call to those responsible for communication.

In particular:

The mass media can and must promote justice and solidarity according to an organic and correct vision of human development, by reporting events accurately and truthfully, analyzing situations and problems completely, and providing a forum for different opinions. An authentically ethical approach to using the powerful communication media must be situated within the context of a mature exercise of freedom and responsibility, founded upon the supreme criteria of truth and justice.

What's amazing about all of this is how the star investigative reporter for Newsweek and the editorial staff could commit such a careless and unprofessional act. Any respectable journalist corraborates sources. Especially if they are anonymous sources.

There's also the issue of whether or not a story like this, even if true, should come to light. It appears the media has taken its Vietnam/Watergate sensibility and codified it into a mantra of media orthodoxy. The trouble is: we're fighting jihadists that have no trouble flying jets into towers. These same jihadists, in the form of Iranian Mullahs, issued an international death sentence to Salmon Rushdie for publishing a novel that may have criticized Islam. Is the idea that extremists among these fanatics might use such a story as a pretext for violence so incomprehensible?

Apparently, to newsweek, it was.

Update: Loose Cannon has more to say on the issue. Scroll down to Newsweek: Blinded by Bias?