Comments on: You can't handle the truth!

You can't handle the truth!

soyjoy — Mon, 08 Mar 2004 09:27:41 -0800

"These people always complain," said Graham Thorn, a psychiatrist, in a Chicago Tribune article about racial tensions in Australia. "They want it both ways--their way and our way. They want to live in our society and be respected, yet they won't work. They steal, they rob and they get drunk. And they don't respect the laws." The problem isn't that Graham Thorn didn't say that; as blogger Tim Blair uncovered, the problem is that Graham Thorn never existed. [more inside]

By: soyjoy

soyjoy — Mon, 08 Mar 2004 09:28:44 -0800

The writer, Uli Schmetzer, admits that he made up the source's name and profession but claims the quote came from a real person. Now the Chicago Tribune has begun examining decades' worth of stories Schmetzer wrote for the Tribune as an employee (he was a freelancer on this one). Although his career at the paper was never ethically perfect (see 1994 complaint), Schmetzer may not be helping things by claiming in a long letter to Romenesko (no permalink; you may need to scroll) that his judgment supercedes ethical codes: "Take the case of the person who gives you that elusive 'perfect quote.' You have assured the guy you are not going to quote him. But what he says absolutely reflects reality and is in the interests of your reading public. What do you do? Do you forget the quote? Do you tag it onto an anonymous source (an option that means it won't see print these days)? Or do you break your code of ethics and change the name?" In the letter, Schmetzer goes on to imply that this isn't the first time he's had to break the rules in order to get the job done.

By: dobbs

dobbs — Mon, 08 Mar 2004 09:55:26 -0800

Interesting. My initial reaction was "he shouldn't have done that" but I gotta admit he makes a good point when he's talking about China in 1989. The problem of course is where the line is drawn and who draws it.

By: me3dia

me3dia — Mon, 08 Mar 2004 10:07:42 -0800

"...Do you tag it onto an anonymous source (an option that means it won't see print these days)? Or do you break your code of ethics and change the name?" I think he's being a bit disingenuous here. The days of anonymous sources are far from over. Sure, it's more compelling when there's a name, but if the quote is that good, and the danger to the source is real, few editors would turn remove it. Good for the Trib for jumping on this. Looks like the NYT's scandal last year actually sunk in.

By: Termite

Termite — Mon, 08 Mar 2004 10:36:49 -0800

...the problem is that Graham Thorn never existed As Voltaire said about god: if he doesn't exist, then we need to invent him.

By: Ljubljana

Ljubljana — Mon, 08 Mar 2004 10:58:12 -0800

Congrats to Tim Blair. People like him do a great service to journalism. And congrats to that idiot who wrote "Thanks for the tin-foil hat alert" in the comments. People like him undo the good done by people like Blair.

By: Steve_at_Linnwood

Steve_at_Linnwood — Mon, 08 Mar 2004 11:29:16 -0800

People like him undo the good done by people like Blair. Nonsense. Good post soyjoy, I was unaware of this until your post. Thank you.

By: Ljubljana

Ljubljana — Mon, 08 Mar 2004 11:57:02 -0800

Nonsense. Just because the doofus-in-question posted from an Ann Coulter page doesn't mean you are obliged to defend him, ya know. Sometimes a tighty-righty can be wrong.

By: kavasa

kavasa — Mon, 08 Mar 2004 12:00:32 -0800

Oh christ I doubt it has anything to do with political affiliation. Neither was the person being defended. S@L was simply opining that random people on the net posting anti-witticisms do very little harm to honest, well-supported investigations such as Blair's.

By: soyjoy

soyjoy — Mon, 08 Mar 2004 12:21:36 -0800

BTW: With another reader writing in (and making a pretty good point) about the Uli Schmetzer letter referenced above, Romenesko's added a linkable anchor. So in case a bunch of other letters come in, you can jump to it here. (Alternate link for "a long letter to Romenesko.")

By: Goofyy

Goofyy — Tue, 09 Mar 2004 09:09:03 -0800

The quote is so typical, what matters anyway who said it? The point is it just reflects a typical attitude.