Picking Some Journalistic Nits

The Times typically sets the standard for quality journalism, but the Feb. 18 edition contained an unusually sloppy bit of reporting on Iran. Written by two longtime reporters, Steven Lee Meyers and Rick Gladstone, the article (“Talks With Iran Over Nuclear Problem May Resume”) was a relatively brief addition to the paper’s compendium of more deeply sourced reporting on the region. However, the piece’s brevity does not excuse the lack of expert opinion and strange selection of interviewees. Beyond an official statement from Catherine Ashton, the EU’s foreign policy chief, and a press release from the website of international banking consortium SWIFT, the reporters quote from only two other sources: United Against Nuclear Iran, an activist group based in New York, and Dennis B. Ross, who is described as “a former State Department and National Security Council official.”

Both sources are problematic. That United Against Nuclear Iran is even mentioned in the piece is bizarre; the group has not appeared in any previous Times articles on Iran, and the reporters do not explain why it should be considered a legitimate authority. In other articles about Iran’s nuclear program, the credentials of the experts who offer their opinions are clear. A Feb. 20 article cites the following experts:

• “Anthony H. Cordesman, an influential military analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.”

• “Michael V. Hayden, who was the director of the Central Intelligence Agency from 2006 to 2009.”

Such experts are usually affiliated with the government, with think tanks, or with reputable universities. Activists or special-interest groups are rarely cited in discussions of foreign policy, and usually only to illuminate the political dimensions of a conflict. An article on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, for example, would not rely on the opinions of an AIPAC or J Street lobbyist unless the story was focused on Israel’s role in American politics. Yet United Against Nuclear Iran is given a forum in which to express its conviction that “Now is the time for the most robust sanctions in history, and more pressure on the regime than ever before.”

All the cool kids have 'em.

The UANI website paints Iran as a mortal threat to Israel, Iraq and America, and pushes visitors to “join the cause” by signing a petition. A bright yellow bar across the splashpage highlights an “Iran Engagement Clock” that ticks away the seconds that “President Obama has extended a hand of peace to Iran.” (Particularly weird is the online store, which sells UANI-logo baseball caps and water bottles. Who exactly is the target market for this kind of swag?) UANI’s leadership is a “who’s who” of foreign policy elites, most of whom have extensive diplomatic and scholarly backgrounds that would make them more legitimate individual sources than the partisan advocacy group they support. Among the co-founders and advisory board members is none other than Dennis B. Ross, the second and only other outside source quoted in the Times article. While Ross is certainly qualified to comment on the Iranian nuclear program, the Times reporters fail to disclose his relationship with UANI. What looked to be two independent sources has now become one. Meyers and Gladstone presumably sat through Journalism 101, so they should realize the dangers relying on a single source. At first glance, the article presents an expert (Ross) whose opinions dovetail with the position of an advocacy group (UANI), when in reality the expert and the advocacy group are one and the same.

This oversight is especially surprising because the Times is usually diligent in noting conflicts of interest and competing loyalties. Another expert quoted in the Feb. 20 article discussed above is identified as “Andrew R. Hoehn, a former Pentagon official who is now director of the Rand Corporation’s Project Air Force, which does extensive research for the United States Air Force.” Ross could have easily been described in a similar fashion that recognized both his government connections and private-sector involvement. Interestingly enough, in a op-ed written by Ross himself and published in the Times on Feb. 14, the author is described thusly:

Dennis B. Ross, a former State Department and National Security Council official, was a special assistant to President Obama for the Middle East, Afghanistan and South Asia from 2009 to 2011. He is now a counselor at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

There is no mention of UANI — though, to be fair, the op-ed ran four days prior to the Meyers-Gladstone article citing the group, and the opinion page editor likely had no clue that anyone in news division had spoken to Ross.

What, in the end, is the takeaway from all this? I’m not sure that one sloppy article points to a trend; indeed, I doubt there are many real conclusions to draw from Meyer and Gladstone’s article, other than even the Times sometimes gets lazy. I certainly haven’t noticed the pattern in other articles, though I suppose it depends on my level of curiosity at any particular moment. The inclusion of an advocacy group’s perspective was unusual enough for met to click on the UANI link, but had it not piqued my interest, the connection between Ross and the group would have gone unnoticed. Perhaps the most I can say is that the case would make for an interesting five-minute discussion in a J-school lecture.