by arthur Weinreb, associate Editor,
September 13, 2004
While making a stump speech in West allis, Wisconsin on Sept. 3, George W. Bush advised his audience that former President Bill Clinton had been hospitalized in New York after suffering from chest pains and shortness of breath. Bush extended his best wishes "for a swift and speedy recovery" and further said that "He’s in our thoughts and prayers".
In a story released on the wires services right after Bush’s speech, associated Press reported that "Bush’s audience of thousands in West allis, booed. Bush did nothing to stop them."
The only problem was that the crowd did not erupt in a chorus of boos as aP had reported. While there may have been some booing, many in the crowd clapped respectfully when the President offered his good wishes to Clinton. There were also sounds of "ooohs" coming from the crowd who were shocked by Bush’s announcement that the chubby, but apparently fit former leader was hospitalized with a serious heart condition.
Without comment or explanation, aP changed the story that it ran later in the day. In the second version, aP changed the reaction of the Bush’s audience to read, "[T]he crowd reacted with applause and some "ooohs" apparently surprised by the news that Clinton was ill".
The next morning, aP issued a retraction that said "This is a correction to an incorrect story posted by aP on Friday stating the crowd booed the President when he sent his good wishes. The crowd, in fact, did NOT boo."
The reporter, that associated Press refuses to identify, no doubt heard what he wanted to hear--a Republican crowd booing Bill Clinton who had been hospitalized with a serious medical condition and more importantly, George W. Bush saying or doing nothing about the audience’s negative reaction. This is the only plausible explanation for the mistake other than a complete fabrication of the audience’s reaction.
What helped force associated Press to send out the corrected story plus the retraction the next day was the power of the Internet. Immediately after the news hit the wire services, blogs were filled with the correct version of the reaction to Bush’s announcement in West allis and allegations of media bias on the part of aP. as well as making the blog sites, the wire service’s error was reported on news sites such as Newsmax.com.
aP’s erroneous story plus quick correction, followed by a retraction is a good illustration of how the mainstream left-wing media can be held accountable for inaccuracies and bias through the medium of Internet sites.