THE MARKUP
NYT Publishes More Allen Rumors [Stephen Spruiell]
The rules that normally apply to stories based on pure hearsay have evidently been suspended when it comes to rumors that George Allen used the n-word. The latest NYT article on the controversy is based on a single source — "an active Democrat" — who claims to have overheard Allen use the word "at a party on election night in 1976." The story contains absolutely no corroboration that the woman was even at the party, much less accounts from others who attended and might have heard Allen using the same language.
The irresponsibility of publishing a story like this should be obvious to the NYT, and yet they chose to run it anyway. Their decision to do so sends a clear message to any Democrat who has ever been in the same room with Allen: If you allege it, we'll publish it, and the damage will be done. I think a lot of Allen's wounds are self-inflicted, but that doesn't make it right to suspend basic rules of journalistic fairness when it comes to writing about the man.
09/27 02:37 PM
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