Editor & Publisher: Disgraced Eason Jordan Attacks AP Over 6 Burning Iraqis Report

January 3rd, 2007 2:18 AM

As reported here on Newsbusters the Associated Press is refusing to back down from, nor give satisfactory evidence for, its November report that 6 Iraqi Sunnis were burned alive in sectarian violence, a claim heavily disputed seemingly by everyone but the AP.

The AP based their reports of this grisly violence on the word of a single "witness" they named as Iraqi police captain, Jamail Hussein. Unfortunately for the AP, and despite quite a lot of effort by quite a few people, this captain of Iraqi police cannot be located so that the story can be substantiated. The AP, however, continues to claim that he exists despite the paucity of evidence.

And, also as reported here on NewsBusters, Editor & Publisher posted a story making fun of Conservative Bloggers for attacking the AP assuming that they had discovered via a post on the Winds of Change Blog that this captain Hussein had been found. E&P gleefully claimed that folks who criticized the AP for the lack of proof of the existence of the mythical AP source, such as Michelle Malkin, would have to "eat crow" since they imagined him finally found.

But, since E&P's taunting of Conservative Bloggers, no further confirmation of the existence of captain Hussein has been brought forth and his existence is still shrouded in doubt.

Well, now disgraced CNN News Chief Eason Jordan has stepped up his own criticism of the AP's refusal to settle this dispute with a plaintive call to the AP to come clean on a new site called Iraqslogger. Jordan wrapped up his call to bring the AP to account with: "Until this matter is resolved, the AP's credibility will suffer."*

Editor & Publisher dutifully reports this little conflict as if they are merely practicing good journalism while conveniently forgetting their gleeful attack of Conservative Bloggers of only three weeks ago.

Still, despite Editor & Publisher's faulty memory, this Capt. Hussein controversy rolls on making the AP out to be liars, Editor & Publisher to be partisan hacks, and Conservative Bloggers to be right... again.

* And Eason Jordan should know from suffering credibility. For some background on why Eason Jordan left CNN try this story, Blogger's Success- CNN's Eason Jordon Quits.