These are just my personal favorites, not necessarily the biggest ones in 2007. In no particular order
1- The Scott Thomas Beauchamp/The New Republic saga. As a long-time reader of TNR I am disappointed that magazine screwed up so badly again. I feel the magazine never apologized properly to readers
In a related side bar to the Beauchamp story we have-
2- Michael Goldfarb of The Weekly Standard. Goldfarb was one of the leaders in uncovering the mess at TNR. Unfortunately that doesn’t let Goldfarb off from his own sins. He was caught in a minor mistake in one of his columns but refused to fix it. No big deal? Why not make the small correction, and he’s criticizing or mocking a publication for their lack of journalistic standards. Smells faintly of hypocrisy.
That wasn’t all that Goldfarb did. He was supplied with a letter about FOB Falcon from a soldier, with the help of another blogger, Blue Star Chronicles aka Beth. Without Beth, he’d never gotten that letter. Well Michael despite promises to give BSC credit, never did. Stealing other people’s work and hypocrisy. Is Goldfarb any better than TNR. Actually I rank Goldfarb lower.
Goldfarb and I had a long email exchange(I still have my copies) over all this. He finally said he’d recognize Beth’s contribution, if I’d meet him halfway and drop my complaints. I couldn’t because, I’d felt if I had. After linking to the blogger for about 6 hours, Goldfarb yanked the link because he was pissed at me!
I’m the one who called Goldfarb out on his mistake, plus prompted Beth to get their friend in contact with Goldfarb. If you want to read this mess, click here.
3- To be fair and balanced, lets not let off the National Review Online either for the reporting done for it by W. Thomas Smith
4- The Washington Times for reporting Fort Huachuca was under threat of attack by terrorists who were being helped by the drug cartels. For $20,000! One prominent blogger called the money chump change and the whole thing laughable. In the end, that’s what the whole story was- a laugh. Few people believe it anymore.
5- Jason Coskrey of The Japan Times Online writing about the lack of impact female Japanese golfers have had in the USA. He totally forgets Ayako Okamoto, who didn’t just win 17 LPGA events but was once player of the year. That’s like a baseball columnist talking great homerun hitters and leaving out Babe Ruth.
6- Columnist Mark Steyn gives us a triple play
A- One morning I woke up to discover Florida seceded from the Union!
B- I don’t know about you, but insulting the manhood of male murder victims is disgusting to me.
C- Lumping legal alien nurses in with hotel maids, plumbers, and farm workers. The last three(or two out of three. The only plumbers I know are our church deacon and a legal immigrant whose also a member of our church) of which are occupations occupied by illegal aliens.
I seldom read Steyn, probably did so a half dozen times in all of 2007. When I read his work, I find myself looking for mistakes. What I mentioned above is all I could call him out on, there was another story where his facts were highly suspicious but I couldn’t prove or disprove. There was also the time Steyn talked about late President Ford in the present tense. Was it a typo or was a seance held? I had another quibble with Steyn’s use of a Ford quote, but someone accused me of nitpicking. As if nitpicking is only allowed when doing liberals in the MSM, not conservatives.
Bottom line- Give me Charles Krauthammer any day.
7- I woke up one morning to discover the Miami Dolphins were 12-0 this year. Thanks to the Sun-Sentinel.
8- Someone give Associated Press writer Melissa Nelson a map of Florida.
9- While you’re at it, someone tell AP military reporter Lolita C Baldor that military officers do not re-enlist.
10- Associated Press again for thinking the crank predictions of Dr. William Gray for the 2008 hurricane season are worthy of a news alert.
11- Frank Gaffney writing for the Washington Times and getting all apoplectic over the Annapolis conference. Comparing it to Munich 1938. Someone give this think tank head a valium.
12- Brian Wacker of Golf World making no less than 8 mistakes in a 500 word article about Tiger Woods possibly breaking a long-time PGA record. Wacker is no longer employed by GW, I wonder why.
13- The Tampa Tribune reporting they won journalism awards for excellence at a ceremony they weren’t even honored at.
14- I can’t let my hometown paper off for the year. The Palm Beach Post reported a Target store was closing to be replaced by Super Target, and that the original store’s 150 employees were possibly being laid off.
Which was untrue, Target was keeping those 150 people in addition to hiring 100 more.
15- The NYT for their cover magazine article about women suffering sexual abuse when in Iraq. One of the women featured had never served a day there.
Those are just my favorites. There were many more, too many to list.
Update- Fixed several typos, including those pointed out by a commenter. I don’t employ a copy editor or proofreader. All mistakes are therefore my own.
