September 20, 2007

Private Scott Thomas Beauchamp - two months on

Two months ago, at the end of July, there was a big flap over an article by a "Scott Thomas" describing military atrocities in Iraq published in the The New Republic. Here was my take on it. Now, two months later, the editor of The New Republic has yet to follow up on his promise to investigate and fact check. Bob Owens at Media Mythbusters Blog has the story:
A Journalistic Farce
Today is the two-month anniversary of Franklin Foer claiming that he and The New Republic would run an honest investigation into the claims made in a story written by Scott Thomas Beauchamp:
Several conservative blogs have raised questions about the Diarist “Shock Troops,” written by a soldier in Iraq using the pseudonym Scott Thomas. Whenever anybody levels serious accusations against a piece published in our magazine, we take those charges seriously. Indeed, we’re in the process of investigating them. I’ve spoken extensively with the author of the piece and have communicated with other soldiers who witnessed the events described in the diarist. Thus far, these conversations have done nothing to undermine–and much to corroborate–the author’s descriptions. I will let you know more after we complete our investigation.

–Franklin Foer

Editor Foer has also argued on July 26 that the article “was rigorously edited and fact-checked before it was published.”

Since that time, a few things have happened:
Bob then goes on to list item by item all of the flaws in Thomas' story and all of the promisses made by TNR's staff and editor that remain today, unfulfilled. He then closes with these thoughts:
They attempted to cover up the fact that they did not fact check Beuchamp’s articles prior to publication, and even attempted to cover up the fact that the author was married to a TNR fact-checker. Faced with legitimate questions about the veracity of claims made by their author, the editors instead attacked those raising these questions, while at the same time running a whitewash of an investigation designed to give them rhetorical cover instead of uncovering the facts.

Ultimately, it seems that even the author won’t support the articles, and The New Republic is left twisting in the wind, hoping that noone will notice just how naked, exposed, and yes, corrupt they have been over the course of this sordid story.

The editorial staff of The New Republic, led for the last time by Franklin Foer, should retract all three stories penned by Scott Thomas Beauchamp, apologize profusely to the readership of The New Republic for deceiving them for over two months, and resign.

It remains to be seen if they retain that much integrity.
Posted by DaveH at September 20, 2007 9:48 PM
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