MISQUOTED

Josh Marshall argues that quoting people accurately amounts to flackery.

Here’s the story from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer:

Rep. George Nethercutt said yesterday that Iraq’s reconstruction is going better than is portrayed by the news media, citing his recent four-day trip to the country.
“The story of what we’ve done in the postwar period is remarkable,” Nethercutt, R-Wash., told an audience of 65 at a noon meeting at the University of Washington’s Daniel J. Evans School of Public Affairs.

“It is a better and more important story than losing a couple of soldiers every day.”

He added that he did not want any more soldiers to be killed.

Here’s what Nethercutt actually said:

So the story is better than we might be led to believe in the news. I’m just indicting the news people, but it’s, it’s a bigger and better and more important story than losing a couple of soldiers every day which, which heaven forbid is awful.

So, the reporter deliberately split a quotation in mid sentence and moved the closing clause to another paragraph as a throwaway line. Using more column inches in the process, incidentally.

Says Josh:

Slander?

Frankly, it sounds to me like the Post-Intelligencer is mainly guilty of not being Nethercutt’s flack, of not bending over backwards to save Nethercutt from his own clumsy and over-zealous repetition of the White House party line (viz, that the press is hiding the good news.)

But Nethercutt saved himself in the same sentence! And the paper deliberately distorted the quote.

Marshall then goes on to attack the substance of Nethercutt’s assertion, which is fair enough. I tend to agree that accomplishing the mission to which we’ve committed is a more significant story than the trickle of combat deaths; but intelligent people can disagree over that. But, surely, reporters have a responsibility to accurately portray the statements of public officials? How else can the public decide the merits of the issues?

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James Joyner
About James Joyner
James Joyner is Professor and Department Head of Security Studies at Marine Corps University's Command and Staff College. He's a former Army officer and Desert Storm veteran. Views expressed here are his own. Follow James on Twitter @DrJJoyner.

Comments

  1. Yes, but James, the only thing important to Marshall is what Nethercutt really meant, which is something only Marshall knows. [insert eye-rolling here]

  2. Paul says:

    hmmmmmm…

    You know… I read Josh Marshall’s Blog the other day.

    He said he hoped America lost in Iraq and all the soldiers that died deserved what they got.

    Further he said that America deserved 9/11 and he hoped we would have 10 more.

    Paul

    Hey, I don’t make the rules, I just play by them. Those of you not smart enough to get the above are invited to not reply.