IraqSlogger: The AP’s Jamil Hussein Scandal

Inquiries by others point to there being no Captain Jamil Hussein, although there is no proof of that.

While proof might yet surface to substantiate the AP’s story - there is circumstantial but unreliable evidence in that regard - conclusive evidence has not yet materialized.

The AP has steadfastly refused to answer questions about this episode from IraqSlogger and other news outlets and bloggers.

In statements, the AP insists Captain Hussein is real, insists he has been known to the AP and others for years, and insists the immolation episode occurred based on multiple eyewitnesses.

But efforts by two governments, several news organizations, and bloggers have failed to produce such evidence or proof that there is a Captain Jamil Hussein. The AP cannot or will not produce him or convincing evidence of his existence.

In re the first sentence here, I’d note that you can’t prove a negative. That said, it does appear that Jordan himself has learned something:

Having learned from my own successes and failures and those of others, I know that a journalistic scandal can be handled effectively only when the news organization’s management deals with it proactively, constructively, and transparently, with a readiness to admit any mistake, to apologize for it, and to take appropriate corrective action.

The AP has failed to do so in this case.

Say, Eason, does that mean you might consider releasing that famous tape of your remarks about the US military targeting reporters for death? Because I’m betting that sort of stonewall, which still goes on to this day, is where AP learned how to “defend” itself and its “sources.”

By the way, in reading this report, I noticed how Jordan is careful to lump his IraqSlogger blog in with “other news outlets” and distinguish it from “bloggers.” Given what he says he now knows, I’d think he’d want it the other way around. (Hat tip: Glenn Reynolds).

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