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Topic: Letters Sent to Romenesko
Date/Time: 4/24/2007 4:37:03 PM
Title: Washington Times responds to Bateman's complaint
Posted By: Jim Romenesko
 
From DAVID JONES, foreign editor, Washington Times: The following is an e-mail I just sent to Bob Bateman in response to his letter posted on your website.

Regarding your letter to Romenesko criticizing our article on the use of humor by U.S. troops in Iraq, I would like to make three points:

1. You are correct about one thing: To refer to a sergeant-major on
second reference as "Maj. Stanley" was an egregious and ridiculous error. All I can say is that the error was introduced on the copy desk, after the story had been correctly edited on the desk of origin, and in disregard of specific instructions that he should be "Sgt.-Maj. Stanley on second reference. Be assured that this will be protested vigorously. But is there a newspaper in America where that kind of stupid mistake is not made from time to time?

2. The reporter who wrote the story has been to Iraq about 10 times since 2003, for periods of up to two months at a time. She has performed courageously, narrowly avoiding kidnapping or death by going out into the streets when few other reporters dared to. She has been unsparing in her description of the terrible toll the war has taken both on American troops and on the Iraqi people. How dare you impugn her because, after all of that, she tried to explain how the soldiers use jokes and horseplay to keep their sanity in the face of all that horror? (I suggest you google her byline and read some of her other stories so that you will know what you are talking about.)

3. Send me your address and I will mail you $1.75 so that you can actually purchase and read our newspaper for a week. Read the foreign coverage for seven days and then e-mail me at this address. If you detect any bias of any kind, I want to hear about it. [Permalink]

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