politics

Presenting Fact as Hearsay

June 21, 2005

Back in 1994, President Bush’s controversial appointee to the United Nations, Undersecretary of State John Bolton, stated at the Global Structures Convocation that “there is no such thing as the United Nations.” He continued, “If the U.N. secretary building in New York lost 10 stories, it wouldn’t make a bit of difference.”

Given that these statements are on the public record, one reader of the New York Times’ Web site CC’ed us on an email to Barney Calame, the Times’ new public editor, expressing indignation at the way the paper played these comments in a story posted yesterday.

Here’s how the mid-day story on the Bolton nomination reported the comments:

Mr. Bolton’s critics say that as an under secretary of state, he often bullied subordinates and tried to intimidate officials who did not agree with his views. They say, too, that he has made disparaging remarks about the United Nations that make him unfit to be Washington’s envoy to the organization. [Emphasis added.]

There’s no need for the Times to write that “critics say” Bolton disparaged the United Nations. It’s on the record; he did disparage the United Nations. To frame that as a charge hurled by critics leaves the reader unsure as to whether Bolton actually did make “disparaging remarks” about the United Nations.

Fortunately, a check of this morning’s print edition of the article finds the previous language cleaned up. Note the difference:

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But critics say that Mr. Bolton is overly aggressive and that he has bullied intelligence officials who held more conservative estimates of weapons programs in Cuba and Syria than his. Mr. Bolton’s detractors also say his disparaging comments about the United Nations make him unfit to represent the United States at a time when diplomacy is critical. [Emphasis added.]

A few words make all the difference.

–Thomas Lang

Correction: This post has been changed to reflect that Bolton’s remarks about the United Nations referenced above were made at the Global Structures Convocation, not to the Federalist Society. Our original report relied on a CNN article which stated they were made to the Federalist Society.

Thomas Lang was a writer at CJR Daily.