Ex-NYT Ombudsman: Media "Extremely Chastened" Since They "Allowed War to Happen"

February 15th, 2006 5:54 PM

According to the website of the Media Giraffe Project -- "a non-partisan, interdisciplinary research initiative housed with the Journalism program at the University/> of Massachusetts Amherst/>/>" -- former New York Times ombudsman (or as they call it, "Public Editor") Daniel Okrent stated Monday night that "the general rolling over on the part of the American press allowed the [Iraq/>/>] war to happen." (Hat tip: Romenesko.)  

Okrent spoke at Williams/> College/>/> in western Massachusetts/>/>. The MGP's Bill Densmore reported that Okrent

said poor press coverage [led] to the Iraq war, because “in a time of war, editors being [sic] to wear epaulettes on their shoulder” and The Times [was] not exceptional in jumping on the bandwagon.

...[Okrent] told a questioner: “The general rolling over on the part of the American press allowed the war to happen. I do believe that is true, and I think the press is extremely chastened by that. I think we all know how bad it was.”