jeffrey rosen made quite few errors in

Jeffrey Rosen made quite a few errors in his NYT Magazine article about John

Paul Stevens.

Justice Stevens had to write a letter to the magazine to say that:

1. He did not help break the Japanese naval code in WWII.

2. He did not --after his clerkship -- have an offer to teach at Yale

Law School.

3. Contrary to Rosen's assertion that when he returned to Chicago, he

joined with "moderate and good-government Democrats, who were opposed

to the corruption of the Daley machine," he was "never active in

politics," Daley wasn't yet mayor, and he's "never suggested that the

Daley machine was corrupt.

But I could not find this letter, which appears on page 12 of the

paper magazine, through a search on the NYT website. I did find the

original article -- to which is appended a correction:

An article on Page 50 of The Times Magazine this weekend about

Justice John Paul Stevens misstates the university from which he

received his undergraduate degree. It was the University of

Chicago, not Northwestern.

These are only the outright mistakes of fact. If there is any slanting

and skewing, you're on your own.

UPDATE: Eventually, the letter appeared on the website: here.

Labels: Jeffrey Rosen, journalism, Justice Stevens

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posted by Ann Althouse at 8:20 AM

19 Comments:

Blogger Pogo said...

Other than those glaring errors, the rest of it was OK. Or not.

Hard to tell.

Accurate narrative, facts aside.

7:53 AM

Blogger Simon said...

It's pretty bad when in one's zeal to produce a laudatory puff

piece, one makes mistakes so egregious that the object of the

piece has to step in and point out the errors in a public

forum.

8:00 AM

Blogger B said...

.

Heavy sigh . . . .

It's the New York Times, people!

And you're surprised it's inaccurate? Well blow me down! You

sophistikated edjumicated types are kinda slow on the uptake

there a little don't you think?

How about today's edition's zinger:

(regardless of which political side you are on), tell me what

impression you are supposed to get from this sentence, in the

article Cable Channel Nods to Ratings and Leans Left:

"On some nights recently, Mr. Olbermann has even come

tantalizingly close to surpassing the ratings of the host he

describes as his nemesis, Bill O'Reilly on Fox News, at least

among viewers ages 25 to 54, which is the demographic cable

news advertisers prefer. Most of the time, though, Mr. O'Reilly

outdraws Mr. Olbermann by about 1.5 million viewers over all at

the same hour, according to Nielsen Media Research."

"tantalizingly close"? Wow, you would think so unless you read

further and find that Olbermann's still 1.5 million short, and

even further, find out that Olbermann only gets 733,000 from

every demographic.

Save your breath - I'm no O'Reilly fan - I don't watch the

cable news shows at all - but c'mon.

And THAT'S JUST THE FIRST NYT ARTICLE I read this morning.

Bottom Line: It's come to this: You must check the Times every

day to be informed of what's being talked about in the Elite,

academic, and government circles. Then you need to compare to

at least 3 other sources to check for accuracy and honesty.

Because you just can't trust The New York Times. How sad.

8:26 AM

Blogger Robert Burnham said...

This is what happens when a newspaper hires "writers" instead

of "reporters."

8:48 AM

Blogger Hoosier Daddy said...

These are only the outright mistakes of fact. If there is any

slanting and skewing, you're on your own.

When I was in college, if I had turned any term paper or thesis

that contained such 'outright mistakes of fact' I would have

received a big fat F.

How the times change.

8:59 AM

Blogger paul a'barge said...

You're on your own

I've been on my own, intellectually since I went through

puberty. So what?

It's the NY Times. These people lie for a living.

9:47 AM

Blogger Fen said...

The Grey Whore caught in more lies?

Shocked! I tell you, I'm.... zzzzzz

9:56 AM

Blogger ricpic said...

The Times dreams of a better world,

A better world for all of us;

And if the Times at times truth furls

For higher truth...why make a fuss?

10:07 AM

Blogger former law student said...

Part of the cause is the fabled Manhattanite's solipsistic view

of the world. West of the Hudson, people, places, and things

matter little. Northwestern, University of Chicago -- does

knowing the difference really matter in the scheme of things?

But there were corrupt machines in Chicago when Stevens

returned, whether Daley was at their head or not. I suspect

there's something to the story about Stevens aligning himself

with the good government folks.

10:14 AM

Blogger AJ Lynch said...

Even tho Stevens himself claimed he was never active in

politics, Former Law Student still believes "Stevens was

aligned with the good government folks"???

10:55 AM

Blogger former law student said...