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An explanation that falls short

Tucked into this New York Times correction (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/09/pageoneplus/corrections.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=corrections&st=nyt&oref=slogin) - about a boy's injured feet in Zimbabwe - is something else of interest. The Times did a good job explaining how it pursued the truth after finding out an earlier claim wasn't true. But why was there only a passing, cryptic reference to the newspaper's decision to cross a line from reporting to helping? Readers deserve to know more, especially since it apparently was this Times-directed twist in the story that brought the false information to light.
Published Friday, July 11, 2008 5:23 AM by AndySchotz

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# re: An explanation that falls short

Sunday, July 13, 2008 2:12 AM by AndySchotz
An addendum: Bill Keller, the Times' executive editor, defended a photographer's decision to take the boy to a hospital (http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003825810) as "an act of kindness." Yes, journalists are human and can be humane - but they shouldn't try to be both a rescuer and a neutral observer while covering a story.
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