Two days ago, the National Review’s Andrew McCarthy, who reported (based on a suggestively-worded Breitbart article) that Obama would be spending July 4th in Paris, recanted his statement via tweet:
LOL! ok, ok – I see story says Obama CAMPAIGN not nec Obama will be fundraising in Paris on July 4. I didn’t realize there was a difference.
You know who’s actually spending Independence Day in Europe? The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/roberts-jokes-trip-impregnable-fortress-16681307#.T_NGE47mFS8
Shouldn’t you have fact checked that before your original post? Relying on one source, especially a fairly biased one, doesn’t lend much credibility.
Journalists make honest mistakes sometimes. What separates the great journalists from the mediocre ones is that the greats own up to their mistakes graciously and sincerely. And the TRULY great journalists throughout history have always prefaced their retractions with a hearty LOL! to show that they really get it.
I think what also makes a great journalist is ones who fact check. They can still make mistakes….but it will probably less often than those who just repeat a claim from one partisan source. That’s more stenography than journalism.